Film lovers lucky enough to live in one of this country’s great film cities, Austin, not only have loads of great theaters to see movies in. They also have a PBS program called “SXSW Presents.” Every Tuesday evening, this program–which is in its third season and is hosted by the SXSW festival producer, Matt Dentler–offers up an out-of-the-way, must-see movie. For free! In the comfort of living rooms all over Austin! Must be nice.

We can’t all be talented enough to jerry-rig our antennas and pull in Austin’s public television signal. Sigh. But luckily the show has started putting its after-film panel discussions online, where we can all listen in. For now, that’s just going to have to do. (Thanks for giving us a clearer taste of the great films we’re missing!)

Check out the schedule of films and find the panel discussions at the program’s site.

What did Dave do at Telluride? So glad you asked… Here’s what he told me.

5 favorite films:

- The Last King of Scotland (we had a good podcast conversation about the film)
- The War (the first part of the new Ken Burns documentary on WWII)
- The Italian
- Volver
- Infamous (for the acting)

4 interesting people:

- Kevin MacDonald (director of The Last King of Scotland–here’s our podcast featuring him)
- Sharon (an “older” woman who has been coming to the festival for about 10 years with a group of friends–the group has grown and this year numbered about 20)
- Forest Whitaker (lead actor in The Last King of Scotland–we also made a podcast with him)
- a couple from Boston we shared the gondola with after watching The War

3 favorite spots:

- the New Sheridan Saloon (lots of mingling, playing pool, drinking beer)
- the Elks Park (where the outdoor screenings were held)
- the gondola at night (a really stunning way to come down off a film)

2 memorable moments:

- walking and talking with Kevin MacDonald and Forest Whitaker (see podcast links above)
- listening to the conversation between Peter Bogdanovich and Bertrand Tavernier

1 way the festival changed you:

- I realized in a more complete way that there’s such a great diversity of film lovers out there–not a certain type like we sometimes imagine. The thing that ties them all together is their passion for “pictures.”