DOES YOUR SOUL HAVE A COLD?
I really felt the hour of sleep we lost last night when I woke up this morning. The nice thing about SXSW is that they don't do early morning screenings. However, this means that mornings are a key time for shooting segments with available talent and directors. First up: Mike Mills, who's here with DOES YOUR SOUL HAVE A COLD? Mills and I chatted on the balcony of the convention center about shooting in Japanese with simultaneous translation, the pros and cons of anti-depressants and how to gain a subject's trust.

CLICK TO PLAY IKLIPZ VIDEO.

Interviewing Mike Mills on an overcast Austin morning

DOES YOUR SOUL HAVE A COLD?

It was chillier than expected this morning, so after grabbing a sweatshirt from my room, we headed off to Moonshine to shoot two Lunch With David segments for iklipz. Moonshine serves what I think of as the typical Texas breakfast buffet - bizarre combinations of meat and eggs such as steak wrapped in a fried egg, cheese on everything and grits in various forms. I’m sure it’s all tasty but I am a plain (aka lame) eater, so was psyched to see a basket o’biscuits. Give me my white flour and I’m a happy girl!

I spent the afternoon checking out some of the interactive panels, which I'll write about in more detail in a different post.

SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
Met up with Thom Powers, doc programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, to go see Joe Swanberg’s HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS. The two of us laughed our way through the lighthearted film about a recent college grad’s adventures in dating. Shot over a month in Chicago, the film was completely improvised and the cast consists mainly of other filmmakers. While not a perfect film, HANNAH has an energy that was infectious and got a lot of mileage from the subtle humor found in small moments. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while watching...it's the kind of film that makes you wish you'd been there during the shoot because it just seems like it must have been so much fun. Video goodies with director Swanberg and castmember Greta Gerwig coming soon…

HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS

Ran over to grab some surprisingly tasty Thai food between screenings since I hadn’t eaten all day and then headed back to the Paramount for the 9:45pm screening of WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? Produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade, the film follows the Revered Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping gospel choir on their tour across America. While I would have liked the film to go a bit deeper into the backstories of both Revered Billy and some of the members of his choir, there was no denying the effect it had on the sold out crowd at the theater. JESUS received an overwhelming standing ovation at its conclusion, and the entire theater clapped along as the choir piled onstage and gave a rousing rendition of their signature "hymn."

CLICK HERE FOR IKLIPZ VIDEO OF INTERVIEW WITH MORGAN AND REV. BILLY.

Talking with Morgan Spurlock about the "shop-acalypse" and the "change-allejuh"

BEDTIME THOUGHTS
What became abundantly clear to me today is that SXSW is several events in one, all with different flavors. The interactive is the “conference” part of the event. Full days of panels with projection screens of websites, semi-comfy chairs, lots of coffee. The panels start at 10am and take place throughout the day, ending in multiple company-sponsored happy hours at which conference goers can mingle and discuss the day’s discussions. The crowd is there to learn and network (and I’m sure to booze it up as well, but I was at screenings while that was happening).

The film is the “festival” part of the event. Screenings start at 11am and run all day and all night, with panels and parties scattered throughout. The crowd is there to be entertained, and maybe just discover the next big thing.

I’ve been told Music is just a big ol' fiest…sadly, I don't get to stay for that...