SXSW Film Festival Shorts Lineup Announced

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival announced today this year's lineup of shorts. From over 2,800 submissions, the festival selected 130 shorts from around the world, divided into six categories: documentary, narrative, animated, experimental, music video and Texas High School Shorts (work by Texas teens). Shorts that will screen include TV personality Maria Menounos' "Longtime Listener," about an electronics store clerk who lives his life through talk radio and comic Bob Odenkirk's "Derek & Simon: The Pity Card," about a first date at a Holocaust museum. "From young filmmakers in Jamaica to animators plugging away on their own, to some big names getting behind the camera, it's all an exciting variety of art," said Festival Producer Matt Dentler in a released statement. The 2006 SXSW Film Festival will take place March 10-18 in Austin, Texas. For a complete lineup of SXSW festival shorts, please visit the festival Web site. [M.L. Liu]