
CAN
Filmmaker Kailee McGee shares snapshots of her innermost thoughts on her journey with breast cancer. Tongue in cheek, manic, clever, stream of consciousness, unfiltered, and hilariously meta, CAN feels revelatory. It is celebratory irreverence. McGee makes her situation relatable and palpable. She is raw and funny as hell. I would 1000% watch a feature-length version. It has that “it” factor, and McGee owns every bit of its magic.

Credits
Director: |
Kailee McGee |
|---|---|
Producer: |
JP Bolles, Kailee McGee |
Screenwriter: |
Kailee McGee |
Cinematographer: |
Patrick Jones |
Editor: |
Rich Costales, Kailee McGee |
Production Designer: |
Rose Curry |
Sound Designer: |
Travis Prater |
Music: |
Andrew Orkin |
Principal Cast: |
Kailee McGee, Mamoudou Athie, Whitmer Thomas, Ellyn Jameson, Greta Titelman, Nori Reed |
Additional Credits: |
Sound Recordist: Dave McKeever, Art Director: Tahryn Smith, Art Director: Conor Brown, Hair & Makeup: Christina Spina, Additional Editing: Mike Giambra |

MY IDEA

The video features a performer perpetually dressed in a mo-cap suit. It is what my brain imagines Andy Serkis‘ life to be in his nightmares. Alex Karpovsky delivers a charming performance. You can feel the yearning for freedom.
YATCH‘s track is super catchy. Kailee McGee proves, for the 2nd time at this year’s fest, that she possesses unbridled creativity. Reteaming with editor Rich Costales is chef’s kiss. They clearly understand each other’s vision. Give her all the jobs.
Credits
Director: |
Kailee McGee |
|---|---|
Executive Producer: |
Adam Lisagor |
Producer: |
Kailee McGee, Nichole Luna, Rich Costales |
Screenwriter: |
Kailee McGee |
Cinematographer: |
Connor Heck |
Editor: |
Rich Costales |
Production Designer: |
Tahryn Smith |
Sound Designer: |
Dave McKeever |
Music: |
YACHT |
Principal Cast: |
Alex Karpovsky, Claire L. Evans, Jona Bechtolt, Rob Kieswetter, Kailee McGee |
Additional Credits: |
Hair & Make-Up: Christina Spina, 1st AD: Jason Lawliss, Choreography: Maritza Navarro, Color by: Beau Leon, VFX: Sandwich Video, MoCap Costume by: Francesca Roth, Set Dresser: Conor Brown, Prop Master: Graham Anderson, TED Talk Script by: Claire L. Evans |




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For 26 seasons, Reading Rainbow met young viewers in their living rooms, whisking them away on far-off adventures into the boundless world of books. Inspiring and nostalgic, Butterfly in the Sky takes audiences behind the scenes of this beloved PBS children’s series and tells the story of its iconic host LeVar Burton, giving an inside look at the challenges he and the show’s creators faced in cultivating a love of reading through television. Reliving the show’s legacy is a refreshing return to the written page. But you don’t have to take our word for it.
Knox takes notes in a small notebook, a less invasive version of MOMENTO. Knowing his limited time, he manipulates the evidence of a murder. We are always one step behind him. Screenwriter Gregory Poirier dazzles with this script.
Suzy Nakamura provides levity as Detective Emily Ikari. Joanna Kulig plays Annie, Knox’s Thursday date for the past four years. Marcia Gay Harden gives us a lovely scene as Knox’s ex-wife, Ruby. Al Pacino is a dear friend and associate, Xavier, who plays the point person assisting Knox in his plan to protect his son. He elevates the story with his effortless snark and caring nature.
With a beautiful noir score, a highly effective sound mix, and slick editing, Keaton proves his legacy on both sides of the camera. The script drops clues but never explicitly lays out Knox’s plans. The audience makes assumptions and theories swirl, making the film emotionally immersive. The entire last act is an intoxicating catharsis. The pensive last shot is breathtaking. KNOX GOES AWAY will sweep you off your feet.
Fast fashion and exploitation. The popular teen brand Brandy Melville comes under the microscope in a new documentary feature premiering at SXSW 2024 Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion. In the film, former employees discuss how they got hired, the company’s everyday practices, and the fallout of their exposure.
Alison Tavel sets off on a global journey to learn more about her estranged father’s mysterious invention and, ultimately, the man himself.
Ali’s ability to disassociate makes sense. As a child of divorce when I was five years old, few memories remain. My father, like Ali’s, is still a stranger. She wrestles with differing opinions of who Don was. So many questions arise during her search. What the hell is a Resynator anyway? With all the hype surrounding its invention, why didn’t it blow up? Did depression play a part in Don’s accident?
Danny Madden’s animation transitions are charming. We experience them alongside archival audio of Don demonstrating the Resynator. Ali utilizes a unique device in narrating the film in the form of a letter to her father, which makes more sense when a box arrives from her aunt. Her most poignant discovery comes in the form of long-lost letters from her father, found in the basement after the passing of her grandmother. 
Annick Blanc gives SXSW 2024 audiences something to chew on with HUNTING DAZE, a genre-defying tale of isolation, pack mentality, and self-preservation. Exotic dancer Nina finds herself stuck and calls upon a former client for roadside assistance. Without transport, he brings her back to an isolated cabin in the wilderness. Upon discovering it is a bachelor party, the eclectic group of men agrees to let her stay the weekend if, and only if, she can abide by an “all for one’ mentality.
Director Shannon Walsh shares the extraordinary love story between an artist and his larger-than-life wife. SXSW 2024 audiences discover the legacy of Adrianne and Alan St. George. This documentary is a tale of adoration, art, and Adrianne.
Herein lies the challenge for Alan and Shannon. How do you do justice to such a love story? Experimental musical interludes, Adrianne’s Doll Room, quirky home movies, and the ever-expanding house that grows like a whimsical version of The Winchester House. The mansion is an explosion of color, lavish draping fabrics, sculptures, and murals, all featuring Adrianne and Alan’s likenesses. It is Versailles meets Grimm’s Fairytales, each room mirroring a slice of her exuberant persona. She was and remains Alan’s muse for all things. 
SXSW 2024 audiences are in for a real WTF documentary in Jonathan Ignatius Green‘s DICKWEED. In 2012, a wild kidnapping in the middle of the night led to torture, mystery, and one man’s loss of his, let’s say, manhood. The ensuing wild goose chase and brazen criminal actions challenge all involved. Police had no idea what kind of mastermind they were dealing with.
In SXSW 2024 doc AN ARMY OF WOMEN, a group of rape survivors in Austin, Texas, fight relentlessly for accountability. 



Dr. Franklin Caul has created a simulated consciousness with the dead. The DOJ wants it, but Caul has ulterior motives. The tech uses data from the deceased to have conversations or seek answers. In the mix is a swirl of overlapping thoughts and confusion that get under your skin. You cannot help but listen to them, and they are chilling. Caul observes that when suicide is the cause of death, the deterioration of self slows.
What might sound crazy is that this tech already exists. Customers can pay several different companies worldwide to build an AI version of their past loved ones. A recent Sundance documentary, 





Thomas Walton‘s CAMP PLEASANT LAKE centers around a horror camp created based on a 20-year-old legend of a missing child and the brutal murder of her family on their way to the very same camp.
Christopher Sky is the former vile camper turned Camp of Terror counselor, Mike. He is a sufficient asshole and you will revel in his inevitable demise. Jonathan Lipnicki is hands down the best part of CAMP PLEASANT LAKE. His unfettered commitment to the role is genuinely awesome.
It is evident the film is made by genre fans. Practical fx are bloody good, even if the pace and dialogue drag. The kills get better as the plot rolls along. I did wish the variety of attendees had been more eclectic. At $10k each, I was looking for fewer numbers and more development of these characters because the possibilities were endless.
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