SXSW 2012 is done and I have made a list of what I loved most.

Great year! Here's what made it so.

Drafthouse cookies. They bake them to order, y'all.  Piping hot, soft, dripping chocolate chips in a dark movie theater.  I don't require real much else to live and be happy.

Seeing old friends.  I got to meet up with Robyn and her husband and sweet little girl who drove from San Antonio to have what's now become our traditional yearly SXSW visit.  I further got to visit my friend Margaret (actually called Muffy when we met in the 2nd Grade) who is getting married soon and introduced me to her fiance. 

Meeting new people.  Turns out, there are quite a few nice and interesting Austin film folks, and I was pleased to make the acquaintance of several during this visit. Keep in touch, kids. Or better yet, come to NYC for Tribeca.

Meeting Matt Shiv.  @shivvy is just awesome enough to get his own separate bullet point.  What a delightful human and one I was lucky to sit by at a few movies during my last few days of the fest this year.  My friend Kelly has been singing this man's praises for years and I gotta say - she wasn't lyin'.

My killer lodging.  I stayed at an apartment I found on Airbnb for like $35 a night.  It was some guy's extra room in his luxury condo complex just off Slaughter Lane, like a 10-minute drive to the Drafthouse. I was hardly there so I never ran into the guy at all and it honestly felt like I had my own place.

The weather. After threatening to rain for days and days,  the skies cleared (THANK GOD) after opening weekend and it was sunny and 70's from then on.  Just what I need in a March Texas vacation, thankyou.

The Drafthouse.  Yes, that's separate from the cookies.  This place is just the shit.  Whatever you've heard about how great this place is, is totally true, time a million.  On the last day I learned you can order from the bar and drink it outside, which pretty much made me want to fly home, pack my stuff up, and come straight back to Austin to live forever.   Sigh.

Oh yeah - the movies! I saw 35, which is the exact number I was expecting to see. Most were good, a few were great. 

Here are my favorites:

Sinister
The Raid
Brooklyn Castle
The Source
Francine
Compliance

Now I return to New York City where I will continue my movie adventures with New Directors New Films and soon the Tribeca Film Festival.