'SXSW Presents': 'The Dreams of Sparrows'

KLRU, The Austin Chronicle, and South by Southwest have teamed up for SXSW Presents, an independent film series airing Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 18 (Time Warner Cable Channel 9). Hosted and co-produced by SXSW Film Producer Matt Dentler, the third season of the series runs through January. This week's installment is Hayder Mousa Daffar's The Dreams of Sparrows, which, when it screened at SXSW in 2005, Marjorie Baumgarten wrote, "Wings into consciousness as an urgent document from everyday Iraq. ... With a team of several collaborators, he interviews the people of postwar Iraq, and as with any honest array of people, he comes away with a variety of insights – often conflicting. Daffar captures a portrait of a citizenry that simultaneously holds what appear to be two contradictory (at least to Americans) attitudes: gratitude to America for ridding Iraq of the iron fist of Saddam Hussein, and anger toward the American occupation for its crass self-interest. It's fascinating stuff." For more information, see Film Listings, and www.klru.org or www.sxsw.com.