The whirlwind of SXSW often takes on a life of its own, and that was certainly true this year for me and the rest of the Screengrab contingent. There are movies we fully intended to see and cover for you here, but fate decreed otherwise. (Winnebago Man proved particularly elusive for various reasons; my worst SXSW memory this year involves sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on 5th Street with no hope of finding a parking space before a screening began. In my anger, I cursed the Winnebago Man, but I now understand it wasn’t his fault.) There are also movies I saw and never found the time to review during the festival. And they are:

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The 2009 SXSW Film Festival kicks off on Friday, so what do you say we spend the week previewing some can’t-miss attractions? We’ll start with the documentaries – five today and five tomorrow – then move on to the narrative features.

ALONG CAME KINKY…TEXAS JEWBOY FOR GOVERNOR

From singing Jewish cowboy (“Asshole from El Paso,” “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed”) to mystery writer (A Case of Lone Star, Road Kill) to gubernatorial candidate, Kinky Friedman has done it all. Along Came Kinky chronicles Fridman’s 2006 unsuccessful run for the governorship of Texas.

(Screens March 19th at 7:30 pm, Paramount Theater)

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I don’t know if the groundhog saw his shadow or not, but either way it’s six weeks until the happiest time of the year, SXSW. The full film festival lineup has been announced, and highlights include:

American Prince – Remember Martin Scorsese’s documentary American Boy? No? Well, surely you remember the guy who sells Travis Bickle his guns in Taxi Driver. That’s Steven Prince, who director Tommy Pallotta catches up with in this new documentary. (I must admit, this is a brilliant way to ensure Martin Scorsese watches your movie. I’d follow up on his other documentary subjects, Charles and Catherine Scorsese, but sadly they’re no longer with us.)

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