SXSW 2009: The Emerging Vision and Spotlight Premiere Doc Lineups

Yesterday, we profiled the eight films in the documentary competition at this year's SXSW Film Festival.   The Austin train continues today with nonfiction films screening in the Spotlight Premieres and Emerging Visions sections - and lots of notes, trailers and assorted trivia. 

First up, this year's Spotlight Premieres:

FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM
Directed by Gerald Peary
The first documentary to dramatize the rich, fascinating history of American film criticism.

Note - Peary is the long-time film critic for the Boston Phoenix.  The film had a WIP screening at Telluride in 2007.

THE LAST BEEKEEPER
Directed by Jeremy Simmons
This documentary follows the lives of three commercial beekeepers over the course of one year as they struggle with Colony Collapse Disorder. As they all take their bees to California's enormous annual almond pollination, they are forced to ask the question "If all the bees die, what do you have to live for?"

Note - Simmons is a longtime collaborator of filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, serving as editor on INSIDE DEEP THROAT and the narrative version of PARTY MONSTER, as well as directing several episodes of the Sundance series "One Punk Under God".

MONSTERS FROM THE ID
Directed by David Gargani
The untold story of 1950’s American Sci-Fi Cinema and the role of the Modern Scientist.

Note - Had a screening in December as part of a preview for this year's Connecticut film festival.  Trailer and stills available at the CFF website.

NEW WORLD ORDER
Directed by Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer
Impassioned conspiracy theorists travel the globe trying to expose the group that they claim rules the world.

Note - The new film from the directors of SXSW's 2006 Audience Award-winning hit, DARKON.

OBJECTIFIED
Directed by Gary Hustwit
A glimpse into our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Note - The sophomore film from the Independent Spirit Award nominated director of HELVETICA.

PASSING STRANGE
Directed by Spike Lee
A musical documentary about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and 'the real'. A theatrical stage production of the original Tony-Award winning book by Stew. 

Note - After its premiere at Sundance, Hot Docs programmer Sean Farnel is not entirely sure what to call the film:

"(I)s a filmed performance a “documentary,” formally speaking? While certainly a document, or record of the performance, and skillfully photographed and edited, there is no non-fiction in the content of PASSING STRANGE. Okay, a dash, in the intermission sequence. But wouldn’t a documentary about the Broadway show Passing Strange feature comment on the performance, perhaps some “making-of” footage, a sense of its reception? Not that I wanted any of this in the film. I loved it for what it was, wished I had seen the show live, and was thankful it had been preserved. Yet, is a “document” the same as a “documentary” film? I’m not being rhetorical here. I’m really not sure, and have been thinking about it."

WINNEBAGO MAN
Directed by Ben Steinbauer
Jack Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes from a Winnebago sales video became an underground phenomenon and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer sets out to find him.

Note - Here's the video that started it all:

In the EMERGING VISIONS section:

BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO
Directed by Jessica Oreck
Untangling the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan’s deep fascination with insects… and what it says about the rest of us.

Note - You can find the trailer here.

BROCK ENRIGHT: GOOD TIMES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME
Directed by Jody Lee Lipes
Artist Brock Enright's unbridled creative force clashes with the confines of love, family, and industry, as he crafts the most significant show of his career. (World Premiere)

CRUDE INDEPENDENCE
Directed by Noah Hutton
A rumination on the future of small town America through the lens of a humanistic tale of change at the hands of the global energy market and its unyielding thirst for oil.

Note - Hutton is the 21-year old son of actors Timothy Hutton and Debra Winger.  The production blog for the film is here.

MOTHERLAND
Directed by Jennifer Steinman
Six grieving mothers journey to Africa in order to test the theory that “giving is healing.”

Note - Why wait for Austin?  Buy the DVD now!

PULLING JOHN
Directed by Vassiliki Khonsari
The universal story of a champion arm wrestler’s glory in an unsung sport, who after 25 years of success is now burdened with the inevitable transformation of aging.

Note - Khonsari previously appeared at SXSW 2002 ("the year SXSW docs broke") with BANG THE MACHINE.

SISSYBOY
Directed by Kate Turinski
A juncture in the lives of performance art revolutionaries, the film explores a Portland-based gender-bending drag troupe that has served up their audacity, ambivalence and social commentary throughout the Rose City for over 3 years before hundreds of devoted fans.

THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES
Directed by Jocelyn Cammack
With a combined age of almost 300, Hetty, Rose and Alison are still powerfully engaged in their individual forms of activism - from journalism, to public speaking to anti-war demonstrations - while quietly negotiating the final moments of their lives.

Note - Screened previously at the 2008 Sheffield DocFest.  This is the North American premiere.

TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP
Directed by Alex Karpovsky
Immortalized in the world of improv comedy, Second City veterans TJ Jagodowksi and David Pasquesi explore the unique partnership and transcendental forces that govern their legendary performances.

Note - The new film from the director of the acclaimed hybrid film WOODPECKER, which premiered at last year's SXSW.

WAKE UP
Directed by Jonas Elrod
An average 36-year old guy suddenly wakes up with the ability to see and hear angels, demons, auras and ghosts.  With his girlfriend by his side, he goes on a journey to figure it all out, and his search becomes a guide to revealing larger truths about the world and everyone in it.

Note - You can check out some of Elrod's music video work here.