There’s a first time for everything, I suppose the saying goes. This clipping was just sent to me from Twitch South Korean correspondent Pierce Conran who spotted the advertisement for Park Chan-wook’s Stoker. The translation is something along the lines of “Director Park Chan-wook shows his best direction,” which was taken as a translation of sorts from the sentiment in my Sundance First Impression piece STOKER Delivers on Director Park’s Brand. As is often the case, the quote is attributed to the site only. Too bad, as it would have been fun to see my name translated phonetically into Korean.

A little horn tootin here, but the DVD for Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern kickass LCD Soundsystem documentary SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS has finally hit and Oscilloscope has included my quote on the box! Click the image for a slightly larger version.

The DVD box set itself is super impressive and includes the entire three-and-a-half hour concert. The movie is truly a masterpiece and one of the best concert docs in years.

Buy the DVD or Blu-ray at Amazon (affiliate link).

Read my full review from Sundance at Twitch

Fantastic Fest 2012 is kicking off this week and the Twitch Team will be covering the fest with all the gusto you’ve come to expect. The site has a brand new scheduling system that is great for selecting your films, but not so hot for printing a full schedule. So I went ahead and created a easily printable schedule PDF from screenshots and want to share it with you here. Click the image above or browse to the file at: http://enderzero.net/postfiles/FantasticFest2012PrintableSchedule_RA.pdf.

Enjoy!

After their very groovy and a little bit crazy set at Coachella this past weekend, Ivan Landau‘s video for Oakland band Beats Antique is well worth a check out. The vid uses some very cool motion graphics and is put together with a slickness lacking in a lot of this sort of work. Check it out above.

While I didn’t actually attend Coachella this year, I was blown away by the badass streaming site the concert put together. Dozens of acts had their entire shows live online for free. Now I’ve been to Coachella more times than I’ve missed it in the last decade, but as the hassles of a three day music fest begin to scare down the benefits, the rise of this sort of festival experience gets me super excited. It was so cool to watch the Dre and Snoop set and get to be part of the fun of the guest stars and banter — without the hassle. Never feeling like your missing out is just a click away.

Another incredible benefit of the streaming festival is the potential for new music discovery. There is always a give and take at Coachella (and the like) between seeing bands you dig, taking chances on new bands, and spending your time drinking by the pool to just arrive later. I had barely heard the name of We Were Promised Jetpacks when I tuned in on Friday afternoon. The chance I’d have been on site by then woulda been slim. But they absolutely killed it! (This year’s Tame Impala? I’ve included a couple videos after the jump.) I was so impressed I immediately bought tickets to their show at the Echo on Tuesday (a show which quickly sold out after that performance). Sure you could go out and watch videos for each of the 200+ acts, but jumping around a live festival is a way more interactive way of experiencing it.

The Coachella Site already has some highlights from Day 1 up. I imagine Day 2 and 3 acts will be showing up shortly. The At The Drive-In show is not to be missed. I can’t tell you how many times I watched that shitty cell phone vid from Cut Copy last summer. If only that show had been archived online. But the coolest part about Streaming Coachella 2012? It all happens again next weekend.

Thx Mike for the music video link above.

Check out some vids

 
Preserved here for posterity’s sake, all of my 2012 Twitch SXSW coverage in one easy to read post.

 
Click the links below to visit the Twitch articles or continue after the jump for copied+pasted text for the previews:

 
SXSW 2012 Preview: Competition and Spotlight Lineups
SXSW 2012 Preview: Headliners, Fest Faves, and Special Events
SXSW 2012 Preview: Midnight, Emerging Visions, and 24BPS

 
SXSW 2012: Curtain Raiser with Twitch’s Top 15 Picks
SXSW 2012: All Wrapped Up

 
SXSW 2012 Review: LOS CHIDOS is a Brilliantly Absurd Journey
SXSW 2012 Review: THE AGGRESSION SCALE is a Fan Pleasing Midnighter with Style

 
Read the Full Preview

Reprinted from Twitch

Ahhh, another snowy year at Sundance (particularly snowy this year) has come to a close. A lot of excellent films have been packed up in their canisters and sent to their new distributors. Even more will move along in the festival season, hoping to find a friendly home on some form of new-fangled download-to-your-alphanumeric-pager distro-strategy. But before these movies make it to screens of various sizes near you, I’d like to take you on a quick tour of all the titles I was able to catch this year. I’ve included my letter grade, a few words of what I thought, whether the film has yet to land distribution, and also my initial impression via my immediate tweet after seeing the film.

As you might notice, the films I saw at this year’s festival included a whole lot of B grades. Frankly, the quality of films this go-around was a bit lower than in past years. There weren’t a lot of bad films (I avoided both Lay the Favorite and Price Check after hearing rotten reports). It just seemed that filmmakers (or maybe the fest) was playing it a bit safe. While there are obvious exceptions (Compliance), no fewer than a dozen of the films I saw can be best summed up in one word: charming. I’ll avoid too deep of an analysis on this trend as to the role of the economic downturn or the perception that distributors are avoiding challenging films. But it is safe to say that this trend led to a generally less risky batch of films — and therefore a generally less rewarding crop. But there were certainly some gems to be found amongst the rhinestones. Now, here are my thoughts:

Read the full story

It’s time again to reprint my Twitch Sundance Previews in one easy to scroll through place. Be sure to check out all the originals and lots of reviews and wraps at TwitchFilm.com

 
Sundance 2012 Preview: Dramatic Competitions
Sundance 2012 Preview: Documentaries
Sundance 2012 Preview: Premieres & Spotlight
Sundance 2012 Preview: Midnight & Next
Sundance 2012 Preview: Short Films

 
To kick things off, we’ll be taking a look at a few of the notable films from each of the Dramatic Competition sections. It’s the nature of Sundance (especially the competition sections) to be a bit of a crapshoot guessing at which films will be the hits. Who would have guessed it would be Like Crazy not Little Birds or Another Earth instead of Another Happy Day that would get Park City buzzing last year. We’ll have wall to wall coverage of everything buzzing this year. For now, here are a few films that caught our eyes.

On to the Dramatic Competition.

Read the full preview

Here is a reprint of the SLAMDANCE Preview I ran on Twitch before the festival. Be sure to also check out Andy’s Awesome Round Up from the fest.

Sundance ain’t the only film game in town during Utah’s busiest week of the year. Our Park City Preview Week wraps up today with a look at what’s in store from the Slamdance Film Festival.

We had a chance to speak briefly with Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter. We asked Mr. Baxter for his thoughts on about the competition slate:

 

“The documentary and narrative competitions are very strong this year. In many ways both represent the dramatic times in which we currently live. The filmmakers have drawn inspiration from the daily challenges of life that has provided a great sense of innovation and experimentation. It’s exciting because you are left thinking these emerging filmmakers really are leading us into the next wave of indie film.”

 
While it often plays second fiddle to the much larger Sundance fest, Slamdance is a great opportunity for the smallest of the small independent films to find an audience. Mark Jackson‘s Without from last year’s fest is the perfect example of such a film. Audiences raved about the film, giving particular kudos to star Joslyn Jensen‘s performance. Critics took note, and the film showed up on many year-end best of lists. What will be this year’s Without? Here are a few of candidates that caught our attention:

Read the full preview

 
UK clever folks THIS IS IT Collective‘s amazingly hilarious short Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is playing in front of the Zellner Brothers’ feature Kid-Thing at Sundance next week — but you can see it right now, here, for free!! Enjoy! And check out their other awesome videos.

 
THIS IS IT Collective Home

 
More on Sundance at Twitch

 

I’ve just finished my AFI Fest 2011 Preview Series over at Twitch consisting of three 10 to Watch features. Check them out with the links below and don’t forget to let me know if you’re heading to the fest!

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – Galas & Specials

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – World Cinema

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – New Auteurs, Young Americans & Midnighters

I’ve also got my interview with AFI Festival heads Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler up on Twitch. Check it out here:
AFI Fest 2011: Twitch Chats with Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler

Full Preview After the Jump

AFIFest kicks off at the Mann Chinese and Egyptian Theaters on November 3rd. Like in years past, the festival is FREEEE (if you can get tickets). The tickets become available to non AFI members on Thursday Oct. 27th at 10am. There are a ton of great films playing and I’ll have a full preview at Twitch next week. But I wanted to give you a heads up on what to try to grab if you are logging on at 10am tomorrow. It turns out I’ve seen most of the most exciting films so I’ll just give you a quick Top 10 of the films (#1 being most recommended) I’ve seen followed by my tentative schedule. Sorry I can’t provide more detaisl on each film now (next week, I promise) but hit me up if you have any specific questions. Grab some free tix tomorrow and let’s catch a flick!

Top 10 films you should see at AFIFest that I’ve already seen
10. Kill List
9. Carre Blanc
8. I Melt With You
7. Beyond the Black Rainbow
6. The Lady
5. Shame
4. The Artist
3. Bullhead
2. Melancholia
1. Oslo, August 31st (My review)

My Tentative Schedule

Thursday 11/3
7:00p J. Edgar
Friday 11/4
5:00p Hanaan
Saturday 11/5
1:15p Kinyarwanda
4:00p The Invader
7:00p Carnage
Sunday 11/6
1:30p Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
6:00p My Week With Marilyn
9:30p Secret Screening
Monday 11/7
1:15p Into the Abyss
4:00p Pina
7:00p An Evening with Pedro Almodovar – Law of Desire
Tuesday 11/8
1:30p Coriolanus
4:30p Jiro Dreams of Sushi
7:00p Jeff Who Lives at Home
10:00p The Zone
Wednesday 11/9
8:15p We Need to Talk About Kevin

Fantastic Fest 2011 is all wrapped up but plenty of nostalgia lives on. Movie fanatic Nirvana is the best way to describe Austin’s September celebration of all thing cinematic. Crazy incredible flicks, copious libations, and truly good times with great friends were had over the 8 sleepless days. We had WALL TO WALL coverage over at Twitch including over 70 reviews. You can check out the full recap in Twitch’s Super Festival Wrap and some other good stuff in Fantastic Fest in Photographs and our Great Fantastic Fest Open Preview. But here for your (well my) convenience is a list of everything I saw and my initial tweeted impression. Enjoy!

LET THE BULLETS FLY – My Grade: B-
LET THE BULLETS FLY features some great performances but it’s a bit long & subtleties too easily lost in translation.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT – My Grade: B+
SLEEPLESS NIGHT is a polished French actioner w/ solid fight seqs & a good story. Great intensity but could lose few mins.

POLVORA NEGRA – My Grade: D
When FantasticFest is over, I’ll remember nothing about POLVORA NEGRA.

MILOCRORZE – My Grade: B+
MILOCRORZE is charming, stylish & super schizophrenic. Ishibashi is exactly the kind of filmmaker I hope to discover at FantasticFest!
The future samurai world part of MILOCRORZE has some of the coolest costume/makeup/production design I’ve seen. Drank it up.

UNDERWATER LOVE – My Grade: B
UNDERWATER LOVE: It’ll make you wet. …anyone? Sorry.

THE CORRIDOR – My Grade: A-
Wow. THE CORRIDOR is the first absolute must see of FantasticFest! Pass. It. On.
Review

SNOWTOWN – My Grade: B
SNOWTOWN is an extremely impressive piece of cinema but wld have been just as effective & less exhausting w/ 30 mins trimmed.

ZOMBIE ASS – My Grade: B-
ZOMBIE ASS is basically live action tentacle porn w/ lots of fart jokes. So if that doesn’t sound awesome, u’ve been warned.

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW – My Grade: B
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW is a gorgeous color poem to 1980s sci-fi psychadelia but plot/trippedoutedness balance a bit off.
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW could be edited into the greatest Chemical Brothers video of all time.

THE DAY – My Grade: B+
THE DAY is an excellent post apocalyptic actioner on a tiny budget. Lookin fwd to big things from new talent Luke Passmore.
Review

SMUGGLER – My Grade: D
Rly disappointed w/ Ishii’s SMUGGLER. Perfectly good crime actioner ruined by more disgusting torture porn. Whats wrong ppl?
Review

VERSUS – My Grade: B+
VERSUS is even more fun a decade later. Best Japanese zombie action extravaganza I’ve seen at FantasticFest (& I’m approaching dbl digits).

TAKE SHELTER – My Grade: A-
TAKE SHELTER a fascinating journey into a man’s soul. Brilliant filmmaking & acting. Exactly what I’d hoped to see.

PENUMBRA – My Grade: C+
It’s not unfair to call PENUMBRA an Argentine “Apartment of the Devil.” I liked it but wanted a bit more pace & originality.

CLOWN – My Grade: A-
CLOWN is pure Danish hilarity with way more heart than I expected. One of my faves so far at FantasicFest.

CARRE BLANC – My Grade: B
CARRE BLANC is a bold dystopian vision from to-watch newcomer Jean-Baptiste Leonetti.

HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION – My Grade: C
HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION is def not the best African film this year (see Viva Riva), but it is an impressive by-the-book debut.

MELANCHOLIA – My Grade: A
Put me down in the huge-fucking-fan category for MELANCHOLIA. Thought it was brilliant even if it is long. Potential Top10.

RETREAT – My Grade: B-
RETREAT features some impressive performances but doesn’t go quite crazy enough to make a lasting impression.

HEADHUNTERS – My Grade: B
HEADHUNTERS is a Norwegian action caper with a weird mix of heart & humor. Many like it but it was too uncomfortable for me.

LOVE – My Grade: C-
Had an extremely hard time staying awake 4 Angels and Airwaves film LOVE. It’s pretty but too much/not enough a nod to 2001.

MOVIES ON FIRE: 80s HONG KONG ACTION – My Grade: B+
I was skeptical about going to Hong Kong On Fire final film tonight but @Marshy00 prevailed. Forever grateful. Action PACKED.

BULLHEAD – My Grade: A
Wow Wow Wow BULLHEAD! Wow Michael Roskam! Wow Matthias Schoenarts! Late to the party bus but taking a seat at the front.
BULLHEAD is a brilliant crime epic fully deserving of Belgium’s Oscar submission. This year’s Animal Kingdom?

A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI – My Grade: B+
A BOY & HIS SAMURAI is a charming Jp family comedy, a clever commentary on modern gender roles but a bit short of fantastic.

TIFF is in the books and you can head on over to Twitch to see my TIFF ’11 Festival Mega Wrap. My grades and links are also available on my IndieWire CriticWire page. Here’s a quick rundown of the films I saw at the fest with my initial reactions.

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL – Contemporary World Cinema – My Grade: B-
Goro Miyazaki’s From Up On Poppy Hill is a quaint & charming melodrama but little more. No magic = no magic.

THE RAID – Midnight Madness – My Grade: A
Forget Tony Jaa, Jet Li & even Tom Hardy. THE RAID is the best action movie in decades! Gareth Evans & Iko Uwais FTW!
Review

THE ARTIST – Special Presentation – My Grade: B+
Loudest applause I’ve ever heard at a film for Hazanavicius’s brilliant THE ARTIST. Its best Oscar bets likely actors.

OSLO, AUGUST 31ST – Vanguard – My Grade: A
OSLO, AUGUST 31ST is a beautiful, honest & unpretentious journey inside what it means to be a real person. Trier is a master.
Review

THE DESCENDANTS – Special Presentation – My Grade: A-
THE DESCENDANTS is a superb drama in Payne’s signature comedic style. Lock for Best Pic nom and Actor nom for Clooney.
Review

TRISHNA – Special Presentation – My Grade: B-
TRISHNA is a beautiful vision of India but the story far too rambling. Not one of Winterbottom’s more compelling.

HICK – Special Presentation – My Grade: B-
Probably a good book, HICK has good performances but ultimately too off beat as a film. Why does Moretz pick such uncomfortable roles?
Review

COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN’S HOPE – Real to Reel – My Grade: B+
Morgan Spurlock’s COMIC-CON doc is his best, most human film. It also has the least Morgan yet. Hmm.
Review

YOU’RE NEXT – Midnight Madness – My Grade: A-
Gigantic grin across every face in Ryerson after the home invasion thriller chiller major blood spiller YOU’RE NEXT!

TWIXT – Special Presentation – My Grade: B
Dreamy & weird, TWIXT plays w/ narrative & visual style w/ mixed results. Most interesting Coppola film in yrs.

MACHINE GUN PREACHER – Gala – My Grade: D
MACHINE GUN PREACHER is just as bad as I feared. Typical manipulative H.wood drivel from Forster & way too long.

PEARL JAM TWENTY – Special Presentation – My Grade: B+
Cameron Crowe’s PEARL JAM 20 doc is music filled treasure trove for fans of the band non rock fans need not apply.
Review

INTRUDERS – Special Presentation – My Grade: C
Fresnadillo’s Clive Owen starring INTRUDERS has some obvious flaws but should play pretty well for horror fans.

THE LADY – Gala – My Grade: B+
THE LADY is a heartwrenching tale of devotion with superb acting from Michelle Yeoh & David Thewlis. Magnificent job by Besson.

KILLER JOE – Special Presentation – My Grade: C
Aside from the major continuity issues and truly amateur editing, KILLER JOE has quite a few other problems.

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS – Special Presentation – My Grade: B
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS is quite enjoyable slapstick but feels a bit like a feature edited TV season slapped w/ a truly awful score.

It’s about that time of year. The Hollywood tentpoles have been taken down and the circus is moving on. Autumn is beginning and that means the award hopeful films start to fill the cinemas. The unofficial beginning of awards season for North American audiences is the Toronto International Film Festival which kicks off TOMORROW! I’ll be going and I’ve just completed my preview series TIFF 11 for ’11 at TWITCHFILM. Check out all six parts at Twitch!
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 1: The Big Launches
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 2: The Fantastic Side of Things
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 3: Pacific Rim Offerings
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 4: Big Screen Reality
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 5: The Films That Could
TIFF 11 for ’11 Part 6: The Best from Other Fests

 
 
 
 
Or see it all after the jump

The LA Film Fest has wrapped up downtown – good thing because I’m pretty sick of Stella Artois. Here are the links to all my coverage of the fest at Twitch

LAFF 2011: A Chat with LAFF’s David Ansen and Doug Jones – My interview with the festival’s top two programmers.

LAFF 2011 Preview: The Low Down on What’s Up Downtown – My full preview – full text also after the jump.

Review: Linklater’s BERNIE is a Funny Mess

Review: Refn’s DRIVE is the No Nonsense Action Film You’ve Been Waiting For

LAFF 2011: Opening Weekend Wrap on a Raucous LAFilmFest – From Drive to drag queens, my thoughts on the fest’s opening weekend include details of the screenwriter and director panels.

Review: SENNA is This Year’s Most Exciting Doc

Review: NATURAL SELECTION is Indie Gold

LAFF 2011 – Narrative Feature Competition Wrap – Mini-Reviews of An Ordinary Family, Mamitas, How to Cheat, and The Dynamiter.

LAFF 2011 – Documentary Feature Competition Wrap – Mini-Reviews of Paraiso for Sale, Somewhere Between, Once I was Champion, and Unraveled.

LAFF 2011: Final Wrap on The Beyond and Fantastic Films of LAFilmFest – Mini-Reviews of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Innkeepers, Entrance, Karate Robo Zaborgar, Eternity, and Attack the Block.

Full text of Preview here

My crazy in depth guide to this year’s Seattle International Film Fest is up now on Twitch.

LINK

(Or read it after the jump)

Exciting news in enderzero.net land. As of this month, I will be taking on a larger role at the my favorite film website TWITCH.

I’ll be expanding my festival coverage you are used to seeing here with previews, reviews, and coverage of all the top film festivals — as well as following the most interesting movies as they make their way to a theater near you. The mandate it to expand the Twitch audience with coverage of a more mainstream indie film world. What does that mean? Help me to define it. Films that I love and want to share. Films you want to keep an eye out for. Films you might have missed and need to check out. It’s a very exciting opportunity and I’d love your input to help shape the coverage towards the kind of articles you know you don’t want to miss.

To start things off, check out my Twitchfilm.com Cannes 2011 Preview.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and SEE YOU AT TWITCH!

My Guide to this year’s Cannes Film Festival is live now on Twitch.

LINK

(Or read it after the jump)

Dropping on the Isle of Manhattan on 4/20 is the 10th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival. This is the hippest of New York’s chance to see some of the best of the past few fests and, as demonstrated by this program, catch the premieres of a whole hell of a lot of new films. Here is a look at what caught my eye.

EVERYTHING MUST GO
Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, and Laura Dern star in Dan Rush’s feature debut about one man’s epic breakdown.

DETACHMENT
Tony Kaye has directed four films since 1998′s American History X but all have failed to really break through. Maybe this film which stars Adrien Brody as an influential substitute teacher will finally bring out the audiences.

A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY
Jason Sudeikis stars along with Will Forte and Nick Kroll in Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory’s debut feature about, well…

THE BANG BANG CLUB
Ryan Phillippe stars in Steven Silver’s dramatization of a group of photographers risking their lives during the violence of the first elections of post-Apartheid South Africa. The film opens concurrently in LA at Laemmle’s Sunset 5.

LIMELIGHT
Billy Corban tackled the Miami drug world in his 2006 docu Cocaine Cowboys. Here he turns his attention to the destination of all the smuggled coke – the 1980s New York club scene. The film particularly focuses on the rise and fall of now deported club owner Peter Gatien against the backdrop of a maturing Manhattan.

REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR
Chris Paine is back with a follow up to his hit 2006 docu Who Killed the Electric Car. Keep an eye out for his 2014 doc, The Electric Car: Refueled!

CATCHING HELL
Alex Gibney’s second film this year (after Sundance Kesey doc Magic Trip) is an ESPN 30 for 30 that focuses on the Steve Bartman and the Chicago Cubs inability to ever, ever win a World Series.

THE UNION
Cameron Crowe’s first film since the 2005 bomb Elizabethtown is a documentary about the collaboration between Elton John and Leon Russel. The film is being shown for free as the opening night gala with a concert afterwards by Elton John.

UNDERWATER LOVE
Take a Japanese softcore porn musical monster movie and put long time favorite cinematographer Christopher Doyle behind the lens and you have what might be the most outrageous sounding arthouse film of the year. I can’t wait.

LET THE BULLETS FLY
Last year it was Fang Xiaogang’s heart heavy Aftershock that was touted as China’s highest domestic grossing film of all time. It seems we might be seeing that every year now as China’s domestic market continues to grow. This year the new honor belongs to actor/director Jiang Wen’s (Warriors of Heaven and Earth) 1920s comic Western. The film stars Wen alongside Chow-Yun Fat and none other than Fang Xiaogang.

DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME
Tsui Hark may be one of the most famous HK action directors of all time, but the title of his latest film sounds like a Harry Potter reject. The “fantastical steampunk version of ancient China” might help bring out an audience from Williamsburg.

NEON FLESH
If this high octane action crime thriller ends up as good as the trailer suggests, people might just start calling director Paco Cabezas the Spanish Guy Ritchie. [However it appears that may not be the case.]

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI
For the love of the fish! This competition documentary about an 85 year-old sushi master looks to be some seriously raw food porn.

FIRE IN BABYLON
Call this the most exciting cricket documentary of the year. Stevan Riley’s film explores the wildly successful West Indies team who dominated the sport through the national liberation and Black Power movements of the 70s and 80s that saw the international press represent the team as brutal terrorists.

SPLINTERS
This incredible looking doc from first time director Adam Pesce takes you behind the scenes with the contestants in the inaugural Papua New Guinea surf championship. Check out the trailer and you’ll probably want to add this one to your list.

THE JOURNALS OF MUSAN
This interesting looking doc by first-timer Jungbum Park follows a North Korean defector as he tries to make a life on the streets of Seoul.

MARATHON BOY
This docu screening in competition follows the story of a four year-old boy as he is groomed to become India’s greatest marathon runner.

BOMBAY BEACH
From the looks of this competition doc’s trailer, this verite exploration of the communities struggling to survive along Southern California’s Salton Sea is going to be stunning.

SHAKESPEARE HIGH
Alex Rotaru’s docu lets us watch as a bunch of high school drama nerds try to put their tumultuous pasts behind them to fight for the crown of biggest drama nerds in Southern California

A MATTER OF TASTE
This SXSW holdover docu by first timer Sally Rowe follows haute cuisine chef Paul Liebrandt as he fights to regain a place in New York’s cooking elite.

TALIHINA SKY: THE STORY OF KINGS OF LEON
Kings of Leon get a bad rap for being radio friendly but from the looks of this docu’s trailer, the story of three brothers and cousin that break free of a heavy religious upbringing as evangelical gypsies to become rock stars might just make a worthwhile film.

THE SWELL SEASON
This docu tracks real life stars of Once Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard as they navigate love, music and fame after the release of their hit film.

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW
There isn’t much info out there on Panos Cosmatos, but from the looks of the trailer for his directorial debut, he’s got a lot of style. Set in a dystopian 1983, the film “is a Reagan-era fever dream inspired by hazy childhood memories of midnight movies and Saturday morning cartoons.” Sign me up.

BLACKTHORN
Abre Los Ojos, Vanilla Sky and The Sea Inside screenwriter Mateo Gil’s second directorial feature stars Sam Shepard as an elder Butch Cassidy adventuring in 1920s Bolivia.

LAST NIGHT
Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington star in this New York City romantic drama that premieres at the fest before opening from Miramax on May 5th.

THE ROADIE
Michael Cuesta made a splash in 2001 with his controversial ultra indie L.I.E. which marked the arrival of Paul Dano and won both Cuesta and Dano Indie Spirits. Cuesta returns to features after much success directing for cable (Six Feet Under, Dexter, True Blood) with this film about a roadie returning home after 20 years touring with Blue Oyster Cult. The film stars Ron Eldard and co-stars new fave Bobby Cannavale (Win Win).

THE TRIP
Michael Winterbottom has compressed his 6 part BBC mini-series following Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon around the English countryside down to a more palatable 100 minute feature for us easily distracted yanks.

TREATMENT
Mumblecore stalwarts Sean Nelson and Steven Schardt team up to co-direct their first feature which is probably about some sort of mundane part of real life with an ironic twist (just guessing). The film co-stars mumblecore stalwarts Josh Leonard, Ross Partridge, Katie Aselton, and the not so stalwart John Hodgman.

Other festival circuit notables making a repeat performance at Tribeca include Vera Farmiga’s Higher Ground, and Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle Sundance fave The Guard.

It’s been a number of weeks now since the yanks went back to New York City (say like the old Pace Picante commercials) and the streets of Austin have surely been turned back over to the masses of long horns lookin to hook it up by now. But that just gives us plenty of perspective to look back now at the films that caused a stir at the hippest fest of the year.

NATURAL SELECTION
Without a doubt, the big hit of the competition was old pal Robbie Pickering’s Rachael Harris starring middle-aged road tripper. The film picked up the awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Editing, Best Score/Music, Best Screenplay, two Best Breakthrough Perfomrances, and the Audience Award for narrative feature. Jeeez. Huge congrats to Robbie! I can’t wait to see it.

ATTACK THE BLOCK
The other movie out of SXSW that I am most looking forward to seeing is Joe Cornish’s London hoodlum alien invasion comedy. Critics were in love with this midnighter and twitter has been awash with controversy on whether or not subtitles for the thick English accents will be necessary for us slow hearin American audiences.

DRAGONSLAYER
Tristan Patterson’s docu about some skateboarder kids in Fullerton, CA won both jury awards for Best Documentary and Best Cinematography. The trailer linked above definitely does look pretty.

CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP
Rodman Flender goes behind the scenes of Conan’s 32-city comedy tour to paint an intimate portrait of one of today’s most beloved celebrities. The film was picked up in a hybrid distribution deal by AT&T which will see it released later this year in some form of theatrical (Abramorama) & VOD/home video (Magnolia) as well as an obvious U-Verse exclusive run yet to be determined.

BEGINNERS
Ewan McGregor, Melanie Laurnet, and Christopher Plummer star in Mike Mills’s first narrative feature since 2005′s Thumbsucker. Focus bought the film at last year’s Toronto Fest and it is expected to hit theaters in limited release the first week of June.

DETENTION
Music video director Joseph Kahn’s feature debut is a teen slasher comedy that received mixed marks at the fest.

BELLFLOWER
Evan Glodell’s feature debut is a wild a ride through a post-apocalptic-ish southland that didn’t quite break through at Sundance but killed at Southby. The film was sold to Oscilloscope by the handsome team at CAA and should make its way to theaters in late summer.

ARMADILLO
Janus Metz’s Danish Afghan War Docu won the grand prize at last year’s Cannes International Critics’ Week and has been called by some the Danish Restrepo.

A MATTER OF TASTE
This competition docu takes a trip inside the haute cuisine kitchen of Paul Liebrandt as he struggles to regain his title of New York’s next hot chef.

THE SOUND OF MY VOICE
Brit Marling’s other Sundance film (as opposed to Another Earth) has gained a lot of popularity since that fest and that train hit SXSW at high speed. Directed by Zal Batmanglij, the film takes you into the crazy world of a San Fernando Valley cult.

BRIDESMAIDS
The of buzz over this Apatow produced Kristen Wiig maid-of-honor comedy was around whether it was indeed a “work in progress.” But when director Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks) announced it was the final cut, the buzz switched to disappointment from the assembled critics that the film wouldn’t be getting any better. Look for it to be released by Universal on May 13.

THE INNKEEPERS
Ti West’s follow up to 2008′s The House of the Devil is a haunted inn comic-horror that Gabe Toro of The Playlist compared to Scooby Doo.

UNDEFEATED
This verite doc by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin focuses on an inner city Memphis high school football team as they attempt to win their first playoff game in 110 years. The movie was bought by the Weinstein Company.

FLY AWAY
A final quick shout for Janet Grillo’s competition film Fly Away. I couldn’t quite get through the trailer, but my boy Matty was the APOC so here it is.

There were also a whole host of festival holdovers that played as part of the Festival Favorites or other programs. Some notables included NYT Doc Page One: Inside the New York Times, Steve James’s Chicago crime doc The Interrupters, Oscar nom’d French-Canadian fave Incendies, and everyone’s favorite Rutger Hauer as a hobo film, Hobo with a Shotgun.