The South by Southwest 2012 film festival is coming to a close, and it’s been another fabulous year for movies… in fact, I’m almost willing to say this is my favorite time at the fest to date. As is almost always inevitable, I didn’t get to see all the movies I wanted to, but I took in as much as possible, and reviews are coming in the next few days – along with amazing interviews and red carpet coverage. My sincere thanks to Rebecca Feferman, Emily Shaw, Lauren Tuttle, and April Henshaw for hooking us up with primo red carpet spots and making sure we got to talk to all of those who attended those carpets. Also big thanks to all of the hard-working staff of SXSW, who are always friendly and helpful, and very knowledgeable to boot. I’m actually still here until Thursday, when I leave to return to Dallas, but in the meantime check out the list of winning films below. Out of the ones listed, I can tell you I saw EDEN and BERNIE, both of which are quite good. My personal favorite documentary was PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE, followed closely by BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING. Looks for those reviews in the next few days
SXSW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2012 AWARD WINNERS
Austin, Texas – March 13, 2012 – Jury and Audience Award-winners of the 2012 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony, presented by Veam and hosted by comedian and actor Doug Benson. The Awards took place at the Vimeo Theater in Austin, Texas. Feature Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature Competition categories. Films in these categories, as well as all feature categories, with the exception of Special Events, were also eligible for 2012 SXSW Film Festival Audience Awards. Only Narrative and Documentary Feature Audience Awards were announced tonight. Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal and Festival Favorites Audience Awards will be announced separately on Saturday, March 17, with the Headliner Audience Award to follow on Monday, March 19, 2012. SXSW continues showing films through Saturday, March 17, details can be found at www.sxsw.com/film.
SXSW also announced the Jury Award-winners in Shorts Filmmaking and winners of SXSW Film Design Awards Presented by iStockphoto, as well as Special Awards, including the Louis Black “Lone Star” Award, the SXSW Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award and the SXSW Wholphin Award. New for 2012, Jury Awards will be handed out for Short films in the SXGlobal and Midnight Shorts sections. Audience Award results for all categories were certified by the accounting firm of Maxwell Locke & Ritter.
“It’s been amazing this year to hear over and over again about the high range of quality across the board,” said Janet Pierson, Film Conference and Festival Producer. “I know I’m always going on about the great variety of our program, but this year it seems to have been embraced in even wider measure and it’s very exciting. SXSW is a special moment for the creative community to both inspire and be inspired. We appreciate the audience and jury engagement and recognition for these highlighted titles.”
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The 2012 SXSW Film Festival Juries consisted of:
Narrative Feature Competition: Lisa Hintelmann, J. Hoberman, Jane Schoettle
Documentary Feature Competition: David Courier, Philipp Engelhorn, Catherine Shoard
Narrative Shorts: Susan Arosteguy, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Thuy Tran
Documentary Shorts: Anna Higgs, Gerald Peary, Basil Tsiokos
SXGlobal Shorts: Margaret Brown, Chale Nafus, Linda O. Olszewski
Animated Shorts: Brad Graeber, Brad Phillips, Bryan Pudder
Midnight Shorts: Nate Bolotin, Tim League, Ti West
Music Videos: Jim Eno, John T. Kunz, Mark Woollen
Texas Shorts: Karim Ahmad, Jennifer Cochis, Anderson Le
Texas High School Shorts: Marcy Garriott, Emily Hagins, Bart Weiss
Title Sequence Design: Ian Albinson, Jenny Lee, Ben Radatz, Gareth Smith, Kurt Volk
Poster Design: Craig Crutchfield, Tim League, James Leal-Valias, Charlie Loft, Danny Parker
Louis Black “Lone Star”: Elizabeth Avellán, Christy Lemire, Ron Mann
The 2012 SXSW Film Festival hosted a total of 132 features, consisting of 74 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 11 U.S. Premieres, with 58 films from first-time directors. 138 shorts will screen as part of 12 overall shorts programs. The nearly 275 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,300, comprised of approximately 2,000 features and 3,300 shorts. This was a 7% increase over 2011 despite moving submission deadlines a month earlier than in previous years.
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The 2012 SXSW Film Festival Award Winners:
Feature Film Jury Awards
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Grand Jury Winner: Beware of Mr. Baker
Director: Jay Bulger
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NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Grand Jury Winner: Gimme The Loot
Director: Adam Leon
Special Jury Recognition for Performance:
Jamie Chung – Eden
Besedka Johnson – Starlet
Nico Stone – Booster
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Feature Film Audience Awards
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: Bay of All Saints
Director: Annie Eastman
NARRATIVE FEATURE
Winner: Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths
*Audience Awards for Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal and Festival Favorites sections will be announced on Saturday, March 17. The Headliner Audience Award will follow on Monday, March 19, 2012.
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Short Film Jury Awards
NARRATIVE SHORTS
Winner: The Chair
Director: Grainger David
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Winner: CatCam
Director: Seth Keal
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Winner: Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared
Directors: Rebecca Sloan & Joseph Pelling
SXGLOBAL SHORTS
Winner: The Perfect Fit
Director: Tali Yankelevich
ANIMATED SHORTS
Winner: (notes on) biology
Director: Danny Madden
MUSIC VIDEOS
Winner: Battles, “My Machines”
Director: DANIELS
TEXAS SHORTS
Winner: Spark
Director: Annie Silverstein
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS
Winner: Boom
Director: Daniel Matyas & Brian Broder
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SXSW Film Design Awards presented by iStockphoto
EXCELLENCE IN POSTER DESIGN
Winner: Man & Gun
Designer: Justin Cox
Special Jury Recognition: Pitch Black Heist
Designer: Andrew Cranston
Audience Award Winner: The Maker
Designer: Christopher Kezelos
EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Winner: Les Bleus de Ramville
Designer: Jay Bond, Oily Film Company Inc.
Special Jury Recognition: X-Men: First Class
Designer: Simon Clowes, Prologue Films
Audience Award Winner: Bunraku
Designer: Guilherme Marcondes, Hornet Inc.
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SXSW Special Awards
SXSW WHOLPHIN AWARD
Winner: The Black Balloon
Director: Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie
SXSW CHICKEN & EGG EMERGENT NARRATIVE WOMAN DIRECTOR AWARD
Winners: Megan Griffiths for Eden and Amy Seimetz for Sun Don’t Shine
LOUIS BLACK “LONE STAR” AWARD
Winner: Bernie
Director: Richard Linklater
Special Jury Recognition: Trash Dance
Director: Andrew Garrison
KAREN SCHMEER FILM EDITING FELLOWSHIP
Presented to: Lindsay Utz
About SXSW Film
The SXSW® Film Conference and Festival is a uniquely creative environment featuring the dynamic convergence of talent, smart audiences and industry heavyweights. A hotbed of discovery and interactivity, the event offers invaluable networking opportunities and immersion into the art and business of the rapidly evolving world of independent film.
The Film Conference buzzes as world-class speakers, creative minds, and notable mentors tackle the latest filmmaking trends amidst the unmatched social atmosphere of the SXSW experience. Simultaneously, the internationally acclaimed, nine-day Festival celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent, featuring a truly diverse program that includes provocative documentaries, subversive comedies, DIY narratives, genre standouts and more. SXSW Film is proud to be an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards Short Film competition. The Best Narrative Short and Best Animated Short winners become eligible for the Academy Awards.
For more information, visit http://www.sxsw.com/film.
2012 Festival Sponsors
The SXSW Film Conference and Festival is sponsored by Miller Lite, Chevrolet, IFC, Brisk, PepsiCO, Monster Energy, Freecreditscore.com, Esurance, AT&T, Dell and The Austin Chronicle.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
