Day 2’s offerings were better even though the logistical limitations of the Drafthouse South began to show through. Several movies started late and were subjected to technical problems.

Snow Queen – short film about a how a girl copes by retreating into a cold emotionless fantasy world where she is the Snow Queen. There is promise in the talent behind this piece, but the film is short in emotional depth and short in it’s eventual payoff.

Inside – Jeff Mahler, the writer/director of Inside, is no stranger to the Austin movie fan scene and it felt right that his debut film would show here. Mahler will surely find it easy to find it easy to get funding for his next film, but Inside suffers from it’s limited funding and a subsequent shallow performance of the cast.

Microgravity – This was just confusing…but beautiful. It’s a short film about the trevails of a female cosmonaut, the sole inhabitant of an orbiting pod. The idea that lonliness really warps your time flow came through loud and clear.

Tideland – This movie delivered on all cylinders from it’s creator and is a complete failure. If I could make the best mud and twig pie with the flakiest crust, you still wouldn’t want to eat it. The sparse moments where the film drops into it’s fantasy realms shows Terri Gilliam’s real strengths, but the incredibly uncomfortable nature of the rest of it earns a new subtitle for the film: Harmony Korine’s Tideland (or maybe Todd Solondz’s Tideland).

Crooked Mick of The Speedwah – based on a children’s short story, this hyper-realistic blend of live action and animation has a glowing quality. If you have a chance, I highly recommend it.

Gamerz – last year one of the best festival films was a Scottish film with teenage actors and this year’s first great film could be described similarly. Instead of zombie dorks, these are dorks who play role-playing games. The mix of fantasy animation along with a slew of intepersonal relationship issues makes for a magnetic film. Also, be sure to check out
who did much of the music.

Midnight Movies – This review of the revolution of film programming that opened doors for out-of-the-mainstream filmmakers is actually kind of boring. I would only recommend it for the cinephile who is interested in seeing David Lynch, John Waters, Richard O’Brien and other key players in this revolution.