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It's hard to make a movie as good as "Turkey Bowl" precisely because it looks so easy. It's just a 65 minute film told in real time about the annual football game between a bunch of old college buddies, right? Wrong. Think of all the nearly invisible elements that had to go right. The continuity in every shot has to match, from the quality and color of the lighting to the spreading sweat stains on the player's shirts. Each play had to be diagramed and executed, and re-executed from every necessary angle, and then edited together to tell the story not only of the game but of all the rivalries, friendships, and feuds playing out on its sidelines. The only reason "Turkey Bowl" looks easy is because director Kyle Smith executed it with the skill and finesse of a Pro Bowl quarterback.

Smith -- who, full disclosure, went to school with...

Director: Kyle P. Smith Writer: Kyle P. Smith Starring: Morgan Beck, Adam Benic, Kerry Bishé, Troy Buchanan, Tom Dimenna, Zeke Hawkins, Zoe Perry, Jon Schmidt, Bob Turton, Sergio Villarreal It is the middle of the Summer and it is time for the Turkey Bowl; the winner even gets a Butterball turkey. A group of eight post-grad friends take off from their respective jobs and get together and play touch football once a year...and this year two strangers join them. There seems to be a lot of tension going on within the group. Apparently, this is one of those events that past friends get together on a yearly basis merely out of a sense of obligation and possibly to keep track of one another even after they have grown apart. They might recollect why they were once friends (if they ever were), but it is very clear that their lives have since changed.

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.

Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.

I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...

‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011

Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.

With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.

The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.

(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)

Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.

Narratives:

The Beaver (World Premiere)

Dir.

Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.

Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.

The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.

SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup

Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.

"Win Win," starring Paul Giamatti, left, and Alex Shaffer, will screen at SXSW

Aimée Lagos’ thriller “96 Minutes,” starring Brittany Snow; Chris Eyre’s “A Year in Mooring” and “American Animal” from writer-director Matt D’Elia are among the films that will screen in competition at next month’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

These films will be joined in the Headliners section by Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan in Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win,” Takashi Miike’s “13 Assassins,” Rainn Wilson in “Super” and others previously announced including Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” Greg Mottola’s “Paul,” the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” from director Rodman Flender, and the opening-night world premiere of Duncan Jones’ “Source Code.”

The following are highlights from the lineup announced Wednesday, with descriptions provided by the festival.

Narrative Feature Competition “96 Minutes”

Director, Writer: Aimée Lagos

Four young lives. One night. One terrifying event.

"Win Win," starring Paul Giamatti, left, and Alex Shaffer, will screen at SXSW

Aimée Lagos’ thriller “96 Minutes,” starring Brittany Snow; Chris Eyre’s “A Year in Mooring” and “American Animal” from writer-director Matt D’Elia are among the films that will screen in competition at next month’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

These films will be joined in the Headliners section by Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan in Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win,” Takashi Miike’s “13 Assassins,” Rainn Wilson in “Super” and others previously announced including Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” Greg Mottola’s “Paul,” the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” from director Rodman Flender, and the opening-night world premiere of Duncan Jones’ “Source Code.”

The following are highlights from the lineup announced Wednesday, with descriptions provided by the festival.

Narrative Feature Competition “96 Minutes”

Director, Writer: Aimée Lagos

Four young lives. One night. One terrifying event.

The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.

There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.

There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.

The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.

See the complete lineup below via...

The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.

Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).

There might be...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 11 - 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.

"This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year's event," says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. "SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for films that are the seedlings of the next generation of must-see artists. This year's line up is full of emerging voices and filmmakers who transcended the resources they had on hand, often with an alchemist's touch."

Over the course of nine days, 130 features will...