by Larry Richman
March 9, 2008 11:10 AM

Sunday at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival got off to a bit of a late start for me as the previous "evening" ran well into the morning. First, the midnight screening of The Wackness had been delayed by audio problems. This meant that the Q&A afterward would extend well past 2 AM which, due to the start of Daylight Saving Time, meant 3 AM. The theater, a few miles south of town, was a nice drive to the hotel. Bottom line: I hit the sack around 5 AM. Still, I managed to see four more films on Sunday.

My day begin at the Dobie Theater on the University of Texas campus with the U.S. Premiere of Obscene, an eye-opening documentary about legendary publisher Barney Rosset. Considered the pioneer of anti-censorship laws, Rosset, as the owner of New York-based Grove Press and the Evergreen review, was responsible for introducing some of the world's greatest authors, poets, and filmmakers to America. His name may not be well known to the public but he is a legend in the writing world.

Then it was back to the Ritz for the World Premiere of The Marconi Bros. Brendan Sexton III and Dan Fogler are Anthony and Carmine Marconi, brothers in their father's carpet business who aspire to join the wonderful world of wedding photography. It's a laugh-out-loud thrill ride which wowed the audience and was a refreshing change from the dark material so prevalent at recent festivals.

The day kicked into high gear with the World Premiere of IBID at the Alamo South Lamar. One of those "buzz" films at the festival, IBID features an ensemble cast, led by the mindboggling performance of Christian Campbell, as a group of psychiatric patients on a search for The Book in which they will write the New Commandments (ten wasn't enough). This film within a film is evocative of Kerouac and the best road movies of the late 60s and early 70s. Completely unique and original, it must be seen to be believed (or described).

Dance of the Dead was the third of the three films I spotlighted prior to the festival as potential Top Picks. Sunday night's World Premiere was one of the most exciting events I've attended in the past year. Dance of the Dead truly blew me away. It's a groundbreaking combination of high school mayhem and zombies -- think John Hughes meets John Carpenter meets George Romero. I'll have my review posted soon, along with pictures of the Q&A and my interview with lead actors Greyson Chadwick and Jared Kusnitz. A video interview I did with Kusnitz immediately following the premiere is posted now.