SXSWORLD

Mark Woollen: SXSW Film Panelist, Juror and Consummate Fan by James Rocchi name (Mark Woollen & Associates), he has won sev- eral Golden Trailer Awards for excellence in the fi eld, most recently for Th e Social Network, Tree of Life and Black Swan. He also will be serving on the SXSW Music Video Jury in 2012, but Woollen is most proud and happy about his long history of attending SXSW as a director, panelist and fan. "Th e fi rst year I came was in 2006 as fi lmmaker," M ark Woollen is highly regarded in the fi lm world. As the acclaimed main executive of the trailer-creation company that bears his he remembers. "I made a documentary called Jam that won the Documentary Jury Prize that year. We'd been working on the fi lm for years, and a whole bunch of us came out; it was our premiere. We'd always heard cool things about the festival, so we came for the entire week. We were just hooked after that." For Woollen, playing SXSW was the last step in the fi lm's creation, and the beginning of a long association with the festival: "We were excited, because we had been to Austin previously to shoot a little bit of the fi lm. Th en we still weren't prepared for what was going to come. Th e audiences were wonderful. We had a large screening at the Paramount and had an amazing reac- tion and time there." Woollen praises the SXSW crowd as being more open, and less Mark Woollen from the SXSW 2011 Film panel "Marketing Your Movie" insular, than those of other major American fi lm festivals: "You have conversations about fi lm in Austin that feel like you remember why you love movies and why you get into this industry. It feels like people really care about movies and see a lot of stuff . Th ey're really open. It's not a jaded industry crowd by any means. Th e atmosphere is really addictive." And that addiction has given Woollen the chance to give back: "After that fi rst year, I've done a couple of panels, and I also did a workshop on the art of trailer-making." "I always rave about it for myself as being a creative boot camp every year; I feel I owe it to myself to go commit the time and check out everything new ... I'll see movies that I end up talking about for the rest of the year." At the same time, Woollen notes, he gets the opportunity to learn as much as he enjoys the opportunity to teach: "I always rave about it for myself as being a creative boot camp every year; I feel I owe it to myself to go commit the time and check out everything new that's been hap- pening. I'll go, and I'll see movies that I end up talking about for the rest 24 SXSW ORLD / N OVEMBER 2011 of the year. It's where I get my playlist for the rest of the year, by music that I'm discovering there, and I'm keeping up with what's on the web by walking into Interactive panels …" Woollen encourages attendees to stay for more than just the one seg- ment of the conference or festival they think they will be interested in: "You see the fi lm people, and you'd be checking out movies, and by around Tuesday everyone was like, 'Well, yeah, I'm heading back; I've got to get to work.' I'd always be encouraging (them to stay): 'No, you don't understand. Th is town's about to completely change. Music's coming in, and you're going to see some amazing stuff .' Th en all of a sudden the fi lm folks would leave, and people came in with better hair and skinny jeans: music's taken over; people always go, 'No, you missed this really amazing stuff that's happening in Interactive that actually aff ects your world,' or, 'Th ere's some great fi lms.' I know that movies do play throughout the festival, but really, come earlier and get some opportunities to really soak it in." Despite meticulously planning his SXSW, Woollen also knows that you have to leave a certain amount of planning to fate and acceptance. "Th ere's always something to wake up in the morning and do. You have to understand, obviously, that you can't do it all. Th ere's no way to see 1,800 bands in three days, or 300 movies. I always think that wherever I am, there's always probably at least a half dozen other amazingly cool things that I would love to do as well, and I can't do them all." But while the veteran Woollen knows that South by Southwest can be overwhelming, every year he tries to enjoy as much of it as possible. "I always warn everyone, it's a little bit of a marathon, so you have to pace yourself through the week." Woollen then gives a laugh that feels like half happy memories of the past and half wishful thinking about SXSW 2012: "It's well worth fi nishing." ■ ERIN FOTOS

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