News

SXSW Film Review

blacktino

Complete Coverage of SXSW Film 2011

Director & Writer: Aaron Burns

Sad, fat, black, latino, nerd. It doesn’t get any worse than that.

Cast: Austin Marshall, Devyn Ray, Tiger Sheu, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey

(World Premiere)

Who’S It For?: I would only recommend blacktino to people who need to learn how not to make a film. If there was a way for me to show this to Aaron Burns four years ago, he’d be my first victim.

Overall

Writer/director/editor/future-movie-director-deity Aaron Burns overindulges on his technical pride and makes blacktino morbidly bloated in the process. Whole subplots serve little purpose to whatever the main plot could possibly be (the story goes from Point A to Point Hat to Point Water Faucet). The film’s attention span is minimal, spurring onto extended sequences/tangents (a party scene, a store robbery, a day-trip...

I think I can safely say IFC covered the crap out of South by Southwest 2011. Stephen Saito and I reviewed over fifteen films and interviewed over forty filmmakers during our ten days in Austin. That's way more films covered than hours either of us slept. Here now is a complete archive of everything we did: reviews, video interviews, and print interviews. At the bottom, you'll also find mine and Stephen's picks for the five best films at this year's SXSW. Enjoy. I know we did.

Reviews

"Attack the Block," directed by Joe Cornish

"The Beaver," directed by Jodie Foster

"Bellflower," directed by Evan Glodell

"Bridesmaids," directed by Paul Feig

"Convento," directed by Jarred Alterman

"The Fp," directed by The Brothers Trost

"The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," directed by Morgan Spurlock

"Insidious," directed by James Wan

"Last Days Here," directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton

"The Other F Word," directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins

"Paul,...

SXSW film review

blacktino

complete coverage of SXSW Film 2011

Director & Writer: Aaron Burns

Sad, fat, black, latino, nerd. It doesn’t get any worse than that.

Cast: Austin Marshall, Devyn Ray, Tiger Sheu, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey

(World Premiere)

Who’S It For? I really couldn’t say. Perhaps if you are a fan of student films that have a somewhat different slant on things and grab actors of all talents, then maybe blacktino is your cup of tea.

Overall

Last year at SXSW I saw a documentary about China set before the Olympics arrived. When push came to shove, that’s what I would say was the worst film I had ever seen at SXSW. That was really unfair though. I was exhausted, and the pace was not what I expected. That’s not the case with blacktino. I was ready. This movie is not.

This is supposed...

On Friday night, Austin-based filmmaker Aaron Burns brought his first feature-length film, blacktino, to the Paramount Theatre for its world premier. It was an event worthy of SXSW opening night. A food truck was parked on 7th Street, giving out free tacos to the crowd. A photo backdrop was setup for people to take pictures. Even the director was out -- buzzing a bit from opening-night adrenaline -- walking the line and greeting the enthusiastic crowd.

The movie started late, due to delays in seating, but once it did the crowd was no less enthusiastic. Every credit was given a loud cheer. If they showed those awful "FBI warnings" before cinema films, I think even that would have gotten applause. This clearly was a hometown crowd rooting for the home team. They even applauded a shot of the Austin skyline, later in the film.

Blacktino is a dark teen comedy...

Blacktino is a quirky dark comedy about a half black and latino theater geek named Stefan Daily and is the directorial debut of Austin filmmaker Aaron Burns.

The Set-up

Stefan Daily is raised by his grandmother since being abandoned by his movie producer father and drug addicted mother. Uncomfortable and unsure of himself his only refuge is in the theater department of his high school and his best friend Laura (Devyn Ray). As he deals with trying to be accepted by the other students and the trials of his family life he finds hope in his passion for theatre.

The Good

The movie is sprinkled with humorous beats that hit the mark and is also supported by the performance of Stefan’s best friend Laura (Ray). She delivers as his trusty sidekick/ love interest throughout the film even as he repeatedly makes poor choices and seeks the approval from a...

Rating: 2/5

Writer/Director: Aaron Burns

Cast: Austin Marshall, Devyn Ray, Tiger Sheu, Michelle Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey

The debut feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, Blacktino plays out like Precious: Based On The Novel “Push” By Sapphire if it was a pilot for a sitcom and took place in Austin, Texas, and that’s not a good thing. It certainly might not help that the film had its world premiere at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival in the iconic Paramount Theatre, where an audience full of friends of the cast and crew were giving the film a little more biased love than it really deserved. It’s not without its bright spots however, namely the breakout performance of Devyn Ray who plays Laura, our main character’s best friend.

Read more on SXSW 2011 Review: Blacktino…...

I hate writing scathing reviews of small, homemade independent films. It's like kicking a puppy in half in front of a preschool class. Films like these aren't going to get theatrical releases. And, from the overwhelming chorus of "Whooos!" that constantly burst from the capacity crowd at the Paramount Theatre, this is truly a labor of love. But, as much as I want to champion small film, this was not a good movie. Or maybe it gets better in the latter half, because I couldn't even fucking last to the end. I rarely walk out of films. I stay to the bitter, bitter end, enduring far weaker plots and premises. But for some reason, blacktino just fed me up. My expectations might have been heightened -- I was expecting some form of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I wanted Junot Diaz, and that's not what was happening.

South by Southwest has a whole section of the festival devoted to local films and filmmakers called Lone Star States. Its lineup this year includes "Five Time Champion" starring Betty Buckley, "My Sucky Teen Romance" from 18-year-old filmmaker (and subject of past SXSW doc "Zombie Girl") Emily Hagins, and "Blacktino" from Austin native Aaron Burns. It's the story of a half-black, half-Latino high school nerd (played by Austin Marshall and inspired in part by Burns' own life as a half-black, half-Latino high school nerd himself) and it was all shot here in Austin. The film also features cameos and supporting performances from a few Austin locals and favorites you might recognize like Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, and Danny Trejo. If you're wondering how Burns got such an amazing cast, he did have a bit of help: his executive producer (and real-life mother) is Elizabeth Avellan from Troublemaker Studios.

Here's our chat with Burns,...

Blacktino is nothing short of revolutionary. As a crowdpleaser, it’s so frank about diversity, the notion is reduced to its smallest unit: the individual. Aaron Burns has crafted a rich and lively human comedy blending the dead pan of Napoleon Dynamite (and the better films it influenced, arguably including Juno) and the rich humanity of Mike Leigh.

Austin Marshall is Stefan Daily, an overweight kid whose African American mother is chasing demons unmentioned while his estranged Hispanic father is a Hollywood producer whose latest film is an action adaptation of Citizen Kane, starring Michelle Rodriguez as Citizen Jane.

Stefan’s best friend, Laura (Devyn Ray) is a goth girl –with a valid reason to be, she calls Stefan “Urkle” – after Steve Urkle’s alter ego (there’s another hilarious Family Matters reference a few scenes later). Stefan does not have an easy life: being both bi-racial in a school...

"Whoooaaa nerd alert!" Perhaps the new Napoleon Dynamite, or perhaps something else entirely, the first official trailer for the indie comedy blacktino (yes it's titled lowercase) from Texan filmmaker Aaron Burns recently debuted on Vimeo (via /Film). You may remember hearing about this before, as it was part of some odd viral campaign with Michelle Rodriguez at Fantastic Fest last year, but now we know what it is. Austin Marshall stars as an "overweight half-black, half-hispanic nerd" named Stefan who's struggling to fit in at his high school. This looks like it has a lot of charm and whit, I'm very much looking forward to it. Enjoy! Watch the first official trailer for Aaron Burns' blacktino: A dark teen comedy about an overweight half-black, half-hispanic nerd named Stefan Daily. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, he finds sanctuary amongst the social outcasts in the theatre department.

The Blacktino Movie Trailer has premiered. Aaron Burns‘ Blacktino (2011) stars Austin Marshall, Danny Trejo, Devyn Ray, Jeff Fahey, and Daryl Sabara. Blacktino‘s plot synopsis: “a dark teen comedy about an overweight half-black, half-hispanic nerd named Stefan Daily. He was raised by his black grandmother in a medium sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school’s Theatre Department. In the tradition of the great teen comedies of the last thirty years ‘blacktino’ will ensure that the torch of ‘teen angst’ continues to burn bright.” This looks really good. It’s about time we got a teen film this film season that deals with real teen issues in a non-Disney, After School Special way. The last film I saw of this pedigree was Afterschool. The relationship between Stepfan Daily...

I really tried to find a suitable header pic for this post, but the film is enough under the radar that the only things that come up under the search for "blacktino" on Google image search are of nude men of a certain ethnicity and pictures of Danny Trejo. So you get Danny Trejo, because he's Danny Trejo. And to be fair, he steals the trailer with his "what are your intentions with my daughter?" line. If acting stops working out for Trejo he could make a solid living standing in for dads to meet their daughters' first boyfriends.

blacktino tells the story of a biracial overweight nerd in an Austin high school. He enters in a contest to write a script for the school play, and all manner of quirky characters ensue around him. Look, the trailer's not bad, it's just that it systematically hits every note on the...

[1] "In the history of TV, there were, like, two: Urkel and Carlton Banks. Well, I mean, four, if you count the Reading Rainbow guy and his Star Trek character." So begins the trailer for director Aaron Burns' feature film debut blacktino (yes, the B is uncapitalized on purpose), which deals with a type rarely seen in pop culture: the black nerd. Or the half-black, half-Latino nerd, to be more precise. The film stars newcomer Austin Marshall as biracial geek Stefan Daily, as he struggles to fit in at his Austin-area high school. Going by this two-minute spot, I'd say blacktino looks like an unusually smart, witty teen comedy. Watch the trailer and read the synopsis after the jump. [via Vimeo [2]] The story of an oddball finding his place among other oddballs is a tried and true one -- a similar theme appears in the Lemon Lima trailer [3] I posted last week,...

The first trailer has arrived for the upcoming indie comedy Blacktino, which will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 21, at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX. Click on the video below for your first glimpse at stars Austin Marshall, Michelle Rodriguez, and Danny Trejo as they attempt to contend with being black, Mexican, and nerdy.

Click to watch Blacktino Trailer!

Back in September we reported on a mysterious new trailer and poster for a movie called Citizen Jane, which seems to be tied into this indie Blacktino. clickHere to watch the trailer for Citizen Jane and to check out the poster, which features Michelle Rodriguez.

Blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight half-black, half-latino nerd named Stefan Daily. He was raised by his black grandmother in a medium sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school,...

I posted a teaser for this about 2 weeks ago that revealed very little… now here’s a full trailer that reveals a lot!

Once again… blacktino is 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 on films like Grindhouse, and Machete.

Synopsis: “blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight black Latino nerd named Stefan Daily, who was raised by his African American grandmother in a medium-sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school’s Theatre Department.”

Newcomer Austin Marshall stars as Stefan, and he’s surrounded by a cast that includes a few familiar names/faces, like Danny Trejo and Jeff Fahey.

The film will make...

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,...

Not my words! I lifted the above tag-line directly from the trailer below.

I profiled the film earlier today, as an official selection of the 2011 South By Southwest Film Festival. Here’s all the info again:

blacktino is 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 on films like Grindhouse, and Machete.

Synopsis: “blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight black Latino nerd named Stefan Daily, who was raised by his African American grandmother in a medium-sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school’s Theatre Department.”

Newcomer Austin Marshall stars as Stefan, and he’s surrounded by a cast that includes a few familiar names/faces,...

‘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.

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...

This is a profile I posted last September, when I first learned about the film; give today’s announcement that it will premiere at the South By Southwest Film Festival next month, I thought I’d post it again, for those who may have missed it.

blacktino is 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 on films like Grindhouse, and Machete.

Synopsis: “blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight black Latino nerd named Stefan Daily, who was raised by his African American grandmother in a medium-sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school’s Theatre Department.”

Newcomer Austin Marshall (pictured below-right) stars as Stefan, and...

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...

blacktino is 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 on films like Grindhouse, and Machete.

Synopsis: blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight black Latino nerd named Stefan Daily, who was raised by his African American grandmother in a medium-sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school’s Theatre Department.

Newcomer Austin Marshall (pictured below-right) stars as Stefan, and he’s surrounded by a cast that includes a few familiar names/faces, like Danny Trejo and Jeff Fahey, along with Selma Pinkard, Devyn Ray, Tiger Sheu, Leon Washington, Denise Williamson, Bryan Jackson, Conrad Gonzales, Timeca Seretti, and Daryl Sabara.

The film is currently in post-production.