Written By Stephen Dalton,

This week, around 20,000 film and music industry professionals will descend on Austin, the state capital of Texas, to mark the start of spring at the annual 10-day street carnival South by Southwest. Proudly calling itself the “live music capital of the world,” Austin first hosted this massive rock and pop trade fair in 1987, spawning its own film festival offshoot in 1994 and an interactive media strand a year later.

An oasis of laidback, liberal, Democrat-voting bohemians, Austin also boasts an abundance of stylishly retro film theatres like the Alamo Drafthouse and the Paramount, which serve as key venues during SXSW. Among the world premieres opening at the festival this month are Drew Goddard’s “The Cabin In The Woods”, a classic horror plot rebooted by “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, actor Matthew Lillard’s darkly comic directorial debut “Fat Kid Rules the World”, and a spoofy big-screen remake of the 1980s TV hit “21 Jump Street” featuring a cameo by its original breakout star, Johnny Depp.

Meanwhile, documentaries making SXSW debuts include portraits of veteran rock drummer Ginger Baker and reggae legend Bob Marley. With heavy emphasis on new talent and left-field genre movies, SXSW is a less pressurised festival than the likes of Sundance, Cannes or Toronto. But it is becoming increasingly important in US film culture thanks to Austin’s growing role as a movie-making hub and the unique convergence between its film, music and digital strands.

“SXSW is well-curated and spectacularly organised, serving both newcomers and regulars with optimum efficiency and Texas-style hospitality”, explains Marjorie Baumgartner, senior film editor of the Austin Chronicle newspaper, a media partner of the festival. “The synergy created by the overlapping SXSW Interactive and Music Festivals is a unique attribute. The atmosphere is relaxed but business-compatible. And the March weather in Austin can be seductive beyond belief.”

SXSW has become the shop window for a vibrant local film culture that has transformed this mid-sized college town into a thriving community of both movie-making talent and cutting-edge digital film technology. Thanks to the city-owned Austin Studios complex and a growing local pool of talent, often graduates of film courses at the city’s University of Texas, movie production in Austin has increased tenfold over the last decade. “Miss Congeniality”, “True Grit” and “The Tree of Life” are just three of dozens of major features shot here.

Austin also owes much of its high cinematic profile to pioneering local heroes Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater, Texas-born writer-directors who have both shot almost their entire canon of work in or around the city. Linklater’s credits include the lo-fi classic “Slacker”, the boisterous comedy “School of Rock” and the innovative animated drama “Waking Life”. Meanwhile Rodriguez is known for visually dazzling CGI thrill rides like “Sin City” and the “Spy Kids” series. Both are SXSW regulars – indeed, Linklater will appear at the festival later this month for the home-town premiere of his new Austin-shot crime comedy, “Bernie”.

“Linklater and Rodriguez will always be important to the Austin film scene because they are the ones who demonstrated the viability of living in Texas and making movies that still mattered to Hollywood,” says Marjorie Baumgartner. “The community of local filmmakers continues to grow, with many others now making films here that go on to international releases. Among some recent examples are Bryan Poyser, Bob Byington and Heather Courtney.”

Launched to minimal fanfare 25 years ago, SXSW now plays a major role in Austin’s economy – the festival generating an estimated $167 million for the city in 2011. That’s the beauty of this great little film festival – it feels like a laidback street party but it still does business with a big Texas style.