With all the big budget Hollywood movies coming out each week it’s also nice to pay a bit of attention to the little guy (or girl). Indie filmmakers of today often do it with talent, style and innovation. Plus, they are potentially tomorrow’s big budget directors.

Just look at someone like Gareth Edwards. He made a little indie movie called Monsters and now he’s directing the big budget studio reboot of Godzilla. See, it can happen.

This time around we turn the Indie Spotlight on Brian T. Jaynes Patient Zero. The zombie apocalypse horror movie has it’s world premiere next week at Splatterfest. Until then, here’s a bit of synopsis to help pique your interest.

The highly anticipated prequel to director Brian T. Jaynes hit feature, “Humans Vs. Zombies” shows the genesis of “the beginning of the end,” and how genetic experimentation lead to the creation of Patient Zero, the first infectious zombie.

Check out the trailer for Patient Zero after the break. If you can’t make the screening in Huston, don’t worry. The movie hits DVD, etc. on September 25th.

Fantastic Fest is one of our favorite film festivals. It’s a place where fans of cool genre programming can get together and watch some awesome, and often obscure, films.

As in years past, this year’s fest looks to feature some great films and we’re pleased to bring you the announcement of the first wave of programming that will be showing during the fest. This programming includes the red carpet premiere of Dredd in 3D as well as retrospective screenings of films such as The Entity and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Check out the full press release below. Look for more on Fantastic Fest, which takes place in Austin, TX from September 20 to 27, in the weeks ahead.

Austin, TX—Monday, July 30, 2012— Judgment is coming to Fantastic Fest with the red carpet premiere of DREDD 3D and the festival’s initial lineup of incredible genre films. Fantastic Fest will take place September 20-27 in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.

Slamdance, the indie film festival which runs January 20-26 in Park City and considers itself the counter to the big, Hollywood infused Sundance Film Festival, has now announced its slate of films for 2012. It’s an interesting and diverse mix of drama, comedy and other staples of the indie world and should offer attendees and judges lots of good choices.

Here’s the slate:

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

BINDLESTIFFS – Director: Andrew Edison, Screenwriters: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin. (USA)

World Premiere. Three smart-mouthed high school virgins, suspended from school on a graffiti charge, flee to the inner city to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye. Cast: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin, John Karna

Comforting Skin – Director: Derek Franson, Screenwriter: Derek Franson. (Canada) US Premiere. A lonely young woman’s desperate need for emotional and physical companionship draws her into a surreal and ultimately destructive relationship with a shifting and whispering tattoo she has willed to life on her skin. Cast: Jane Sowerby, Tygh Runyan, Victoria Bidewell

Doppelgänger Paul – Director: Dylan Akio Smith, Kris Elgstrand, Screenwriter: Kris Elgstrand. (Canada) US Premiere. The unlikely relationship of two lonely men whose connection sets off a chain of events resulting in the loss of a thumb, the theft of a manuscript, and two appearances on a popular morning talk show. Cast: Brad Dryborough, Tygh Runyan

I know what you’re thinking. Comic-Con in San Diego is still coming up next week and we need to get through that so how can you possibly be thinking about another event already? Well, as much as I like Comic-Con, I kinda prefer this other event coming up in Austin.

That event is, of course, the amazing Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 22-29 and showcases some of the most interesting, disturbing and awesome films being made today. On that note, the Fest has just announced its first slate of programming and we’ve got it for you below.

According to the release, the first slate of films “spans the globe from Japan, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, Hong Kong, Korea and of course the USA.” The Fest is “debuting digital restorations of Italian horror classics and a stunning 3D epic with more objects flying in your face than Michael Bay and James Cameron combined.”

Here’s the list of films announced so far. Expect more announcements, and lots of coverage, soon.

The Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place in New York from May 5 to May 18, has announced the winners of it’s prestigious event. And without further to do, here’s all the info you need to know from the official press release:

The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its world competition categories tonight at a ceremony hosted at the W Union Square in New York City.

The world competition winners for narrative and documentary films were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 20 countries. Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from seven narrative and six documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the short film competitions. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 38 countries.

With the SXSW Film/Music/Interactive Fest starting next week, the deluge of info about films being screened during the event is starting to increase. One film that caught our eye is director Chris D’Arienzo’s comedy Barry Munday, which features Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson in an atypical comedic role, the always funny Judy Greer and a great supporting cast.

And now, courtesy of the folks doing PR for the film during the Fest, we can share a trailer and some stills with you today. Also, here’s more on the story of the film from its official synopsis:

Barry Munday, a suburban wanna-be ladies man, wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in a movie theater, only to realize that he is missing one of his most prized possessions… his testicles. To make matters worse, Barry learns he’s facing a paternity lawsuit filed by a woman he can’t remember having sex with.

With this being Barry last chance to ever be a father, Barry reaches out and embraces the journey of parenthood and the onslaught of bumps that face him along the way.

Check out the new trailer and some stills from the film after the break. Barry Munday premieres at SXSW on Saturday, March 13.

The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin has chosen the film that will open its 2010 festival and its one that will surely please fanboys (and girls) alike: Matthew Vaughn’s highly anticipated Kick-Ass. The film, based on the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., tells the story of teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to take crime fighting into his own hands and don the moniker “Kick-Ass” while he uncovers the true darkness in the city and gets the crap kicked out of him in the process.

In addition to Kick-Ass, the SXSW festival, which runs from March 12-20, announced five other film titles making an appearance at the fest this year including Electra Luxx, from director Sebastian Gutierrez, Cold Weather, the latest from SXSW alum Aaron Katz, and the first public screening of the IMAX space film Hubble 3D. In addition, actor-turned-director James Franco’s Saturday Night, a documentary that takes you behind the scenes during the production of an episode of Saturday Night Live, will also screen at the fest.

Kick-Ass will be released by Lionsgate on April 16. More of the festival’s approximately 125 features will be announced in early February.

Be sure to check back right here for all your SXSW news.