Stars align for South by Southwest film festival

With Robert Altman’s star-studded “A Prairie Home Companion” making its North American premiere on opening night, and celebrities including Charlize Theron, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett and Erykah Badu appearing throughout the week, the South by Southwest film festival only looks like it’s gone Hollywood.

Organizers say the festival will maintain the same laid-back, small-town atmosphere for which Austin, Texas, is known.

“It’s definitely bigger, definitely more people, definitely more premieres than we’ve ever had before, more films than we’ve ever had before, more filmmakers than we’ve ever had before,” festival producer Matt Dentler said.

From today through March 18, 230 features and shorts are on the schedule, 60 of which are world premieres. They include “95 Miles to Go,” a documentary about Romano’s stand-up comedy tour; and “East of Havana,” a documentary Theron helped produce about Cuban rappers.

Actor John C. Reilly is expected to appear with “Prairie Home,” based on the longtime Garrison Keillor radio program, which co-stars Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Kline.

Also arriving in Austin to take part in discussions of their careers are veteran rocker Henry Rollins and Peter Bart, the longtime editor in chief of Variety.

Despite the presence of these high-profile celebrities and others, “I don’t think it’ll change at all,” Dentler said.

“I think people know they can come to South by Southwest and stay under the radar, blend in and mingle,” he said. “South by Southwest is one of the rare festivals where you can look out at the audience and see five or six incredibly important figures in the entertainment business, all sitting next to each other -- maybe they know each other, maybe they don’t know each other -- but they’re just hanging out. There’s just a friendly, communal vibe in Austin.”

Dentler said festival planners didn’t realize Theron was involved with “East of Havana” when they became interested in it. The festival always includes a large number of documentaries and features about music because it overlaps with the more established South by Southwest music festival, now in its 20th year. (The film festival is in its 13th year.)

Other music films include world premieres of the documentaries “loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies,” which follows the influential band’s hotly awaited reunion tour; “Air Guitar Nation,” which is about exactly what the title suggests; and “Before the Music Dies,” a historical piece featuring interviews and performances from Badu, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews and Bonnie Raitt.