by Larry Richman
March 16, 2008 6:08 PM

The 2008 SXSW Film Festival has come to an end and it's time to take stock of the experience. I saw a total of 19 films including 13 World Premieres. All have been reviewed here on this blog.

One film was not officially part of the festival, The Wackness. It had its World Premiere at Sundance and will be released by Sony Pictures Classics on July 3, so I'll exclude it from consideration.

As I do following every film festival (24 since the start of 2006), I'll wrap up by selecting my favorites. I don't always list narrative features and documentaries separately -- it depends on the lineup. This year there were many docs on my list and several were exceptional, so I'll choose three Top Picks in each category.

Here is my list of Top Picks from the 2008 SXSW Film Festival (in alphabetical order). Titles are linked to their respective reviews:

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Dance of the Dead
Explicit Ills
Otis

DOCUMENTARIES

Body of War
FrontRunners
The Wrecking Crew

Otis is due to be released on DVD by Warner Home Video on June 10. Body of War will open nationwide in April. None of the others have U.S. distribution yet. I'll be following their progress as always. Stay tuned!

In awards announced on the final day of the festival, Explicit Ills went on to win the Special Jury Award for Cinematography and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.