Welcome to the SXSW Uncut Experience at IFC.com.

Friday, March 7, 2008 | 5:01 PM

For the next 10 days, IFC will be covering the sights and sounds of this year's South by Southwest Festival on our blogs, online video reports, and on the channel. Alison Willmore will be posting reviews and interviews on the Indie Eye and Film News blogs (ably assisted by Stephen Saito), Matt Singer hosts our daily IFC News video coverage, and JIm Shearer will be joining them in Austin next week to cover the music festival for the Indie Ear blog. Plus, we'll be launching our new daily online video show, "Lunchbox", on Monday, March 10th at 12 noon ET on IFC.com.

So what's so special about this festival? The Hollywood Reporter spoke with IFC's general manager, Evan Shapiro:

IFC also takes advantage of the synergies at the festival. Both IFC Entertainment and IFC TV are major sponsors, but this year, IFC TV has turned the volume up exponentially: It is world premiering two documentaries (the punk-band-focused "Heavy Load" and the exploration of capital punishment "At the Death House Door"), hosting a panel tying in with "Death House," sponsoring a party with live performances by My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tengo, and launching a broadband show called "The Lunchbox" directly from the festival.
"In a culture where independent music has become 30%-40% of all music sold, when independent films get almost all the nominations at the Academy Awards, SXSW is reaping the benefits," explains IFC TV general manager Evan Shapiro. "In March, Austin is the center of independent culture in the world."

So come back to IFC.com every day and check out the latest from SXSW at ifc.com/sxsw. (Ordering in BBQ is optional.)