The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication Faculty, Students and Alumni Showcase work at South by Southwest

Each March, aspiring filmmakers travel thousands of miles to the South by Southwest® Film Conference and Festival (SXSW), vying to become noticed on an international scale. The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication community, on the other hand, typically walks only a few blocks to participate in the festival. This year, Moody College's Department of Radio-Television-Film faculty, students and alumni are screening at least 11 films, participating on panels and serving as mentors at SXSW. And on Sunday, March 9, the Annual Radio-Television-Film Alumni SXSW Mixer will take place from 6-9 p.m. at Wright Bros. Brew & Brew, 500 San Marcos St.

"As SXSW has grown to become one of the premier film festivals in the country, it's so great to see the wonderful work of so many of our Radio-Television-Film alumni and our faculty, in both narrative or documentary films, featured," said Paul Stekler, chair of the Department of Radio-Television-Film. "It's a feast that gets bigger every year."

Lecturer Kat Candler's "Hellion," a feature-length drama that screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, will screen March 9 and 12 at SXSW. The film was written and directed by Candler, and co-produced by Lecturer Kelly Williams (B.S., Radio-Television-Film '99), Jonathan Duffy (B.S., Radio-Television-Film '00) and Andrew Logan (B.S., Radio-Television-Film '04). The film, which follows the struggles of a troubled teen, was pre-produced mostly by Candler and Williams' spring 2013 "Developing an Independent Feature" course. Students organized casting calls, conducted location scouts, researched distribution deals and finalized production crews. Sundance Selects announced Feb. 24 that it is acquiring the North American rights to the film.

"Arlo and Julie," a feature-length comedy that lecturer Steve Mims and his spring 2013 "Feature Film Workshop" students produced, will screen March 10-13 at SXSW. The film, which follows a couple that becomes obsessed with a jigsaw puzzle mystery, gave students an opportunity to build sets, manage production schedules and act as camera and boom mic operators.

For a complete listing of films and other SXSW events featuring Radio-Television-Film students, faculty and alumni, visit http://rtf.utexas.edu/news/rtf-2014-sxsw.