Hey there, B-Siders. Sorry for the lag in sending out a New Releases update, but it’s been an incredibly busy and exciting summer over here. We’ll be sharing a bunch of exciting news with you next week, but for now let’s get back in the groove with a little New Releases sampler plate….a short, a feature and a doc with some heavy beats.

Short: Trevor’s in Heaven

Trevor’s in Heaven is a wickedly funny film by Alec Brownstein that was B-Side’s favorite short at the 2006 Austin Film Festival. It’s also one of the highest rated films on the site. There have been a lot of funny (and not so funny) comedies about dysfunctional families….generating laughs out of all kinds of painful and awkward situations. We think this one is among the best. Don’t let the early tone fool you. It’s hysterical.

Feature: A. (anonymous)

Speaking of painful situations, what if you had a behavioral syndrome that too obscure to merit its own support group? Like a compulsion to wear extremely tight pants. Or an insatiable desire to run things over with your car. In director Daniel Bowers’ very funny mockumentary A. (anonymous), help awaits in a startup group open to the full spectrum of obscure phobias, compulsions and physical shortcomings. During its festival run in 2006, the NY Times called this one “hilarious…I nearly fell out of my seat.” We screened it in the B-Side office with some Friday beers and had a great time.

Feature Doc: Beat Makers

B-Side has had much success with docs that shine a light on hidden corners of the music industry (see: Before the Music Dies and What is Indie?). Our latest is Beat Makers, directed by Laron Austin, which digs into the never-ending hustle of young producers trying to make it in the intensely competitive music business. The film taps into trackmasters at various stages of their careers, as they struggle to make (and keep) a name for themselves. It’s a cool window into the birth of the beats that get our heads bobbing.

Check ‘em out. I hope that tides you over for now…there’s much more on the way.

Later.

B-Side Steve