The Opening Act: Making of the SXSW Film Bumpers
Always a much-anticipated part of the festival, the 30-second shorts, or bumpers, that play prior to each film can set the tone for an entire festival. They can build excitement, mood, and become talking points in their own right.
What is it like to be a filmmaker with this kind of pressure? Join 4 of this year's SXSW bumper filmmakers as they talk about the challenges of such a short space of time, how they come up with ideas and execute them and what it feels like to have their work be showcased as an always engaging and exciting opening act to SXSW Film.
Presenters
Clay Liford (writer/director) is a graduate of the University of Texas film
program (BFA). He has produced and directed three features to date, The AFI
award winning WUSS (SxSW 2011), EARTHLING (SxSW 2010) and A FOUR COURSE MEAL. His comedy short, MY MOM SMOKES WEED, has played over
thirty festivals, including the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. As a director
of photography, Clay has shot seventeen feature films, including the
multi-award winning ST. NICK (SxSW 2009).
Geoff Marslett is a filmmaker and senior lecturer at the University of Texas. In 2009 Geoff was named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine. His short films include "Monkey vs. Robot" and "Bubblecraft". Most recently he wrote and directed the feature film "MARS", directed one segment from "SLACKER 2011", and is in post production on his new feature film "Loves Her Gun".
Joe Nicolosi is an Austin-based director and multi-year SXSW Bumper veteran. He hopes to one day direct the Star Wars reboot.
Lauren Wolkstein is a NYC-based filmmaker who received her MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts. Her film CIGARETTE CANDY won the Best Narrative Short Award at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and her latest short film THE STRANGE ONES (co-directed with Chris Radcliff) premiered at Sundance and was an official selection at SXSW in 2011. She was also named one of the top twenty-five emerging filmmakers by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFP at the 2011 New York Film Festival.
Friday, March 9
