South By Southwest Film and Music fest cranks up this Friday. Although I will not be attending, I took a quick look at the film lineup. A lot of good flicks – some of the best of Sundance, a few premieres, a ton of documentaries, and a whole lot of very indie films that fly under the radar. Here’s the full list and here’s what caught my eye:

American Teen Nanette Burstein’s docu about a group of high school seniors in Indiana was one of my favorite films at Sundance. The film raises interesting questions about the line between documentary and reality programming – but what really stands out is the incredible personalities of the kids Nanette follows. I am dying to find out what these kids do in their lives.
Site

Nerdcore Rising A look into the hottest form of hip hop music (at least for nerdy white kids) and the movement’s figurehead, MC Frontalot.
Trailer/Site

Assassination of a High School President Another fave from Sundance, this hilarious high school genre mashup turned out much better (and funnier) than the script. It isn’t Brick, and it isn’t Rocket Science, but it is a pretty good flick.

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet A docu about artists who use old videogame hardware to create new music.
Great Trailer

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Just as he used SXSW as a launching pad for last year’s Knocked Up, Judd Apatow returns, this time as producer, with this rom-com written by and starring Jason Segel. With all the hilarious co-stars and cameos (Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, etc) – this will likely have plenty of chuckles. (Slated for wide rel. 4/18)
Trailer

Bananaz A behind the scenes look at the “most successful virtual band ever,” Gorillaz.
Site

The Black List This docu, that asks the most prominent African Americans about issues of race, was written and produced by The Treatment host and all around good guy Elvis Mitchell.
Site

Second Skin Enter, the MMO docu – examining, status, love, and addiction in the world of massively multiplayer online role playing games.
Trailer

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson A Sundance hit, this docu is directed by Alex Gibney – the man who just won an Oscar for Taxi to the Darkside (not to mention the awesome Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room).

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay H&K are back in what is pretty much as close to a remake as possible. While not quite as side-splitting as the first, there are plenty of good laughs, especially James Adomian as Pres’dint Dubya.
Site/Trailer

Battle in Seattle Stuart Townsend makes his directing debut with the long awaited story of the Seattle WTO Protests of 1999. He’s gonna have to really nail this one to get me on board.
Site

Shine A Light Scorsese’s Rolling Stones concert docu makes its stateside premier at SXSW.
Trailer

Super High Me Comedian and “High Times Stoner of the Year” Doug Benson attempts to get as stoned as he can for 30 days straight in this docu by Michael Blieden. Yeah… tough one dude.
Trailer

Nights and Weekends Super indie relationship drama by the very likable Greta Gerwig (Baghead, Hannah Takes the Stairs) and Joe Swanberg. The pair works closely with (and in the style of) the Duplass bros. You gotta hand it to these kids for gettin shit made.
Trailer

Young @ Heart I’ve heard nothing but great things about this docu that follows a senior citzens cover band.
Trailer

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela With a logline this great, I had to mention it, “Raquela is looking for a way out of her tireless job as a “ladyboy” prostitute, which brings her to Iceland with some unexpected outcomes.”
Trailer

The Ostrich Testamonies This interesting looking indie docu is about an Ostrich farmer who lost his flock after they were spooked by a hot air balloon. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that sob story.
Trailer

Tulia, Texas A docu examining the huge and hugely racist drug bust that went down a decade ago in Tulia, Texas.

The Marconi Bros. Two carpet salesmen (Dan Fogler and Brendan Sexton III) give up the the carpet gig and try their hands at wedding videos.
Trailer

Bulletproof Salesman Gunner Palace and The Prisoner directing duo Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein return with this docu about a war profiteering car salesman.

See everything at SXSW.