The annual gathering of webheads, indie filmmakers and indie musicians for the three overlapping festivals known as South By South West creates a mind swamping convergence of creativity and prognostication for anyone lucky enough to attend all three. I just love the overflow of ideas and creative output that I find there.

Film-wise, I saw some excellent trends that will hopefully prosper over the next couple years. First and foremost is the increasing skill that cinematographers are exhibiting with hi-def cameras. We have had so many under/over lit hd films come into our office over the past 18 months I don't even want to try and count. Many times these films would have had a chance in the marketplace but they just weren't up to snuff technically. At South By, what I saw was one expertly photographed (videographed?) film after another. Two titles that stand out in this regard are Humboldt County and Cook County. I know, I know. Two films about counties? Yep, and they both have a lot to say for themselves too.

A second trend that became readily apparent was the increased quality of the acting. Sometimes they were up and coming pros with a short track record and sometimes they were total unkowns. But over and over again I was blown away by their performances. This development underscores just how important it is to cast the best actors possible for the part. That sounds obvious enough, but there are countless indie films that were never picked up because of bad acting. There are no do-overs if your lead sinks pivotal scenes in your film. The filmmakers at SXSW took this reality to heart and casted their films with committed actors who just throw down for the story.

The third trend that needs to be mentioned is the diverse subject matter in many of these feature films. SXSW has always been a champion of "regional cinema" and this year's offerings really highlight the benefits of this approach. We could and probably should get into what regional cinema means in this day and age. But for now, I'll just point out that the films I saw at SXSW all had a tremendous sense of place, whether it was Philadelphia, or Texas or Northern California. While bad films can be made anywhere, I do think that the better films I saw at SXSW all benefited from being made away from the NY/Hollywood axis. Their sense of place definitely contributed to believable and often very moving stories. Three films that stood out in this regard are; Cook County (Rural Texas), Bootleg Wisconsin (guess) and The New Year Parade (Philadelphia). I for one love seeing films from different parts of the US. It's a wild and amazing country that we live in and it really is the challenge of independent filmmakers to tell the stories that Hollywood ignores. My week in Austin has pleasantly reminded me that this challenge has been embraced.

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