Pitchfork

What with all the hoopla surrounding the live music portion of the annual South by Southwest festival, it's easy to forget the event's pre-recorded happenings. We're talking about the SXSW Film Conference and Festival, which runs the week+ leading up to the music bit (with some overlap), March 7-15.

As in previous years, there are some big ticket showings, like the North American premiere of Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones doc Shine a Light, plus screenings of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, the LCD Soundsystem-bolstered 21, the filmic adaptation of Fight Club scribe Chuck Palahniuk's super-disturbing Choke, Super Size Me guy Morgan Spurlock's Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, and directorial debut features from thespians Helen Hunt (Then She Found Me) and David Schwimmer (Run, Fat Boy, Run).

There are some charmingly offbeat selections too, such as Kids screenwriter Harmony Korine's latest Mister Lonely (featuring music by Spiritualized's J. Spaceman), a Super Size Me parody of sorts called Super High Me in which a man goes on a 30-day ganja binge, and Harry Potter fan culture exposé We Are Wizards.

And then there are a whole bunch of music-oriented films. Some highlights: the U.S. premiere of Joy Division, the documentary on the iconic post-punk act by Grant Gee, director of Radiohead's Meeting People Is Easy; Lou Reed's Berlin, documenting a live performance of the living legend's classic album in New York City; Young@Heart, celebrating the Sonic Youth-loving, David Byrne-befriending choir of elders; Gorillaz doc Bananaz; The Night James Brown Saved Boston, about the Hardest Working Man in Show Business' 1968 concert following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and features exploring Lee "Scratch" Perry (The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee "Scratch" Perry), Daniel Lanois (the previously mentioned Here Is What Is), Wanda Jackson (The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice), and the late, great Wesley Willis (Wesley Willis's Joyrides).

Brush up on all the important details right here.