This Friday I’ll be trading in the determinedly snowy streets of Madison for the sun-scorched roads of Austin, Texas to attend the 2012 South by Southwest festival with a few of my fellow Cardinal writers. Some call it the ultimate spring break for nerds, others a colossal celebration of all aspects of millennial culture. That includes music, technology and of course, where I will be most concerned, film. Considering that in 2007, SXSW served as the launching pad for the now ubiquitous social networking service Twitter, who knows what world-changing creative properties will debut this year, changing life, and our use of hash tags, as we know it forever.
While I will certainly be patronizing the festival’s musical offerings during my time in the Lone Star state—I’ve made it a personal goal of mine to see A$AP Rocky play at least three sets—the new slate of independent cinema served up this year by SXSW has me especially excited. Since opening night of the film festival portion of SXSW can’t possibly get here soon enough, let’s take a look at some of the movies that have me chomping at the bit.
“Cabin in the Woods”
The opening night movie of the festival, “Cabin in the Woods” promises to take a contrived horror movie trope—a group of friends heading out to stay in a remote cabin in the woods—and turn it on its head. From fanboy-beloved writer Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog”) and director Drew Goddard (“Lost,” “Cloverfield”), this flick has been generating a plethora of buzz leading up to the festival and it’s not hard to see why. I’m not much of a horror movie fan myself, but this film seems worth a viewing. Goddard has amply demonstrated his abilities to think outside the box and defy traditional narrative forms. With a script from Joss Whedon, the king of all nerds himself, I can’t wait to be creeped-out by this dynamic duo on opening night.
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
Granted, “Safety Not Guaranteed” is not making its premier at SXSW 2012—it already did so earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival—but that’s only gotten me all the more eager to see it. Starring the ever-sarcastic Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) and Mark Duplass (“Cyrus,” “The League”), as magazine employees who set out to interview a man who placed an ad in a local paper seeking a partner for time travel. Inspired by a real ad that became an Internet meme, “Safety Not Guaranteed” certainly fits the bill as celebration of millennial culture. And several WUD Film members who got a chance to catch the flick’s premier at Sundance this year have extolled the virtues of this time-travel comedy and its hysterical cast.
“We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists”
Perhaps my single most anticipated movie at this year’s festival, “We Are Legion” is a documentary tracing the roots of the Anonymous movement and exploring the political and cultural impact they have wrought on the world in recent years. From shutting down Paypal and Amazon to protesting the Church of Scientology while donning Guy Fawkes masks in homage to revolutionists in the 2005 movie “V for Vendetta” and its originating graphic novel, you may not have understood exactly who they were or the motives behind their actions, but their presence has been undeniable. Finally a documentary is tackling this intriguing subject that no one else seems willing or able to.
What independent films are you looking forward to this spring? Share your insights with David at dcottrell@wisc.edu.
