deadCENTER at SXSW: Buckle Up.
Our very own Cacky Poarch and Melissa Scaramucci are in SXSW, looking for great films, spreading the word about deadCENTER and generally being awesome. Stay tuned to this space for their dispatches.
Cacky and I can’t remember how many times we’ve made the pilgrimage south together – maybe 7 years? 8? Known universally at SXSW as “Those fun girls from Oklahoma”, we work to pile on the magic in our brief time at the fest. Seriously. One year we extended our trip to Tuesday (instead of leaving on our usual Monday) and that extra day almost left us hospitalized. These are the sacrifices we make for deadCENTER.
And it is for deadCENTER that we attend. We trek to the (512) racing from screen to screen for premiere finds to showcase at our fest, stalk members of the press to bring to OK, and chat up colleagues new and old. And we party. A lot.
Of course, it’s always fun to have a dog in the festival fight. Last year we championed Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo and the year before we joined the mustache parade down 6th Street for Rainbow Around the Sun. There truly is almost nothing better than having a film to promote and cheer for at a festival. Especially one made in Oklahoma. But this year, I am glad that we can make our focus totally deadCENTER. Spreading the word about our fest, finding some gems to screen and generally raising our profile within our industry is a fun job to have.
As we make our descent (did I mention I’m on the plane?), the familiar excitement bubbles are percolating (I hope it’s excitement bubbles). I know I will see an inordinate number of newly acquired crushed cowboy hats and awkward west coasters with brand new “re-purposed” boots. Paying several hundred dollars for cowboy boots that would be in the bottom of a thrift store bin in every other town in America is a trait unique to Austin – I think. And I’m super thrilled to see the HUNDREDS of cameras, PDAs and laptops all manned by people anxious to capture the defining moment of the fest or win some kind of bloggy snark fest. If the tapping of keys disturbs me during a screening, I may cut a bitch. I’m just saying – put the electronics down.
Posers and pushers aside, I look forward to reporting on the festival for the next few days. I’ve never blogged, but I certainly have opinions about parties, panels and films. So Buckle Up – the next few days of sleep deprived movie mania are the best in the world and I’m gonna share them with YOU! (Yes you. You know you’re my favorite.)
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