SXSW 2009 Festival Genius

BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES tells the story of American music at this precarious moment. Filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen traveled the country, hoping to understand why mainstream music seems so packaged and repetitive, and whether corporations really had the power to silence musical innovation.

The answers they found on this journey- ultimately, the promise that the future holds-are what makes BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES both riveting and exhilarating. Buy it now!

B-Side’s intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers, STILL BILL opened with a bang at New York City’s IFC Center on Jan 27th. Mr. Withers participated in live Q&As at sold out screenings and delivered pearls of wisdom to the delight of enthusiastic audiences.

Mr Withers even caused a stir at radio interviews around town. ABC News Radio Entertainment Correspondent and Movie Critic David Blaustein tweeted “The first GREAT documentary of the year is @STILL BILL.”

Following panel discussions throughout the weekend with Our Time Theater and ASCAP, B-Side received the news that STILL BILL will be held over for one week from Feb 5th at 12:55pm & 4:30pm daily. Click here to buy tickets to STILL BILL at the IFC Center.

Next stop Chicago, STILL BILL opens at Facets Cinémathèque for a one-week engagement, February 12-18.

The Sundance Film Festival has officially ended, and boy was it a wild ride. Attendees braved the snow and crowds to see the first wave of independent films in the 2010 festival year. B-Side was proud to be there hosting the Online Film Guide powered by Festival Genius, and we saw attendees come in record numbers to plan out their schedules, rate and review the films, and share their genius. Here are a few of the films that stood out as crowd-pleasers, which we expect will be getting a lot of attention in the coming weeks and months:

Welcome to the Rileys (4.3/5 stars) – Directed by Jake Scott, starring James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo. Featured review by user pat383: “This is the best movie I’ve seen yet…great acting from all three James, Kristen and Melissa. Kristen shows her darker side very well and James and Melissa are very touching – phenomenal film, heartbreaking story and amazing performance.”

The Runaways (4.3/5 stars) – Directed by Floria Sigismondi, starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon. Featured review by user abrightertomorrow: “This movie was surprisingly fantastic. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning both had amazing presence throughout the movie. Michael Shannon was hilarious as their manager, but the best performances were by Stewart and Fanning. The Runaways officially rocked.”

Winter’s Bone (4.3/5 stars) – Winner of Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Directed by Debra Granik, starring Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Dale Dickey. Featured review by user deniselind: “Compelling, poignant, sensitively directed. Excellent complex performances by Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawks, and Dale Dickey. The character Ree Dolly confronts the most difficult challenge in becoming the elemental heroine of her family.”

The Kids Are All Right (4.3/5 stars) – Directed by Lisa Cholodenko, starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. Featured review by user danaruthchapman: “This is hilarious, the script is great and the players really step it up a notch as we get a birds eye view to see the usual dysfunctions that go along with any relationship.”

If you attended the Sundance Film Festival, you can still rate and review the films you saw on the Online Film Guide. Share your genius – click here to get started.