AFS Presents SXSW Film @ 25

Spring is finally in the air, and so is the familiar feeling of anticipation before SXSW. As Austinites prepare for the annual festival city takeover, AFS Cinema has announced a season of award-winning SXSW films. So, whether you are nostalgic with SX memories, or excited for what the upcoming festival season holds, check out these legendary titles, and what the Chronicle said at the time:

45365

(2009 Grand Jury Award)
The debut film from director brothers Bill and Turner Ross takes audiences to Sidney, Ohio (ZIP code: 45365) in a series of segments from the everyday lives of townsfolk stitched together with no beginning and no end. As the Chronicle pointed out, "it's what's said in the silences that makes the film so incredibly fascinating, funny, magical, and ultimately moving."

Fri., March 2, 7:30pm.

Audience of One

(2007 Documentary Feature Special Jury Award)
The story of Pentecostal preacher Richard Gazowsky and his complex mission from God to produce a one-of-a-kind biblical sci-fi feature as grand as Star Wars. Director Michael Jacobs told the Chronicle, "I love characters like these. You couldn't make them up. They deserve to be celebrated."

Sat., March 3, 2pm.

Attack the Block

(2011 Midnight Feature Audience Award)
Teenagers from a London housing project form unlikely alliances as they become the protectors of their neighborhood from an alien invasion. According to Chronicle reviewer Marjorie Baumgarten, "The realities of sex, race, class, and gang divisions all factor into the story but smartly remain steady undercurrents rather than driving forces."

Sat., March 3, 10:00pm.

Weekend

(2011 Emerging Visions Audience Award)
British director Andrew Haigh's breakout film follows the romance that blooms between two men with distinct lives over the course of one weekend, riding "the line between character study, comedy, drama, and a host of other genres without feeling cramped."

Sun., March 4, 1pm.

Sun Don't Shine

(2012 Chicken and Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award)
Amy Seimetz takes viewers on a mysterious journey through the back roads of southern Florida with an enigmatic couple (Kate Lyn Sheil and Kentucker Audley). Per Marc Savlov's review "although what this pair is running from isn't evident to the viewer at first, when the truth in the trunk is revealed, the stakes are raised and questions of sanity, truth, and love envelop the couple like a dark, starless night."

Mon., March 5, 7:30pm.

Marwencol

(2010 Jury Award)
After a bar attack left him with amnesia, Mark Hogancamp created a fictional, World War II, small-scale world with doll versions of his loved ones as a coping mechanism. Jeff Malmberg's documentary captures Hogancamp and the narratives he tells by photographing the dolls in the small town he created called Marwencol. "Within each of those stills, there is a story," Malmberg told the Chronicle. "He's living this."

Wed., March 21, 7pm.