SXSW Film Festival 2008 Panels Announced Today, Yeehaw!!!

Here's the latest news from the SXSW press office about the planned panel discussions. Stay tuned to The Film Panel Notetaker in March when I'll be there covering the panels over the first few days of the fest. I am especially looking forward to the Stanley Nelson, Helen Hunt, and Writers Strike panels, and the Harold & Kumar panel seems very clever and inventive. I don't think I've ever seen a panel on drugs, politics, and race before, at least not all in the same session. FYI, the entire panels lineup and schedule, will be available on the SXSW Website on Friday, February 15, which I will for sure be checking out so I can plan my entire SXSW schedule including what films I want to see.

SXSW Announces 2008 Film Panels

Billy Bob Thornton, Helen Hunt, and Stanley Nelson Among Speakers

Austin, TX ­ February 12, 2008 - The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival is happy to announce its complete slate of panels and workshops for the 15th annual event in Austin, Texas. The SXSW Film Conference will take place in the Austin Convention Center during March8-11, and is open to all SXSW Film, Gold, and Platinum registrants. In addition, the SXSW Film Conference will co-host joint sessions with the SXSW Interactive Conference. Nearly 200 industry veterans and experts are on tapas speakers for the panels.

Among the newly-announced additions to the panels schedule are: A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton & Dwight Yoakam on March 11, ComingSoon: The Making of a Trailer scheduled for March 10, An Actor's Workshop with Jeffrey Tambor on March 9, Drugs, Politics, and Race: A Harold & Kumar Panel and What the Writers Strike Taught Us on March 8. These panels join already announced highlights such as A Conversation with Harlan Ellison, Stanley Nelson: History in the Making and A Conversation with Helen Hunt, both confirmed for March 9.

The SXSW Film Conference will conclude on the afternoon of March 11 with A Conversation with Moby, where BMI's Doreen Ringer-Ross will conduct an interview with the prominent musician and film composer.

New this year for the SXSW Film Conference is Global Doc Days, an event built around programming by various international film organizations. In the Austin Suite of the Austin Convention Center, countries such as Mexico, Canada, Norway, and China will present some of their latest documentary programming to SXSW Film Conference participants. Global Doc Days will strive to bridge gaps between international documentary industries, and place itself as one of the only venues in the United States where such activity occurs. Two selections from Mexico, the documentaries Born Withoutand The Old Thieves, have also been added to official festival screenings lineup of SXSW.

The entire panels lineup and schedule, will be available on the SXSW Website on Friday, February 15.