Rebecca Richman Cohen, IFP Alum/Director of WAR DON DON, blogs from Tamale-land

Left to right Daniel Chalfen, Francisco Bello, Rebecca Richman Cohen, and David Menschel

Hi blog readers,

I’m the director of War Don Don – a feature length documentary premièring in competition at SXSW. I’m totally bleary-eyed, but also still giddy from excitement of bringing the film into the world. It’s been a whirlwind few days between screenings and barbeque and meetings and breakfast tacos and parties and superb guacamole. I have not gone hungry in this city, and while I’m keen to write some restaurant reviews, I’ll keep my blogging to the cinema.

I’ve found Austin audiences to be as warm and lovely as Austin weather - and both our screenings were well-received, followed by engaged and thoughtful questions at Q&A. The festival has been in excellent order and things have moved seamlessly. It’s been busy, but I’ve had time to see some other films – and there are some very very good ones out there. NY Export: Opus Jazz and Marwencol were two that I found captivating. The Canal Street Madam had an excellent audience response. When things quiet down after tomorrow, I’ll see more.

SXSW really feels like a place where things are moving and shaking in exciting ways. The interactive part of the festival seems to be generating a lot of exciting new ideas, and dare I say: toys. I’m game to explore some of that tomorrow! But for now, I’m off to do whatever it is that we filmmakers do. And I’m hoping that it includes tamales like last night...

Independent Film Week - Follow our Bloggers and Tweeters

Observe the black and white photos of two of the world's most famous, and enduringly successful, independent filmmakers.

Where were these photos taken? Why, Independent Film Weeks of years past (technically, they were then known as the IFP Market). Flash forward to today: There is palpable excitement in the air at IFP's DUMBO headquarters as a couple dozen of us prepare for the 31st annual Independent Film Week, which starts, astonishingly, tomorrow at 10 am! And the web is reflecting this excitement. Starting today, and for the next week, participants of all stripes - from first time filmmakers in the Emerging Narrative section to seasoned producers moderating panels - will be blogging and "Tweeting" about the action.

Already, a few filmmakers participating in The Project Forum have posted about what they are expecting in the coming days. These entries can be found at the Filmmaker Magazine blog. Throughout the week, the following filmmakers, will post at least twice about their experiences:

Kristi Jacobson (HUNGRY IN AMERICA, Spotlight on Documentaries)
Paul Lovelace & Jessica Wolfson, a.k.a. Lost Footage Films (RADIO UNNAMEABLE, Spotlight on Documentaries)
Rebecca Richman Cohen (WAR DON DON, Spotlight on Documentaries)
Jennifer Phang (LOOK FOR WATER, No Borders)
Noah Harlan (FREE IN DEED, No Borders)
Melissa B. Miller (THE TESTED, Emerging Narratives)

We also have a series of Industry Twitterers who will be tracking the action in Tweet-forms. look for the Hash tag #IFPWeek. The first Tweet is from the incomparable Ryan Harrington, who will be wearing two hats during the week - as a conference panelist and Executive Producer in Spotlight on Docs. Make sure to check in daily on this blog, on Twitter, and at Filmmaker Magazine blog. See you at F.I.T.!