A young woman is abducted and seemingly brainwashed via an organic material harvested from a specific orchid. She later meets a man and after the two fall for each other, they come to realize he may also have been subjected to the same process. The two search urgently for a place of safety within each other and struggle to assemble the fragments of their wrecked lives as they are unknowingly drawn into the life cycle of a presence that permeates the microscopic world, moving to nematodes, plant life, livestock, and back again.
Young Malawian William Kamkwamba teaches himself to build a power-generating windmill from junk parts, successfully rescuing his family from poverty and famine. He becomes an energy icon for the developing world and meets American entrepreneur and mentor Tom Rielly, who helps him imagine a new future. Fame, opportunity, stress, and isolation follow his invention, and his life is transformed. As William struggles with the potential of his promising future, he privately yearns to distance himself from his windmill, that which made him famous.
This short film,followed by a short performance by Ray Benson and band members, chronicles the improbable four-decade transformation of a group of ragtag hippies into today's status as Texas cultural icons. From the early days in Paw Paw, WV to the big breaks in San Francisco, settling permanently in Austin, and then on to each of the unpredicted come-backs through the years, the story culminates in a triumphant 2010 concert that reunites the "family" for its 40th anniversary.
Metal-loving gamer geek, Scott Weidemeyer, lives with his ornery grandmother and works a lousy job at a donut shop. But every Tuesday night, he is the omnipotent Game Master, guiding his role-players through a tabletop journey of fantasy and adventure. However, when neo-nerd hipster Miles joins his game, Scott begins to resent the admiration Miles receives from the other players. To make matters worse, the health of his grandmother begins to falter, and his estranged mother visits town, reminding Scott of a childhood he'd just as soon forget.
Wild Records is an LA indie music label comprised of young, Hispanic musicians, and run by Irishman, Reb Kennedy. Wild is an unconventional family, reminiscent of the early days of Sun Records, all of its musicians write and perform 50's Rock 'n' Roll. If Wild is going to continue to grow and reach broader audiences, its current business model will cease to work. Reb isn't familiar with modern industry tools such as; websites and social media, and he’s miles behind the times with things like iTunes.
Set in a crumbling black-and-white futuristic metropolis, void of creativity and color, the city is traversed by The Gold Sparrow and her nefarious side kick, The Ring Leader. Together they scour the gray-scale streets, stealing the color from anyone daring enough to bring art back into their bleak world. Our heroes, The Strongman, The Fool, and The Monk, perform in the streets as they are hunted. The two sides clash through intense chase scenes and battles for the souls of our artists.
Too happy-go-lucky for the earnest fans of roots music, too plaid and pragmatic for the hippies, too old and hairy for the mainstream, too young to be called legends. Sound like friends of yours? For nearly two decades, the Gourds have been the musical distillation of Austin itself: A label-defying, unpretentious, gregarious gang of friends whose primary motive is to have fun create great music together.
"Sake-Bomb" is a cocktail created by dropping a shot of sake into a pint of beer. It's also a comedic road movie about a sarcastic Asian American and his Japanese cousin. Sebastian is a bitter, self-deprecating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles. He is recently dumped by his girlfriend and on the look out for someone new. When his cousin Naoto, a naive sake maker from Japan, shows up to find his own ex-girlfriend, Sebastian takes him to northern California to find her. They are a clash of cultures waiting to happen. Someone has to break first.
"The Other Dave" tells the story of David Manning, whose life was changed the day he was struck by lightning. Now fully disabled, the story centers on the changes in Dave after the lightning strike, primarily his new altered perception of reality.
Kendrick is a young, black calf roper grafting through the local, all-white rodeo circuits of the southern United States. Soft spoken and gentlemanly, roping is Kendrick’s singular focus, his ‘good addiction’. He practices long into the night and is happiest when he is on the road to a competition. Before each rodeo he prays for the safety of his horse and himself, and to win a check. Ever since he was a boy he has dreamed to one day making it to the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. This is the beginning of that story.
