The 2010 SXSW Film Festival, scheduled for March 12 to 24 in Austin, Texas, will feature eight documentaries in competition, and each is a world premiere. The eight were selected from 741 submissions. In alphabetical order, the documentaries in competition are:
- Beijing Taxi - Director Miao Wang follows three Beijing cabbies as they carry their fare through a city in the throes of transition and modernization.
- Camp Victory, Afghanistan - For three years, director Carol Dysinger focused on the formation of the Afghan National Army by following its new officers, and the US National Guardsmen who were there to mentor them/
- The Canal Street Madam - Following the FBI raid on her infamous New Orleans brothel and her ensuing legal difficulties and social stigma, Jeanette Maier struggles to create a new life for herself. Director Cameron Yates is there to document the process.
- Dirty Pictures - Director Etienne Sauret's documentary is all about the life and work of Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, the famous chemist who is considered to be the 'Godfather of Psychedelics.'
- For Once In My Life - Directors Jim Bigham and Mark Moormann follow an inspired and inspiring group of musicians who struggle with disabilities in order to follow their dreams and perform.
- Marwencol - Mark Hogancamp, left brain damaged and broke by a vicious attack, retreats to Marwencol, the name of the 1/6th-scale model of a World War II-era town that he created in his back yard. Director Jeff Malmberg records his remarkable path to recovery.
- Pelada - Directors Luke Boughen, Rebekah Fergusson, Gwendolyn Oxenham and Ryan White discover soccer that's played away from arenas and bright lights.
- War Don Don - Director Rebecca Richman Cohen investigates what happens when war is over and the trials begin.
SXSW is an important North American showcase for documentary films. In addition to the documentaries in competition, nonfiction features and mid-length films are also shown in the festival's Spotlight Premieres, SX Global, Emerging Visions and Lone Star States categories. The 24 Beats Per Second category features documentaries about music and musicians. Check the complete film program for specific titles and descriptions.
One film that I highly recommend is Iron Crows, South Korean filmmaker Bong-Nam Park's documentary about the men and boys who endure horrific and life-threatening conditions to work at Bangladesh's largest ship dismantling yard, where they risk life and limb to earn $2 per day -- most of which is sent home to their families who would otherwise starve. This extremely well-crafted film, which won the 2009 Mid-length Documentary Jury Award at IDFA last year (disclosure: I was on the IDFA jury), follows one worker as he leaves the shipyard's grime, grit and slick to travel home for a very emotional family reunion to mark his child's birth. Back at the shipyard, preteen boys who are supporting their families survive on oil-tainted rice. Iron Crows is an eye-opener. See it if you can -- at SXSW 2010 or wherever you can find it. It's a sort of travelogue into hell.
Traveling in another direction, this year's SXSW festival also boasts the first-ever public showing of Hubble 3D, filmmaker Toni Myers' IMAX® 3D spectacular in which Leonardo DiCaprio narrates an amazing journey through the Hubble lens into distant galaxies to follow the exploits of astronauts working in outer space, and explore the great mysteries of our solar system and beyond. Hopefully this will eventually come to an IMAX near you.
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