Film Alumni, Students Make Record Showing at SXSW Film Festival

AUSTIN, Texas—March 13, 2009—An unprecedented number of Radio-TV-Film alumni and students will screen their films at the annual SXSW Film Festival, which starts today and runs through March 21.

Eight alumni and six graduate and undergraduate students have directed films that will screen at SXSW, while five alumni have served in key roles on a handful of films.

Feature Films
“Artois The Goat,” directed by Cliff Bogart (BS ’05) and Kyle Bogart (BS ’06)
A beautifully photographed, cleverly crafted story about making goat cheese and reclaiming lost love, “Artois” is also benefiting from the publicity assistance of John Pierson’s Advanced Producing class, whose past projects include the respectively acclaimed “Manufacturing Dissent” and “Cavite.”

“Winnebago Man,” directed by Ben Steinbauer (MFA ’07)
RTF lecturer and alumnus Steinbauer’s “Winnebago Man” is the story of Jack Rebney, "the most famous man you’ve never heard of.” After a Winnebago sales video, in which Rebney unleashed a slew of obscenities during countless outtakes, went viral on the web, Rebney became an unwitting Internet sensation. Steinbauer’s directorial feature debut, which was co-shot by RTF grad Berndt Mader, explores what happened afterward. Making its world premiere at SXSW, “Winnebago Man” is also a part of a Case Study in which Steinbauer and Rebney will discuss the making of the film.

“Along Came Kinky…Texas Jewboy For Governor,” directed by David Hartstein (MFA ’04)
Directed by RTF alumnus (MFA ’04) and lecturer David Hartstein, “Along Came Kinky” chronicles singing Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman's 2006 independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas. Hartstein’s documentary, which is making its world premiere at this year’s festival, illuminates the outspoken Kinky, his campaign staff who strategized for an unprecedented four-way race, and the grass roots volunteers who canvassed the state raising awareness and money for their unlikely but incredibly sharp candidate.

Documentary Features
“Over the Hills and Far Away,” directed by Michel Orion Scott (BS ’04)
Over the Hills and Far Away, which premiered at Sundance this year, is a film about one family's struggle to find answers to their son's autism. Shot over the course of two years, this film follows the Isaacson family as they journey on horseback across Mongolia from healer to healer, and the amazing healings they found for their son, and for themselves. An inspiration to think outside the box, a travel adventure, an insight into shamanic traditions, the autistic mind, and man's relationship with animals; at its heart, “Over the Hills and Far Away” is a film about a family that went to the edge of the earth to find a way into their son's life.

“Sunshine,” directed by Karen Skloss, (BS ’01, MFA Studio Art ’05)
It all starts with getting knocked up. An unplanned pregnancy for an unplanned girl sets off SUNSHINE, a playful, yet ultimately stirring self-portrait of an adopted woman driven to search for answers through reconnection with her biological mother. Woven together from over 10 years of super 8 and video home movies, intimate family interviews, shimmering dance sequences and stylized reenactments, Sunshine offers a refreshingly rare glimpse on the current day transformations taking place within our most sacred of institutions. Young, pregnant, single and unprepared, the daughter/director struggles with the incredible ironies of the family, as she struggles to raise her own daughter and understand the plight of her biological mother.

Reel Shorts 3
“Thick as Thieves,” directed by RTF undergraduate students Chris Demarais and Marshall Rimmer
While walking through an alley on his way home from his job as a bank teller, Marshall Jones is jumped by Emmanuel, a scraggly yet intimidating hoodlum. However, once Emmanuel notices an odd commonality, the two become unexpected partners in crime. Sort of.

Texas Shorts (Documentary)
“Alexander Family Farm,” directed by RTF undergraduate students Keeley Stevenson and Lupe Zamarripa
Kim Alexander lives as close to the city as you can get and still be country. The furthest an egg travels from his farm is 30 miles, a distance unheard of in our global food economy. Though a staple in American diets, the origins of our eggs can be a mystery.

“Casimiro,” directed by RTF undergraduate student Sergio Rabczuk
Casimiro is the story of an illegal immigrant living in central Texas. As we follow him throughout his daily routine we realize the difficulties, both physical and emotional he is forced to confront. Casimiro begins his day trying to write an encouraging and positive letter to his family back in his homeland. As the day progresses, we can experience that the American dream Casimiro was after has resulted in a much more difficult journey, one which he has to overcome alone. His solitude and inability to adapt to a strange world ultimately create a distance between Casimiro and his family, one that goes beyond the physical boundaries of countries and cultures.

“Entre Lineas (Between the Lines)” directed by Maru Buendia-Senties (MFA ’08)
"Entre Lineas" is a story about two friends that live on different sides of the Mexican-American border. As we follow Caroline and Ricardo we get a close look at the lifestyle of Mexican and Mexican-Americans and the universal struggle to maintain and find our own identities in a multicultural society.

“Love, Sadie,” directed by Naiti Gamez (MFA ’07)
Sadie and her high-school friends struggle to escape the banality of everyday life through the intimate exchange of handwritten notes.

“Uprush” directed by RTF graduate student Kim Hall
On the brink of adulthood, swimming can seem like the most dangerous thing in the world.

Other SXSW films featuring work by RTF alumni include:

“The Overbrook Brothers,” edited by David Fabelo (BS ’05)
“The Least of These,” co-produced and filmed by John Fiege (MFA ‘06)
“Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo,” edited by Lucy Kreutz (BS ‘03)
“The 2 Bobs,” filmed by P.J. Raval (MFA ‘04) and produced by Seth Caplan (BS RTF 2002)

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Contact:
Erin Geisler
512-475-8071