When asked to concoct a mental image of what happens when a queer or transgender person comes out of the closet, the picture tends to be somewhat harrowing: crying and gnashing of teeth, breaking of familial bonds, bold assertions of a brand new self. Sometimes this is the case, but sometimes it can also simply […]
Danny Says is a Heartfelt Attempt to Shine a Light on a Rock Pioneer
Like most collaborative art forms, music is a medium that focuses on stars at the expense of the lesser known figures who help those stars get to where they are. Sometimes behind-the-scenes figures become larger than life themselves (Phil Spector and Suge Knight are two examples who likely immediately come to mind for the wrong reasons) […]
SXSW Film 2016 Day 3 Part 2- Accidental Courtesy and Don’t Think Twice
Movies are the best, you guys. Sunday was the strongest set of films we’ve seen at the festival so far, and the two we caught, documentary Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America and Mike Birbiglia’s feature Don’t Think Twice, provided excellent tonal and thematic variety. After seeing a handful of okay-but-not-life-changing documentaries, I went […]
SXSW Film 2016 Day 3 Part 1- Accidental Courtesy and Don’t Think Twice
It’s always great when you get a day of SXSW where everything basically goes right. Despite daylight savings time interfering with a decent amount of sleep, day three of SXSW was unquestionably the best day of the festival so far. Two of the picks Kayleigh and I made in our preview guide surpassed even our high […]
SXSW Film 2016: Day 1- Silicon Cowboys and Beware the Slenderman
The first day of SXSW is always pretty slack but this year’s festivities felt unusually quiet. Part of that was likely due to the weather, which fortunately shifted away from the monsoon that preceded SXSW and merely became “Seattle in the spring” greyness. But the fact that Obama was the keynote speaker this year and […]
Top 10 Films to Catch at SXSW 2016
Loser City continues its tradition of gonzo SXSW reporting with a preview of our most anticipated films at this year’s SXSW Film festival. The selections run the gamut from magical realist Polish films to documentaries on tech pirates and KKK-befriending black musicians. In a Valley of Violence What It Is: Minimalist horror auteur Ti West […]
Hot Sugar’s Cold World is a Surprisingly Emotional Journey Through the Creative Process
Earlier this year when I caught Hot Sugar’s Cold World at SXSW, the kids I was sitting next to leaned over and asked if I was a fan of the indie producer. “I actually don’t know much about him, I just had a gap in my schedule,” I told them. “OH MY GOD! He’s a genius! […]
Revenge of the Mekons is a Loving Ode to Punk’s Greatest Unsung Heroes
You could spend a lifetime debating which first wave punk band was the most important and never approach any kind of consensus. I’ve always harbored a soft spot for the stragglers and also-rans but even with that weakness in mind, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest the Mekons as the prime […]
Anonymity’s Victims: The Amina Profile’s Chilling Incongruities
Were I a documentarian, I’d be envying Andrew Jarecki right about now. With his HBO miniseries The Jinx, he got what every Vice-watcher and Thin Blue Line-worshipper would kill for—a hypnotic and fully cooperative subject, a riveting central mystery, and an on-camera twist that led, in the midst of the doc’s multi-week run, to a […]