by Jenna Colley

Ernesto Gonzales greets me at the plywood door of his one-room office in East Austin, "Supposedly, the Governor used to live here in post-Civil War days. You know the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue thing. I'm surprised that the city hasn't taken it over and renovated it," he says as I scurry in and take a look around. The room boasts one coach, a very intense looking computer and a large window. As the sweet breeze of the afternoon air stirs and the sunlight seeps into the room, I instantly have the premonition that someday I will be telling someone in a bar somewhere that I was there before "it" got big. The "it" is the 30th Parallel Film Festival. I was expecting bitter film students wearing Vans and baggy jeans, bitching about their films not getting submitted to South by Southwest, but what I found were two dedicated, organized and relatively film-market-savvy guys whose main goals are to screen films that would otherwise never be seen, and to give those filmmakers a chance to learn more about the business of distribution.

Gonzales, along with his partner Carbon Reynolds are the founders of the festival which will be running concurrently with SXSW March 13 through 18. These guys are trying to get in on the action by creating their own action, and they seem to be doing a pretty good job. Since late-October, Gonzales and Reynolds have managed to screen approximately 376 films, secure sponsors, process applications, choose entries, land venues, and remain optimistic. Modeling their festival after the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah (that runs Jan 23 against the Sundance Film Festival), they understand that they're going up against Austin's most popular film festival. Do they give a damn?

"The college film market needs to be integrated. When you're making a film, you don't think about who you're going to sell it to or acquisitions, and then that's just money down the toilet. We want to provide a festival that lets people watch these films and where people can push their films, with more focus. You have to learn to treat this as a business," says Reynolds, constantly rubbing his eyes and smoking a cigarette. He looks worn out and I can't help but wonder if he really thinks he can pull this off. "I wonder if we can pull in the crowds. We just confirmed that all of the screenings will be held either on Sixth Street or just two blocks away. We'll be breathing right down their neck. We'll be right in their face. I think that there is room for two festivals, I think there is room for five festivals. We've just tried to plan our main activities in the lull of South by Southwest. It's a hot time, and if these people are going to be here anyway..."

According to Gonzales, they have already managed to get an exclusive representative from Sony Pictures and representatives from Miramax and October Films will be filtering over. They are in the process of setting up workshops, and advertising. The aura of the ever-powerful and influential SXSW seems to hover over their every move. Gonzales is hesitant about advertising in the Chronicle and even more hesitant about releasing the names of film venues for fear of sabotage. They have had little interaction with the Austin Film Society, who has staunch loyalties to South by Southwest. They have, however received support and guidance from the organizers of the Austin Heart of Film Festival and the University Film Alliance.

Their fears are not unfounded. Late last year, upon hearing that they were calling their festival SouthbySouth Alternative, the duo was contacted by Nancy Schafer, the executive producer of SXSW Film Festival, and asked to change the name.

Reynolds and Gonzales had already begun building their connections and establishing plans under that name, and were too busy to respond. They were soon served with papers from Schafer's attorneys asking them to comply with the request. They eventually came up with the SouthWest Alternative Film Festival. After talking again with lawyers, Gonzales and Reynolds were advised politely to simply "stay away from the compass." This got them thinking. They began looking at maps and spontaneously called the airport to get ideas on possible pilot lingo for flying over the Southwest. They found what they were looking for. When going in the direction of south by southwest, you are exactly on the 30th parallel. Festival entries have come from independent and college filmmakers from around the country. The festival is boasting five world premieres, with a total of 50 screenings.

"It was really hard to pick from the entries." says Gonzales. "We wanted films that were not traditionally in festivals that showed the basics of filmmaking and got some sort of story across. We wanted to leave the deadlines open for those whose films didn't get into SXSW. I'm very optimistic and scared about a lot of the areas that we don't know. And it's not that we are going out there to kill SXSW. Of course not. I've gone every year and had a lot of good times. It really is a great festival, but there's just a lot of people who get left out in the cold." With a project this stressful, one has to be realistic. Will Gonzales and Reynolds succeed? Will they have enough left over once the film business has taken what it wants; will they learn from their mistakes and say what the hell let's do it again? I don't know. After all, no matter how indie or how Hollywood, this business is a bitch, and only the strong survive.