Okay, okay - we've haven't been doing a very good job keeping you informed about SXSW Film stuff. But a lot of news has built up over the last week or so, so we're gonna drop it on you all at once, like some kind of awesome 50-megaton knowledge-bomb.

SXSW Film Festival Passes are now on sale at Waterloo Records Video. They cost $65, and they work sort of like music wristbands (at screenings, badges get let in first, then passes). We got a film pass last year, and we think they're a pretty good deal. They'll get you into pretty much any screening, so long as you get there early enough to snag a good spot in line. The only downside is, the actual passes are annoying pieces of cardboard that you have to carry around in your pocket because they're too big to fit into your wallet.

This year's Closing Night Film will be Korean director Chan-wook Park's romantic comedy I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK. Park is probably best known for his Vengeance Trilogy, which includes the films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Oldboy (which won him the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2004). Cyborg looks very cool, even though we can't understand what the hell they're talking about.

Full screening and panel schedules are now available on the SXSW site, including a partial set of trailers. You have to do a hell of a lot of clicking to get a real sense of what's going on when, but to start you off we've made a short list of some panels that look interesting: TV Comedy of Today, Horror Films of Today, Doc Politics As Usual, When Does User-Generated Video Become Independent Filmmaking?, Blogging About Film, Video Mashups: Please Rolling Stones Don't Sue Us, Lonelygirl15: A Case Study and Grindhouse 101.

We haven't made a shortlist of interesting films just yet, but while browsing through the schedule we noticed quite a few films with Texas connections that aren't screening in the Lone Star States, Texas Shorts or Texas High School Shorts categories. Check 'em out after the jump.

FEATURES

• August Evening
  Texas Connection: Director Chris Eska is a native of Ottine, Texas and is a two-time Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipient.
  
  Synopsis: August Evening follows an aging undocumented worker, Jaime, and his young widowed daughter-in-law, Lupe, as their lives are thrown into upheaval. Lupe is more of a daughter to Jaime than his own children, and the two try to stick together... but change is inevitable.
• Bella
  Texas Connection: Director Alejandro G. Monteverde's is a UT film school graduate.
  
  Synopsis: An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down, until an impetuous action brings them together and turns an ordinary day into an unforgettable experience.
• Broke Sky
  Texas Connection: Director Thomas Callaway is a Waco native, and Broke Sky was shot in Central Texas.
  
  Synopsis: Best friends Bucky and Earl live just outside Moody Texas, they work for the County Animal Control Department, Carcass Removal Division to be exact. Most of their days are spent collecting road kill on the long stretches of hot Texas pavement. The daily drudgery of their job is shattered after they discover the corpse of a young hitchhiker that they had picked up a few day's earlier. Afraid of being implicate in the crime Earl convinces Bucky that they would be better off disposing of the body in the Dead Pit with the other rotting carcasses. Reluctantly Bucky agrees. However, this decision begins to take its toll on there friendship. Bucky decides to find the killer on his own. Unfortunately what he finds is more than he bargained for.
• All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
  Texas Connection: The film was shot in Bastrop.
  
  Synopsis: Popular teenager Mandy Lane seems to have it all, including a deadly killer who will stop at nothing to get to her.
• The Grass Grows Green
  Texas Connection: Director Jesus "Chin" Beltran is a Fort Worth native, and the film was shot on location there.
  
  Synopsis: A Marine's complicated relationship with life and death- from behind the recruiting-office desk.
• Elvis and Anabelle
  Texas Connection: Produced by the UT Film Institute's Burnt Orange Productions.
  
  Synopsis: Anabelle is a small town beauty queen being groomed for success by her overly ambitious mother. Elvis is working without a license as a mortician at his eccentric father's mortuary. His sense of family duty and love for his ailing father keep him from following his dreams. Worn out by her mother's demands, Anabelle decides to hideout in the only place where she knows no one will look; the mortuary. In a final bid for freedom, they set off on a trip across Texas, where they discover who they really are, what they want out of life and their love for each other.

DOCUMENTARIES

• Hell on Wheels
  Texas Connection: Writer/Director Bob Ray is an Austinite, as are the film’s Rollergirl stars.
  
  Synopsis: A group of hard-hitting Texas women overcome myriad obstacles in resurrecting and revamping the sport, only to find internal strife ripping the fledgling organization apart. Two leagues emerge from the clash, and what follows ignites an international roller derby revival.
• A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar
  Texas Connection: The film is being released by Texas-based Camel’s Back Films, and Executive Producer Jonathan Osborne is a former staff writer and editor for the Austin-American Statesman.
  
  Synopsis: A broad look at America's love/hate relationship with lawyers, and our fascination with suing one another.
• Fish Kill Flea
  Texas Connection: Co-director Aaron Hillis is an ex-Austinite.
  
  Synopsis: Once thriving, a dead mall in upstate New York is now home to a ragtag flea market, living proof that the American Dream is in perpetual decay. Blending verite with a stylized wit, this heartbreaking portrait raises questions about our disposable culture through the unfiltered lives of its eccentric community.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

• Zellner Vs. Duplass
  Texas Connection: Filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass are ex-Austinites, and David and Nathan Zellner are current Austinites.
  
  Synopsis: A retrospective of popular short films made by two filmmaking duos: The Zellner Brothers and The Duplass Brothers.
• The Whole Shootin' Match
  Texas Connection: Directed by the late Texas filmmaker Eagle Pennell.
  
  Synopsis: Two guys whose dreams have all gone bust stumble upon a new get-rich-quick scheme which they're sure will be a real winner.

SHORTS

• Grammy's
  Texas Connection: Director Bryan Poyser is and Austinite, and is the Director of Artist Services for the Austin Film Society.
  
  Synopsis: Two brothers have a really bad time on a fishing trip until a stranger makes them a bizarre but lucrative offer.
• Money the Hard Way
  Texas Connection: Director Bradley Beesley is a 2004 Texas Film Production Fund recipient.
  
  Synopsis: Formed in the 1920's, The Oklahoma State Prison is the only remaining prison rodeo actually located on prison grounds. In "Money the Hard Way" we watch as poorly trained men and the newly added women risk life and limb to battle some rank livestock.
• Startle Pattern
  Texas Connection: Eric Patrick is a 2001 Texas Film Production Fund recipient.
  
  Synopsis: The interior space of a puppet becomes increasingly reflective, revealing the artifice of his own creation.