week 16.

1. What has been the ongoing relationship between so-called mumblecore filmmakers and the South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, TX?

Well to start off, SxSW is an industry based event, a place where musicians and filmmakers and producers and record labels can meet and talk and possibly forge connections for future projects. As a band, it is one of the funnest festivals to play all year, as well as the most rewarding in terms of the contacts and expanded fan base it generates. You play multiple stages to a wide range of audiences as well as giving interviews for most major music magazines. Although I've been to SxSW several times, we've always been so busy with interviews and performances and meetings with labels, magazines, equipment representatives and other bands that I haven't really had much time to check out the film part. The music part only last three days at the end of the festival, so we usually only have that much time budgeted into our tour schedule and don't get to hang out at the film intensive part of the festival beforehand. But from my experience, I'm guessing the relationship between mumblecore filmmakers and SxSW most likely comes from the festival's focus on new, often independent directors and non-hollywood films.


2. Broadly speaking, what characteristics define mumblecore?

Mumblecore is defined by a focus on everday life through the use of improvisation, non professional actors, digital cameras and home video style operating. They are usually low budget and reality based, using whatever is at hand rather than building elaborate sets.


3. IFC Films picked up Hannah Takes the Stairs for “day-and-date” distribution. What does this mean?

IFC films' "day-and-date" distribution means IFC selects a film and shows it both on their tv channel and on demand.


4. Which two mumblecore directors does Taubin characterize as “breakout talents,” and why?

Taubin considers Bjalski and Katz as breakout talents thanks to Bjalski's talent for writing and directing a scene so that the character's actions are of equal or greater importance than the dialogue itself, and Katz' talent for manipulating digital cameras into giving him a beautiful image as well as creating sound that blends perfectly into that image.