We're excited announce that several films by TEC alums made it into SXSW Film Festival's 2020 lineup!
The Boy Who Sold The World | Edited by TEC Alum Sam Mink
Ben Pasternak created a viral game app while in middle school in Australia. By 15 he had secured funding from VC’s to build a new tech startup. So Ben dropped out of school and convinced his parents to let him live alone in NYC to lead his new company. A master at growth hacking with a strong eye for design, Ben was committed to making the world’s next big social app. But after running out of money, and confronting controversies that pushed him to the edge of sanity, Ben rebooted his career at 19, finding a new and unexpected purpose. The Boy Who Sold The World is a modern coming-of-age story that illuminates the inner workings of the tech industry from a rare and highly personal lens.
The 24th | Edited by TEC Alum Mollie Goldstein
America has just entered the Great War, but is refusing to send black troops into combat. Instead of heading to the front lines, the Twenty-Fourth Infantry is sent to Houston, Texas to oversee the construction of Camp Logan for the Illinois National Guard. William Boston is forced to choose between his love for a young woman and leading an attack by 156 African American soldiers on a brutal and racist police force. This incident lead to what is now called the Houston Riot of 1917.
Console Wars | Edited by TEC Alums Matt Hamachek & Neal Usatin
In 1990, Sega, a fledgling arcade company assembled a team of misfits to take on the greatest video game company in the world, Nintendo. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pit brother against brother, kids against grownups, Sonic against Mario, and uniquely American capitalism against centuries-old Japanese tradition. For the first time ever, the men and women who fought on the front lines for Sega and Nintendo discuss this battle that defined a generation.
Hood River | Edited by TEC Teacher Federico Rosenzvit, Line Producer TEC Alum Evan Needell
In a small Oregon community, a high school soccer team struggles to overcome class and racial divide in a quest for both individual and team success. While Domingo deals with the deportation of his father to Mexico, and Eric painfully learns how to become a captain and command the respect of his Mexican-American teammates, Coach Riviera struggles to keep the team together amidst the pressure of academics and athletics. This coming-of-age feature documentary focuses on the friendship and maturation of three characters and is set against the backdrop of a segregated American town. Will Domingo graduate? Will Eric become a leader? Will the Eagles win a state championship?
Freeland | Edited by TEC Alum Sara Newens
Devi has been breeding legendary pot strains for decades on the remote homestead she built herself. But when cannabis is legalized, she suddenly finds herself fighting for her survival. In a tour-de-force performance, Krisha Fairchild (Devi) brings the timely story of a black-market grower battling to keep her farm to the screen. Featuring a heart-breaking turn by John Craven as an old flame from Devi’s commune days, and Frank Mosley and Lily Gladstone as adrift harvest workers, the film is full of standout performances. Shot on off-the-grid pot farms during the actual harvest, directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean imbue this emotional thriller with a deep and empathetic authenticity.
Drunk Bus | Directed by TEC Alum Brandon LaGanke
Michael (Charlie Tahan) is a recent graduate whose post-college plan is derailed when his girlfriend leaves him for a job in New York City. Stuck in Ohio without a new plan of his own, Michael finds himself caught in the endless loop of driving the "drunk bus," the debaucherous late-night campus shuttle that ferries drunk college students from parties to the dorms and back. When the bus service hires a security guard to watch over the night shift, Michael comes face to tattooed face with Pineapple, a 300-lb punk-rock Samoan who challenges him with a kick in the ass to break from the loop and start living or risk driving in circles forever.
And We Go Green | Edited by Former TEC Teacher Gabriel Rhodes, Assistant Edited by TEC Alum Vanessa Trengrove
Formula E, the groundbreaking electric car racing series, has grown in four years from a small upstart championship to global phenomenon. With unprecedented access, And We Go Green explores all that goes into making Formula E - the drivers, teams, rivalries, innovators and technology - while exploring the impact that the series could have on the way the world drives. Directed by Fisher Stevens and Malcolm Venville and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, this highly cinematic documentary uses intimate character-driven storylines, behind-the-scenes vérité, and thrilling race footage to understand how building an entirely new sport might help secure a better future
