Among hundreds of titles at film festivals, a few stand out like little diamonds amid so much rough.

The Sundance Film Festival is fecund soil for hot new discoveries, from "Reservoir Dogs" to "Primer." South by Southwest also boasts its share of revelations, even if some arrive on post-Sundance bounce. Bouncing movies at SXSWs past were "Spellbound," "Super Size Me" and "Napoleon Dynamite."

Empirical observation concludes that this SXSW Film Festival was the best in its 12-year history. The strength of the lineup spread across the board — shorts, documentaries, features and all.

We predict that a handful of the films will have good bounce — they will find an audience in theatrical release or television — including "A Life Without Pain," "Troop 1500," "Hooligans" and "The Devil and Daniel Johnston."

Based on our own impressions and audience response, we've tapped seven more films from the SXSW class of '05 as Most Likely to Bounce, movies that could graduate to popular acclaim. Some already have distribution deals, while others still await their big break.

•Don Argott's "Rock School" played to capacity crowds who generated a vibe more like a concert than a movie. People laughed, hooted, clapped; many flashed the devil sign with raised hands. They were responding to Paul Green, the demanding dean of the School of Rock Music in Philadelphia, where kids ages 5 to 17 learn the notes, moves and collaborative dynamics of playing in a rock band. Green is mean, shouting expletives and slamming doors when a student fails to make her mark. Yet it's this flamboyant, John Belushian passion, at once crude and caring, that spurs his young charges to play their best, nailing even the most byzantine Frank Zappa compositions at a major festival in Germany. With a trajectory of pain and triumph and a compelling cast of hobbit-height headbangers, the film makes an immersive, exhilarating experience that leaves you giddy.

— Chris Garcia

•Not everyone fell under the spell of the bleakly hypnotic thriller "Cavite," but those who did were rattled. It's a mean, lean, creepily hermetic drama about a young man placed at the mercy of Islamic terrorists in the Philippines. A call on his cell phone reveals that his mother and sister are hostages; he must stay on the phone and follow the terrorists' carefully orchestrated demands, becoming a puppet pawn pulled by murderous strings. Filmmakers Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana achieve a mastery of tone and intention, taking us along the film's tense, sweaty and finally horrifying road to hell with visual punch and dramatic originality.

— C.G.

•There were plenty of wrenching documentaries at the festival, but the well-deserved winner of the Documentary Feature award showed a more comic touch. But that's not to say that Michele Ohayon's "Cowboy Del Amor" is lightweight. The "Cowboy" of the title is matchmaker Ivan Thompson. At the Austin Convention Center, I overheard him described as a "coot," and that's pretty accurate. Thompson makes matches between American men and Mexican women. He's a rich character — practically tailor-made for talk shows — and Ohayon crafts a gem of a film around him. It's sharply observed, well paced and very, very funny. You'll like it, your mom will like it.

— Sarah Lindner

•"The Puffy Chair" might not ascend to "Napoleon Dynamite"-type heights, but the clever little road movie will certainly open doors for the talent involved. Writer (and star) Mark Duplass has an ear for the way men and women communicate and miscommunicate, from schmoopie baby talk to bitter outbursts. Mainstream relationship comedies are in terrible shape and could use someone like Duplass. He has a sure presence as an actor, too — kind of an indie-rock Ron Livingston. His co-star (and real-life girlfriend) Kathryn Aselton radiates intelligence and beauty. Someday, every guy you know in a band will have a crush on her.

— S.L.

•Many of us who attended "The Wendell Baker Story" premiere with caution were pleasantly surprised by a film full of easy charm and practically no pretense. Brothers Luke and Andrew Wilson aim for a casually countercultural '70s vibe and hit it through much of the film. (Some strain shows near the end, but it's minor.) The humor is easy until a midfilm surprise cameo that had the Paramount crowd howling. The movie should do well with both the young audiences who have loved Luke in romantic comedies and older ones who appreciate the film's personality, so long as it can be marketed in a way that makes clear that this is no cookie-cutter romance.

— John DeFore

•There was no mistaking the sound of a delighted crowd at the Paramount premiere of "Murderball," a doc about athletes who, despite having suffered spinal-cord injuries, participate in the brutal sport of wheelchair rugby. Full of humor and soul, the movie combines a revealing look at the life of some quadriplegics with a sports rivalry story that simmers until a world-championship showdown. While showing that the disabled can be as stubbornly brutish as any jock you know, the film finds unexpected ways to move the viewer.

— J.D.

•My favorite of this year's oddball documentaries, "Pucker Up" combines the esoteric-competition aspect of "Spellbound" with an anthropological history of an inherently joyous pasttime: whistling. Viewers will be astounded at the feats this film's subjects can accomplish with just their lungs, lips, and tongue — it goes way beyond whistlin' Dixie, to incorporate clucks, oodles and chirps — and will find themselves, as in the fictional "Best In Show," picking sides between the hobbyist philosophers and the career-minded professional puckerers.

— J.D.