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The film "Birds" follows Austin teens in the summertime. (Birds)
The wait is nearly over for SXSW’s Film Festival, which runs from March 11-20.
Filmmakers from all around the globe are coming to showcase their work and celebrate the film hub that the city is coming to be. There are numerous locals showcasing their films, so if you’re looking to see our state on the big screen, don’t forget to check out the Texas Shorts Program and Texas High School Shorts Program.
And without further ado, here are some SXSW 2022 films, from near and far, that we’ll be in the audience for.
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood | March 13, 8:00—9:30 p.m. at Paramount Theatre
Telling the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969, "Apollo 10 ½" explores the space age from two different perspectives: the astronaut and mission control vs. a young boy in Houston watching history take place. Directed by local filmmaker Richard Linklater, the mind behind “Dazed and Confused” and “Boyhood,” the animated feature film has a star-studded cast with Jack Black, Zachary Levi and Glen Powell. Linklater also tapped local artist Angry Cloud to do some of the animation.
The film will show again on March 19, 12:00—1:30 p.m. at Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema.
Birds | March 11, 8:00—9:48 p.m. during Texas Shorts Program at SXSW Film Theater
Brought to the screen by young filmmaker Katherine Propper, "Birds" captures moments in the lives of Austin teenagers as they escape the notorious summer heat. The 13-minute narrative short premiered last year at the New Orleans Film Festival, where it won the Student Pitch Competition.
"Birds" is also showing on March 15, 3:15—5:03 p.m. at the Rollins Theatre at The Long Center and online from March 12-21 from 9-10:48 a.m.
Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart | March 11, 5:00—5:40 p.m. at SXSW Film Theater
Kicking off the fest, author and podcaster Brené Brown is coming to SXSW with her new HBO Max series that goes through emotions and experiences in pursuit of defining what it means to be human. With storytelling, pop culture references and researchers collaborating, Brown covers a range of emotions while laying the framework for meaningful connection.
The episode will also be available online from March 12-14, 9-9:40 a.m.
Dio Dreamers Never Die | March 17, 4—5:53 p.m.
Defying the typical rock-n-roll lifestyle of sex, drugs and partying, "Dio Dreamers Never Die" follows the ascent of heavy metal rocker Ronnie James Die. From his days as a “doo-wop crooner” in the ‘50s to playing in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow to replacing Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals in Black Sabbath, this film is about perseverance and achieving your dreams.
This film will also be available online from March 18-20, 9—10:53 a.m. and requires an RSVP.
Gone | March 12, 2:45—4:15 p.m. at the Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
Development in Pflugerville, a suburb just north of Austin, is skyrocketing along with growth and as it inches closer and closer to farmland, local farmers are worried about their way of life. Directed by San Antonio-based Kyle Ward, this four-minute short looks at the sadness farmers feel when looking at their fields because once the land is built on, it is gone.
"Gone" is also showing on March 19, 12—1:30 p.m. during the Texas High School Shorts Program at Alamo Lamar A and online from March 13-21, from 9—10:30 a.m.
How We Found Our Sound | March 11, 8—9:48 p.m. during the Texas Shorts Program at SXSW Film Theater
After being rejected by Nashville’s music scene, cosmic cowboy Willie Nelson invited the band members of Asleep at the Wheel to move to Austin. Upon arrival in 1973, the Western swing band grew into an outlaw country sound. In 11 minutes, lead singer Ray Benson describes how the counterculture East coast natives helped break down the boundaries “between rednecks and hippies.”
"How We Found Our Sound" is also showing on March 15, 3:15—5:03 p.m. and online from March 12-21 from 9:00—10:48 a.m.
The Lost City | March 12, 6:30—8:30 p.m. at Paramount Theatre
With possibly the most A-list cast, “The Lost City,” follows romance-adventure novelist Loretta, played by Sandra Bullock, and her cover model muse Alan, played by Channing Tatum, who comes to life as “Dash” in her books. After Loretta is kidnapped by a billionaire, played by Daniel Radcliffe, Alan sets off to rescue her in a real-life jungle adventure to find an ancient treasure.
TikTok, Boom. | March 14, 12—1:40 p.m. at SXSW Film Theater
Looking at how TikTok has become one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape, “TikTok, Boom.” examines all facets from algorithmic, socio-political, culture and economic impacts that have ensued. With a cast of Gen Z subjects, director Shalini Kantayya explores security issues, platform mechanics, racial biases and what it means to be a digital native
"TikTok, Boom." is also showing on March 15, 6:15—7:55 p.m. at Alamo Lamar D; March 19, 2:30—4:10 p.m. at Alamo Lamar A and online from March 15-17 at 9—10:40 a.m.
To Leslie | March 12, 8:30—10:29 p.m. at Stateside Theatre
"To Leslie" follows the story of Leslie, a single West Texas mother struggling to provide for her son, who wins the lottery and the chance of a lifetime. After drinking her money away over the course of a few years, Leslie returns home to confront the decisions she made, the pain she left and get a second chance with her son. Directed by Michael Morris, the feature-length film stars Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney and Marc Maron.
"To Leslie" is also showing on March 15, 12:45—2:44 p.m. at Alamo Lamar E, March 18 9:45—11:44 p.m. at Alamo Lamar A, and online from March 13-15 from 9:00—10:59 a.m.
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Popular
(Eric Lee/The Texas Tribune)
By Eleanor Klibanoff
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional protection for abortion and allowing states to set their own laws regulating the procedure. This represents one of the most significant judicial reversals in a generation and is expected to have far-reaching consequences for all Texans.
Texas will ban all abortions from the moment of fertilization, starting 30 days after the ruling, with narrow exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function.”
The law that will go into effect in 30 days criminalizes the person who performs the abortion, not the person who undergoes the procedure.
This ruling will radically change the reproductive health care landscape in Texas and the entire nation, where more than half of all states are expected to essentially ban abortion in the coming months.
Most of Texas’ neighboring states are also expected to outlaw abortion as a result of this ruling, with one exception: New Mexico. As the sole outlier in the region, New Mexico is expected to become a haven for Texans seeking abortions. The state currently has no significant restrictions and no plans to limit access to the procedure.
Friday’s ruling represents a victory nearly five decades in the making for Texas’ anti-abortion advocates, who have played an outsized role in the national effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.
It also represents a crushing blow to the state’s abortion providers, who have fought to maintain abortion access in Texas amid a nearly endless parade of restrictions, limitations and political attacks.
Roe v. Wade’s Texas roots
Before it became one of the most well-known Supreme Court cases in the country, Roe v. Wade was just a Texas lawsuit.
More than five decades ago, a woman identified in the legal filings as Jane Roe, later revealed to be Norma McCorvey, wanted an abortion. But under Texas’ laws at the time, it was a crime to perform or “furnish the means for procuring” an abortion.
Two young female lawyers, Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, saw an opportunity to use McCorvey’s case to challenge Texas’ abortion law more broadly. They filed a suit against Dallas County prosecutor Henry Wade, who would be the one responsible for bringing charges against anyone who violated the abortion law.
The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 1973 Justice Harry Blackmun shocked the nation with a ruling that blocked not just Texas’ abortion laws from being enforced, but all state laws that banned abortion early in pregnancy.
Blackmun agreed with Coffee and Weddington’s argument that the right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution extended to a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. That right to privacy must be balanced with the state’s interest in the “potentiality of human life,” a balance that shifted in the state’s favor the further along a woman was into her pregnancy.
This ruling did little to settle the abortion debate in the United States, instead kicking off nearly five decades of anti-abortion activism and legal challenges seeking to overturn the decision.
Texas, the birthplace of Roe v. Wade, has led many of those legal challenges, including a landmark 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Roe v. Wade and the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
But the Supreme Court has become much more conservative in recent years, thanks to three appointments by former President Donald J. Trump.
In late 2021, the court declined to block a Texas law that banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy through a novel enforcement mechanism that empowers private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” in an abortion.
That law remains in effect and will not be immediately impacted by Friday’s ruling.
In December, the court heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson, a challenge to Mississippi’s law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Rather than considering just the law itself, the court agreed to consider the question of whether Roe v. Wade should be overturned — and today’s ruling gave the answer.
Ongoing legal questions
But if Roe v. Wade did little to end the debate about abortion in the United States, Dobbs v. Jackson is not expected to settle the question either.
Health care providers are worrying about how these laws will impact their ability to provide care for high-risk pregnancies or people experiencing miscarriages. Some local district attorneys have said that they won’t prosecute abortion cases in their jurisdictions.
Republican lawmakers have made it clear that they plan to use every tool in their arsenal to ensure that the state’s laws are being enforced, likely sparking legal challenges as they do so.
One such challenge is already looming, as state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican from Deer Park, has made it clear he intends to target nonprofit advocacy groups that help pregnant patients pay for abortions.
Under the current law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, these abortion funds have helped hundreds of pregnant people leave the state to get an abortion. They’ve paid for travel, lodging, child care and the procedure itself, and they’re preparing for a surge in demand now that abortion is further restricted.
But Cain, an anti-abortion legislator, has issued cease-and-desist letters to these groups, warning that their work may be criminalized under the state laws that were on the books before 1973.
That argument didn’t carry much weight when Roe v. Wade was in effect. Now, legal experts say this may represent the first of many legal questions that will need to be sorted out by the courts as the state begins to navigate an entirely new reproductive health care landscape.
Peyton and Eli Manning's nephew Arch Manning has committed to the University of Texas. (Arch Manning/Twitter)
Arch Manning, the latest prospect in the Manning football family and No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, has committed to the University of Texas.
Manning is the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning and the son of Cooper Manning, a former wide receiver for Ole Miss. The Manning football legacy began with Archie Manning, Arch Manning's grandfather and namesake who played for the New Orleans Saints throughout the 1970s.
Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEmpic.twitter.com/jHYbjBaF5K
— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022
Manning joins head Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian's program after a disappointing 5-7 first season. Manning, who has been the starting quarterback at New Orlean's Newman High School since he was a freshman, was the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, according to 247sports.
Manning had plenty of SEC suitors, including Georgia, Alabama and LSU, but committed to Texas after a recent visit to Austin.
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