The third annual SXSW Gaming Awards are going down March 19 and the finalists in each category, including Game of the Year have been announced.
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Welp. After announcing a run of headline dates through the US and Europe, Iggy Pop and Josh Homme will be stopping by Austin for a special show for SXSW Music. Pop and Homme will perform at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on March 16th, bringing their new collab album Post Pop Depression to life…
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Easily one of the most well-known and important producers in pop and rock music, Tony Visconti will be heading to Austin in March to deliver a no doubt must see keynote speech at SXSW Music. For the first time in its history, the music conference will be offering multiple keynote speakers and today, Visconti’s spot…
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Ahead of the 23rd annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference Festival in Austin, Texas this March, a handful of films set to screen have been revealed, including four World Premieres. This includes Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, directed by John Lee and produced by Judd Apatow and Paul Reubens featuring Pee-wee Herman on a new adventure, produced…
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Written and directed by Richard Linklater in his first film since the critical sensation Boyhood, Everybody Wants Some follows a group of college baseball players in the 1980’s as they adjust to the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adult life for the first time. It’s being dubbed as the “spiritual sequel” to his classic film Dazed and Confused (1993)…
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A huge round of names have been added to SXSW Music program, featuring artists from all corners of the globe. The Australian contingent continues to become a well-rounded and diverse one for the festival next year, with alt-country, rock, electro and more being represented. Amid the new round of artists being announced today, SXSW Music…
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SXSW is beginning to unveil its roster of artists set to perform at the 2016 Music event in Austin, Texas and already, the 150 names revealed today indicate a great and diverse program. From Germany to Bangladesh, New Zealand to Russia and beyond, musicians are being represented across all genres, making for a great run…
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Take the title character from Dexter, throw him into a world where instead of killing the bad guys, he’s destroying their lives through digital espionage, and you start to get the vibe of the new USA Network series Mr. Robot, which had a special episode one premiere at SXSW earlier this year, ahead of its official…
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Behind the futuristic sound of East India Youth, electronic musician William Doyle has been a very busy man with a tight schedule. Having just finished a round of shows for SXSW and releasing his new album, Culture of Volume this month, he talks to us about the new record’s reception, what he enjoys about tour life and his plans for the rest…
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the AU review recently sat down with remix artist, Maya Postepski of electro-group, Austra at SXSW. The Canadian artist talked to us about her project as solo moniker, Princess Century, “It’s all the stuff I’m not allowed to do with Austra and I do in my bedroom secretly” and, addressing what this means for the…
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For those who attended SXSW this year, you’ve probably heard of the band Howard. And those who didn’t may have spotted them listed on our editor’s festival picks. The Brooklyn-based band have displayed a unique take on folk music with a cheeky, electronic twist. With the release of their debut album Religion and reaping all kinds of success from their single…
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Hello Asia editor Johnny Au caught up with the cast of US/Korean coming-of-age flick KTown Cowboys at SXSW in Austin, Texas. KTwon Cowboys made its world premiere at SXSW and Johnny caught up with director Daniel Park as well as writer Danny Cho and cast members Shane Yoon, Peter Jae, Bobby Choy, Daniel Dae Kim and…
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In Austin for the North American Premiere of the film about his own life, The Iris’ Johnny Au meets the final NASA Astronaut to step foot on the moon, Astronaut Eugene Cernan, to talk about the Documentary The Last Man on the Moon. Eugene talks about having his life documented in conversation with Johnny, the…
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Earlier this month, ahead of its May release in Australia and in the US, the new action-comedy Spy had a premiere screening at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Though seemingly unorthodox for a major release (and a mainstream comedy at that) to see a public screening so far in advance of its release,…
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When it comes to true music icons, it’s fair to say they’re a rare breed – but anyone who knows Mavis Staples will tell you: she’s in a league of her own. With some sixty five years of performances behind her – and more still to come (she’s touring Australia as we publish this piece) –…
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While at SXSW, Larry Heath sat down with NCIS: Los Angeles actress Renee Felice Smith to talk about her new short film Baby, which she served on as star and Executive Producer. The project, which premiered as one of the shorts in the Narrative Shorts Competition at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, tells the story of a…
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The Iris had the opportunity to chat to Anna Zlokovic, the director of the music video, “The Empty House,” for musician Jack Kovacs. In our exclusive interview, we talk to Anna about SXSW, recognising music videos as art, the challenges of the shoot and what it’s like working with Jack Kovacs. Anna also shares her…
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Brendan Toller is a rock and roll maniac. Having directed his first film, I Need that Record: The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store, he came into contact with many of rock and roll’s greatest figures, including the lesser known Danny Fields, who was responsible for the success of many iconic bands…
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Last month, Danish group Mew played their first US shows in six years at SXSW in anticipation of the release of their long awaited sixth full length record +- (Plus Minus). Larry Heath had the opportunity at the festival to sit down with Johan Wohlert and Jonah Bjerre of the group to talk about getting the band back together – with bassist Johan returning to the band for the first time since departing in 2006. We talk about working with American Producer Michael Beinhorn again – the pair having previously worked with him on the acclaimed And the Glass Handed Kites (2005). We talk about working with Kimbra and Russell from Bloc Party. But perhaps the most important question of all was: when will the band finally be coming to Australia?
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While at SXSW earlier this month, Larry Heath sat down with Jessica Edwards, the director and producer of Mavis! – a new documentary about the legendary Mavis Staples, who just so happens to be touring Australia as we publish this piece. The pair talk about the experiences of making this film, the icon herself and much…
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When Ryan Gosling premiered his Directorial debut Lost River to a packed house at Cannes last year, it’s fair to say the odds were stacked against him. He couldn’t have picked harsher critics to premiere his film to. This is a crowd who have rarely been fans of Actors turned Directors. Do you remember The Brave – Johnny…
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Gang culture and it’s devastating effects are never far away from the front pages of London’s newspapers. 2008 was one of the worst years for gang-related violence. The murder of Shakilus Townsend was arguably the most shocking. Honeytrap, which is based around this murder, follows Layla (Jessica Sula), the girl who would ultimately lead this young man to…
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After just finishing up after seven seasons on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Aubrey Plaza certainly hasn’t slowed down. Not only does she star in another SXSW film, Fresno, she also stars as Susan in writer/director Hal Hartley‘s film Ned Rifle. The AU Review spoke to the film’s star and writer/director about religion, Kickstarter, and all…
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“No one else had done it, so I figured…well I’ll do it!” Colin Hanks laughs, then adds: “he said naively.” Standing on the red carpet moments before the premiere of his documentary on fallen powerhouse record chain Tower records, All Things Must Pass, Hanks is characteristically calm, dressed down in a bright red checked shirt…
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Doug Sahm lived and breathed Texas music. But he was also largely unknown outside of that particular American state. Until now. The documentary film, Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove looks at the chameleon musician and gets at the heart of all of his layers of complexity. Sahm was a charismatic bloke who…
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UnReal is a TV series that will appeal to fans of Frontline or Ben Elton’s Chart Throb or Dead Famous books. The series looks at the chaotic world of filming a fictional reality dating program. It’s an insightful and honest account of the depths of manipulation that are employed by a reality show’s production staff…
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Love Has No Age should be renamed “Love Has No Boundaries”. The documentary short is a blissful romance story spanning over four decades. It’s also a beautifully-shot film and a warm slice of pure joy. The film is directed by Eli Born who has previously directed music videos for the likes of: Jack White, Iggy…
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A film about The Dull Men’s Club doesn’t scream “entertaining” but Born to Be Mild is the exact opposite of everything you think it is. The documentary short revels in celebrating the ordinary and mundane. And it’s packaged in such a warm and optimistic style and along with an upbeat soundtrack, this means it is…
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Full disclosure: Kurt Cobain has long been one of my music idols, and as a result, anything which grants any insight into his life is only going to receive the utmost of praise from me. I expected that Brett Morgen’s long in the works Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck would be no exception to this rule, but I…
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“No one ever knows what we do.” Ever wonder where those captions on your TV come from? Do you know what a court reporter is? Both utilise the invisible art of stenography – “the act or process of writing in shorthand by hand or machine” – a tradition that dates back to the time of Cicero, who developed…
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