Caitlin Moore's blog

AFF 2014: Thursday Film and Panel Picks

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aff logoBelieve it or not, the 21st annual Austin Film Festival starts today. If you're a procrastinator or chronic second-guesser (that's me) you probably haven't mapped out a definite schedule yet, but you know what? That's okay. To help you along, Debbie has offered her film and panel picks for the entire festival and I'll post a few daily highlights that may help to offer some direction.

If you're into taking it one day at a time, start here with a few Thursday panel and film possibilities.

Thursday Panel Picks:

A Conversation with Cary Fukunaga -- The conference starts out strong with a discussion with the director of True Detective, Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. How did one person end up behind such different projects? Maybe Fukunaga will tell us here. (Thursday, Oct. 23, 1-2:15 pm in the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Ballroom)

Review: Gone Girl

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This review contains vague plot spoilers.

Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl is a modern horror story about a marriage that goes dangerously, fascinatingly awry. A fast and satisfying read, the book’s smart dialogue and clever structure keep it from landing in trashy thriller territory even though the subject matter largely revolves around sex and scandal.

Flynn also wrote the screenplay for the film Gone Girl, doing an admirable job of keeping the guilty pleasure essence of the book intact while rearranging and splicing when necessary. It’s a tough trick to pull off, but she does it skillfully.

David Fincher is the well-chosen director of the film. Topics like obsession, manipulation and society’s continuous decay are right up Fincher’s alley, and his slick style and precise attention to detail are perfectly channeled into a story where every word and action carries weight and meaning. 

From Richard Linklater to Jon Stewart: Texas Films and Lineup Additions at AFF 2014

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The full lineup and schedule have now been announced for this year's Austin Film Festival. Along with buzzy Marquee Selections like Wild and The Imitation Game and a few exciting late additions, including Jon Stewart's debut film Rosewater, The Humbling (starring Al Pacino) and dramedy/musical The Last 5 Yearsdozens of world and regional premieres are slated to screen, too -- many with Texas ties.

You can take a look at the full lineup and conference schedule (they're using Sched this year) and start planning your own path, but for now here's a quick overview of the films appearing at the festival made by and about Texans. 

21 Years: Richard Linklater -- Austin is the perfect place for the world premiere of this documentary, as it covers the first 21 years of the local director's career. The film features interviews with some of Linklater's regular collaborators, including Matthew McConaughey, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. You can bet this Friday night screening at the Paramount will be packed with proud local film fans. 

Ready, Set, Fund: Newcomers and Old Film Friends

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Ready, Set, Fund is a column about crowdfunding and fundraising endeavors related to Austin and Texas independent film projects. 

This month's look at the local crowdfunding scene offers a diverse group of films made up of both familiar names and newcomers to this column.

Let's start with who you may know: Never Goin' Back (a recent AFS Grant recipient), is written and directed by Augustine Frizzell and tells the story of two teenage girls who enjoy a crazy day of bad behavior after losing their jobs at a pancake house. Fun fact: Frizzell grew up in Garland, TX and calls the script for Never Goin' Back "almost completely autobiographical." Time is running out to help this one meet its Seed & Spark goal -- you have until Friday to give

Slackery News Tidbits: September 22, 2014

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There's more to life than Fantastic Fest -- here's a roundup of the latest local film news:

  • Austin Film Festival has announced its full lineup and the schedule is now live. Check back with us in the coming days for a closer look at the Texas films being featured and general highlights. The fest will run Oct. 23-30.
  • Vimeo and FilmBuff have picked up Wedlock, a 10-episode web series created by Mark Duplass, who co-stars in the show with Rob Corddry and Jennifer Lafleur. Wedlock premiered at SXSW and will debut on Vimeo on Demand on Sept. 29.
  • Thank You a Lot, a film by local director Matt Muir, will screen at the Village Alamo Drafthouse Monday night and tickets are currently still available. Set in the Austin music scene, the film screened at SXSW earlier this year and Don called it "poignant and perceptive" in his review
  • Indiewire takes a first look at Andrew Bujalski's latest film, Results -- a romantic comedy set in the fitness industry starring Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders. (My mind continues to be boggled that this will be the follow-up to Computer Chess.)

aGLIFF 2014 Dispatch: Short Films and BFFs

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After two successful sold-out screenings of opening night film Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine on Wednesday, aGLIFF continued Thursday with a full day of programming. 

Short films usually offer a fun way to dive into a festival (they let you explore a lot of ground in an hour and a half or so), so I decided to go the Dramatic Shorts Program #1 and the Comedy Shorts Program #1

The dramatic program included eight shorts from six different countries. Half focused on teens and pre-teens learning to navigate a world that's less than welcoming to their sexual orientation, while the other half showed that adults still struggle with internal and external factors in their relationships, as well.

Review: The Drop

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the dropSet in a gritty Brooklyn neighborhood during a cold, gray January, The Drop is a twisty crime drama that glooms along at a measured pace. The somber experience is elevated by the skillful performances of the lead actors, and it must be said, by the presence of a pit bull puppy who helps drive the action and counterbalance the moral decay around him.

Don't worry, director Michael R. Roskam (Bullhead) hasn't turned sentimental on us. The world he shows us here is a mean one. Justice comes in the form of bad things happening to bad people, but since nothing good really happens to anyone, these moments are hollow victories. 

In his last film performance, James Gandolfini plays Cousin Marv, a bar manager bullied into misery by Chechen crime bosses. Tom Hardy is Bob, a stoic bartender, and Noomi Rapace is Nadia, a down-on-her-luck waitress. Life is far from ideal for any of them (there are very few smiles in this movie), but all have strong survival instincts and are doing their best to get ahead.

That's where wildcard Eric Deeds comes in. Played by Matthias Schoenaerts with a truly frightening combination of unpredictability and charisma, Eric's presence and actions pull everyone into a defensive pattern of starts and stops. Though physically much different than he was in Bullhead, Schoenaerts is just as intense here -- he and Roskam make a good team when it comes to skillfully pummeling an audience with a dark story.

Get Ready for aGLIFF 2014 This Week

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agliffThe Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (better known as aGLIFF) kicks off Wednesday night, and over 100 films from a variety of countries and genres will screen through Sunday. Most of the festival will take place at the recently remodeled Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, and badges and individual passes are both still available.

The lineup is designed to showcase some of the most noteworthy LGBTQ films from the recent festival circuit and includes opening-night film Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine, Centerpiece Film Regarding Susan Sontag, narrative closing-night film Appropriate Behavior and a Friday night secret screening.

Whether you're a badgeholder who wants to catch as many movies as possible or a casual participant just planning to attend a screening or two, here are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Location: With the exception of the closing night films, which are at the Stateside Theatre, all other screenings will take place at the Alamo South Lamar. It still looks like a bit of a construction mess over there, but the new parking garage (accessible from Treadwell Street) is open. Get there early to allow time to navigate the situation -- it may take longer than you'd think to park and get inside.

AFS Grants 2014: A Sneak Peek into Texas Filmmaking (Part Two)

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Continuing from Part One, here are detailed descriptions of more 2014 AFS Grants winners. Again, if you have info we don't, feel free to share it in the comments or drop us a line if you're involved with one of the films.

Never Goin' Back (Narrative Feature) (pictured below)

  • The grant: $2,500 (AFS Grant Award) for production and $5,000 (MPS Camera Award) for camera package and equipment rentals
  • The blurb: "In an attempt to get rent money and avoid eviction, high school drop outs Jessie & Angela embark on a day of adventure that includes dudes, drugs, booze and an ill-advised heist. Just another day in the life of your average 16-year-old girl."
  • The filmmaker: Augustine Frizzell was born in Texas and currently lives in Dallas. She has done quite a bit of work as an actress (her credits include Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Hellion), and she also directed the short film I Was A Teenage Girl, which screened at SXSW last year (Elizabeth's interview with her).

AFS Grants 2014: A Sneak Peek into Texas Filmmaking (Part One)

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Congratulations are in order for several Austin and Texas filmmakers, as the Austin Film Society announced its 2014 AFS Grant recipients Tuesday. This year, $115,000 will be distributed to 40 individuals to help with production and distribution costs on a combined 37 feature and short films. Each year, we at Slackerwood look forward to this announcement because it provides a nice roundup of specific movies we can look forward to seeing in the coming months.

More than half of this year's grant recipients have never before received funding from AFS, and the remaining awardees include familiar Lone Star filmmakers like Andrew Bujalski, Yen Tan and John Fiege. All but three grants (not including Travel Grants) will assist Austin-based films -- there's a lot going on around here.

Here's an overview of this year's AFS Grant recipients along with a little context and background information. Let us know if you have anything to add, and feel free to reach out if you're involved with any of these projects and want to tell us more.

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