SYNOPSIS:

This is one packed parking lot full of filmmakers! Why? Because it’s SXSW—and time once again for Austin Film Society’s annual party. And we’re throwing you right into the thick of it, to connect with both visiting and local doc-makers making the scene, We kick it all off with the cutest damn Willie Nelson cameo you can imagine… no not the nonagenarian multi-hyphenate hero, but a baby goat named for the GOAT. Follow that with a controversial AI take from our old pal Bart Weiss, and this hometown shindig is off to a typically “weird” Austin start. 

Inside the party, we link up with Bianca Giaever and Ora de Kornfeld, the directors behind STALIN BOYS—a comedy doc about middle school boys in Marathon, TX who are deeply, unapologetically obsessed with Joseph Stalin. Their short took two awards at the fest and is heating up the circuit on its way to NY Times Op-Docs. We connect with Dallas drone-ster Monika Watkins, an alum of the AFS Doc Intensive. She has a lot to say about overcoming grief through vulnerability and making art—with updates on her animated short DABNEY, and intro’ing a new project: LOVE MO’. We finally meet Bradley Jackson, whose narrative feature STAGES is premiering here with Austin musician David Ramirez in the lead. Then our intrepid co-producer Dayton Thompson makes his on-camera debut and bumps into Bev Chukwu, who drops the line of the night—“Life is one big circle.” 

Quick shots of Sarah-Ann Mockbee, Amy Bench, Chelsea Hernandez, and a dog named Buster—plus conversations with Jonathan Green, Riley Engemoen, and Samuel Diaz Fernandez round out the episode. And we close out with Sarah Kuck who offers insight into the Austin Doc Makers Club and kicking off a new chapter with the Video Consortium (so much to discuss here and a signal that we need to book Sarah for her own episode). Goats, drones, dictators, and community. SXSW at AFS… one big circle it is.

DISCUSSION LINKS

STALIN BOYS (2026) | THE GRANDFATHER PUZZLE (2026) | SOCIAL ANIMALS (2018) | DICK WEED (2024) | I GOT BOMBED AT HARVEY’S (2026) | THE LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND (2018) | THE PEZ OUTLAW (2022) | STAGES (2026) | DABNEY | A FRAGILE VESSEL (2026) | FORCE FIELD OF LOVE (2026) | THELMA SAVE MY LIFE | TOWER (2016)

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction - It’s South by Southwest time 01:00 The lady with the baby goat named Willie Nelson 02:30 Bart Weiss on AI film festivals and writing a book about the festival circuit 06:00 Entering the AFS parking lot party 08:00 Meeting Bianca and Ora, directors of STALIN BOYS 11:00 Marathon, Texas: the smallest school you’ve never seen 14:00 Comedy docs and middle school obsessions with dictators 19:00 Ora’s other film THE GRANDFATHER PUZZLE 21:00 Jonathan Green on SOCIAL ANIMALS, DICK WEED, and Bryan Storkel 26:00 Bryan Storkel’s Hulk Hogan Netflix doc 28:00 Monika Watkins on drones, DABNEY, and AI as a creative tool 34:00 Keith and Ben on the AI delineation: tools vs. generative 35:00 Monika on losing her mom and the Love Mo series 38:00 Drone photo session with the crew 42:00 Bradley Jackson - STAGES premieres at SXSW with David Ramirez 46:00 Bradley on why South by Southwest hits different 48:00 Bradley is moving back to Austin 49:00 Samuel on A FRAGILE VESSEL - heat, love, and sci-fi horror 51:00 Party B-roll, Chelsea, and Buster the dog 53:00 Riley on FORCE FIELD OF LOVE - South Austin’s dancing legends 55:00 Dayton’s on-camera debut 57:00 Bev Chukwu on THELMA SAVE MY LIFE - “Life is one big circle” 59:00 Sarah Kuck on Austin Doc Makers Club and Video Consortium 01:04:00 Closing thoughts and Dayton appreciation 01:07:00 Rambler sponsor read and next episode tease