Once again, the SXSW Film Festival was amazing. I saw lots that I liked and very little that I didn’t. This list is bound to be lacking as I only had a chance to see twenty-odd screenings, but these “awards” reflect the breadth of what I had a chance to see.
Cutest (as or like a button): Trieste Kelly Dunn (“Infinity Baby”)
Before the screening of Infinity Baby, Trieste Kelly Dunn warned that her character Alison giggled a lot. That turned out to be exceedingly true. Still, with her tight ponytail and thick glasses, that laugh and her boundless optimism helped to make her the most endearing character of the film, and by the end, the most important character, too.
Literary-est: “A Critically Endangered Species”
Lena Olin plays a Susan Sontag-esque literary figure looking to end her life on her own terms. The dialogue is like one extended critical theory PhD defense. Co-director Zachary Cotler is a poet himself, and this high-minded talk rings very true.
Honorable Mention: “Fits and Starts”
Any film that takes place mostly in a Greenwich, Conn. arts salon deserves a pretentiousness mention. Fantastic job of lampooning urban cultural elites.
Breakout young actor: Sophia Mitri Schloss (“Lane 1974”)
The official SXSW film awards gave special recognition to James Freedson-Jackson from The Strange Ones, a much-deserved accolade. In that spirit, I want to recognize another youngster from the festival. Sophia Mitri Schloss plays the eponymous Lane in Lane 1974 and blows it out of the water. She’s a quiet young girl being buffeted about by forces she can’t control, but her lack of dialogue does nothing to mask her power. A special role in a special film.
Most Awkward Moment: “Hold Me (Ca Caw Ca Caw)”
This animated short film about a pigeon and a boy who live together was squirm-worthy. Not only do they engage in “relations,” but when the bird lays an egg, the boy eats it, setting off an unsettling ending. This is a one-timer, to be sure.
Biggest Jerkface — Tie: Alexander Koch (“A Critically Endangered Species”) & Peter Vack (“M.F.A.”)
This one was a tie as both of these characters are so face-punch-worthy.
Koch’s Paul in A Critically Endangered Species is pure smarm. If you’ve seen him in CBS’s The Dome, he’s 10x smarter but just as despicable.
Vack plays the lead character’s rapist in M.F.A., so he’s destined to be hated. He portrayed the jerk boyfriend in Slash, a film from last year’s SXSW. Vack redeems himself a bit in Dara Ju, as he actually plays a sympathetic fall guy.
Best Musical Performance: Sophie Reid (“La Barracuda”)
This story about a long-long daughter of a Townes Van Zandt-like character features some amazing in-scene performances of Texas tunes by fiery Brit Sophie Reid. There’s a literal campfire scene where she plays guitar and sings a tune that’s every bit as good as anything in the entire film, and there is no shortage of quality moments.
