Musicians making personal documentaries is on the rise, proving the power of the combination of rock stars on film. While the Sundance Film Festival in January hosted Stewart Copeland’s documentary about the early Police days, a plethora of docs are premiering at the upcoming South-by-South-West (SXSW) music festival in its film division from March 10-18, 2006 in Austin, Texas.

Among the top music documentaries to premiere include Herbie Hancock’s “Possibilities,” the Beastie Boys’ “Awesome: I Fuckin’ Shot That,” “loudQuietloud” about the Pixies, and “Neil Young/Heart of Gold” directed by director Jonathan Demme. Neil Young is also the keynote speaker at this year’s festival.

The film festival at SXSW, which is primarily known for introducing new music via a variety of showcases over the course of 8 days, is becoming a strong element of the scene overall. Other movies include themes such as the rise of Cuban hip-hop called “East of Havana,” and Hector Galan’s “ Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields and Crossroads.”

Stay tuned for more about SXSW and key showcases in the next few weeks when the festival takes place.