Alas, I am not in Austin but in New York City - but if I was there at SXSW, these are 10 films I would be seeing. They’re all TakePart friendly (advocate social change and action) in their own particular way - even if it isn’t obvious right up front.

Check out the entire SXSW line-up HERE and to keep up to date on festival action.

1. Mister Lonely
Director: Harmony Korine. Writers: Avi Korine & Harmony Korine. Starring: Werner Herzog, Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant.
A Michael Jackson impersonator lives alone in Paris and performs on the streets to make ends meet. At a performance in a retirement home, Michael falls for a beautiful Marilyn Monroe look-alike who suggests he move to a commune of impersonators in the Scottish Highlands. (U.S. Premiere)

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2. New Orleans Mon Amour
Director: Michael Almereyda. Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Elisabeth Moss, Isabel Gillies.
A year after Hurricane Katrina, an affluent surgeon in New Orleans is attempting to get his life back on track. He is remarrying his ex-wife, renovating her house and restarting his medical practice. His plan begins to unravel when he runs into an old flame. (World Premiere)

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3. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Director: Alex Gibney.
With access to never-before-seen archives, this is a fascinating documentary look at the legendary and undeniable Hunter S. Thompson. (Regional Premiere)

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4. Bulletproof Salesman
Director: Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein
Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn’t about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product. (World Premiere)

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5. Older Than America
Director: Georgina Lightning. Writers: Georgina Lightning, Christine Kunewa. Starring: Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal, Bradley Cooper, Georgina Lightning, Wes Studi. A woman’s haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about atrocities that occurred at a Native Indian boarding school. (World Premiere)

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6. RSO [Registered Sex Offender]
Director/writer: Robert Byington. Starring: Gabriel McIver, Kristen Tucker, Andrew Bujalski, Kevin Corrigan.
There may be one thing worse than being a sex offender sent to prison: Being a sex offender released from prison. (World Premiere)

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7. Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?
Director: Morgan Spurlock.
Acclaimed filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heads to the Middle East for two reasons: to understand cultures overseas and to find Osama Bin Laden. (Regional Premiere)

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8. Explicit Ills
Director/writer: Mark Webber. Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Frankie Shaw, Tariq Trotter, Rosario Dawson, Noamie Harris, Paul Dano. Young love, drugs and poverty collide in the city of Philadelphia creating a beautiful tale of hope and the power of coming together. (World Premiere)

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9. Humboldt County
Director/writer: Danny Jacobs & Darren Grodsky. Starring: Fairuza Balk, Peter Bogdanovich, Frances Conroy, Madison Davenport, Brad Dourif, Chris Messina, Jeremy Strong.
When Peter Hadley, a promising yet disillusioned medical student, stumbles upon an eccentric community of marijuana farmers, his life will never be the same. (World Premiere)

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10. The Visitor
Director/writer: Thomas McCarthy. Starring: Richard Jenkins.
A college professor becomes embroiled in the lives of a young immigrant couple he discovers squatting in his Manhattan apartment. Confronted with adversity, these strangers become inextricably bound together. (Regional Premiere)