SXSW III

Two films in the early part of the day were just magnificent. NATURAL SELECTION is a gorgeous film about a barren woman who searches for her husband's son when he is critically ill.  Hard to believe this was written and directed by a guy.  A guy who had his mother come up to the stage for the Q&A!  All she said was "hi" and they were both adorable.

The next film was a documentary IT'S ABOUT YOU.  Father and son first time filmmakers followed John Mellencamp on tour in 2009 and recording his last album. One stop on tour was  the First African Baptist church in Savannah,Ga and the footage was excellent. Visited this church last summer with Pam so it brought back good memories. Q&A with this humble photographer turned filmmaker out of Montana was enlightening.  Abe and I agreed this film was beautiful in it's imperfect way.  And the music!!!!!!

This evening we saw WUSS.  What a film.  A movie about an English teacher who is beaten up not once, twice, but three times by students and then a student's brother.  His relationships with his friends, other teachers, his mother and sister  are vividly portrayed and so real it's painful to watch.  Q&A of actors, producers, filmmaker and crew makes Abe and I so admiring of the collaborative effort, talent and creativity.

While watching 3-4 films a day might seem draining and sounds tiring we come away pumped up for more.  It's the diversity of the subject matter and the authenticity of the acting that keeps our attention I'm sure. In addition these Independent films speak to my curiosity about people and how they live their lives.

And so more to come.