SXSW: The Fallout, Lily Topples the World, and The End of Us

 by Christopher James

Lily Topples the World won the juried Documentary Feature prize at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival.We are far enough into the 2021 SXSW Film Festival that the Jury awards have been handed out. There were a variety of awards handed out. The Narrative Feature Competition went to The Fallout, and Documentary Feature Competition went to Lily Topples the World. As premieres were lighter in these final days of the festival, today felt like the right day to give both of these winners a chance. Add in a dash of pandemic comedy, in the form of The End of Us, and you have my Day Four at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival...

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Showbiz History: Duplicity, The King and I, and the 1951 Oscars

5 random things that happened on this day, March 20th, in showbiz history...

1949 The 20th Academy Awards are held honoring the films of 1947. The anti-semitism journalism drama Gentleman's Agreement takes Best Picture with Miracle on 34th Street probably a distant second. We had so much fun discussing this year last summer and we highly recommend you watch Crossfire (which lost all five of its nominations) because it's excellent...

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what's on your cinematic mind?

We're all busy with the final couple of days of SXSW at this very moment. What are YOU watching? What's on your mind? Do tell in the comments. 

SXSW: The cost of work in "Ludi"

by Cláudio Alves

The necessity of money rules our lives. Only the chronically wealthy, blinded by the shining gold of privilege, can wave their hands in denial and say it's not important. Need delineates our lives, and hard work is often the consequence of it, obsessively so. 

For Ludi, the protagonist of Edson Jean's feature directorial debut, work is everything. How could it be any other way when there's a family, back in Haiti, to help? She's bough into the American dream, the song of hard work and just rewards. However, Ludi has failed to realize she's playing the part of Sisyphus in the story of her life…

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SXSW: How It Ends, Alien on Stage, and Violet

by Christopher James

It’s the end of the world as we know it on Day Three of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival.

The festival only continues to heat up with more great films. A buzzy first feature, documentary of a viral sensation and dramedy on the brink of apocalypse comprise my watches on Day Three. The virtual film festival continues to impress, not just in terms of the filmmaking but also in terms of organization. Aside from registration confusions, booking and watching films throughout the week continues to be seamless and stress free. Most of all, it helps make sure the films are presented in the best light possible, short of being in a physical theater...

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