AUSTIN - SXSW does funny things to me.
For instance: I've never lived in Austin. But I've come to appreciate the city's cultural vibe over my past two decades of visiting regularly, and now, when SX rolls around with an increasingly unwieldy human zoo in tow, I feel like the old man telling the kids to get off my lawn.
Even though it's not actually my lawn.
I was there Friday through Monday, the peak days for SXSW Film and Interactive. (The music, which started this whole party off back in 1987, began Tuesday.) I took in all the tech startup hacks hawking free energy drinks and breakfast tacos. I nearly bumped into my share of meandering pedestrians fixated on their cell phones. I navigated the sea of drunks, those on foot (generally harmless if loud) and those behind the wheel (amateur hour). I observed the thickets of traffic that turned navigating the downtown area into a fool's errand.
Throughout those four days, the only place I wasn't wrapped in Antonioni-strength layers of modern ennui was in a one darkened theater or another absorbed in a film or waiting for one to start.
Breathing.
Sometimes I feel like I've written a variation on the same SXSW column for the past five years or so. During that time SXSW Interactive has exploded, though people in the know tell me a sluggish Silicon Valley made things a little more sedate this year. (OK, so I read that on CNBC). Meanwhile, both the president (who spoke Friday) and the first lady (who spoke Tuesday) joined the action, which added a whole new "Spot the Secret Service agents" element to the mix.
Look, it's hardly news that SXSW has lost its chill.
The shark has been jumped, captured, carved up and served as soup. So you brave the garish elements and poke around for some good art.
The most positive byproduct of the SX explosion? The film programming has never been stronger, from big-ticket items to local goods. Midnight Special, a taut, metaphysical sci-fi thriller starring Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton and a promising youngster named Jaeden Lieberher, had it's North American Premiere at the Paramount Saturday night. The previous night brought the world premiere of Everybody Wants Some!! Both directors, Midnight's Jeff Nichols and Everybody's Richard Linklater, are Austin residents who made it outside the bubble of weird and enjoy giving their city some shine.
Clay Liford also calls Austin home, even though the Berkner High School graduate grew up in Richardson. His new feature, Slash, is a disarmingly generous portrait of a sexually confused teen (Michael Johnston) who tries on a new identity in the world of online erotic fan fiction. It's a reminder that SXSW still has plenty of room for lower profile creativity to go with the major splashes.
I like my craziness more on the screen than on the sidewalks. My preferences, of course, won't make SXSW more manageable anytime soon.
In the meantime, get off my lawn.
