Slackery News Tidbits, October 22

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Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.

  • Austin Film Festival announced its 2012 film competition awards, which includes the locally made short documentary, See The Dirt. Chelsea Hernandez's and Erik Mauck's film, about a Georgetown teen who collects vacuum cleaners, won Best Documentary Short. Director Jamie Meltzer's documentary Informant, about Austinite Byron Darby's turn from left-wing protestor to FBI informant, won Best Documentary Feature at this year's festival.
  • Austin Film Society is hosting a member mixer with beer, snacks and short film clips from local filmmakers on Friday, October 26 from 5:30-7:30 pm at Austin Studios. The mixer is also providing info about the Love Austin initiative, which supports the municipal bond on the Austin ballot in November. Proposition 18 includes provisions to expand Austin Studios by transforming the neighboring National Guard Building into 50,000 square feet of office space for creative media professionals.
  • In more festival news, SXSW has announced its first wave of 2013 Film Conference programming, which includes a session with Turk Pipkin (The Nobelity Project) about "The Power of Film (To Change the World)" and a panel organized by local filmmaker Karen Kocher and UT Austin called "Storytelling Devices in Interactive Documentary."
  • Speaking of SXSW, fest staffers Claudette Godfrey and Jarod Neece won a Partners in the Arts Award for their assistance with the Faces of Austin short film program. The annual awards are presented by the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division and the Austin Arts Commission to individuals and organizations that have made a valuable impact on the work of the division.
  • The Alamo Drafthouse has announced its newest Rolling Roadshow series, Road Rage. Four road-themed movies, such as The Legend of Billie Jean and Wild at Heart, will be screened in classic drive-in style every Saturday from Nov. 10 - Dec. 1 at Spiderwood Studios in Utley, Texas.
  • According to The Austin Chronicle, the many Austin-connected Gotham Independent Film Awards nominees include Richard Linklater, whose dark comedy Bernie (Don's review) received Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance nominations; filmmaking team David and Nathan Zellner for Kid-Thing (Don's review), and part-time Austinites and UT alums Julia Halperin and Jason Cortlund for Now, Forager.
    In addition, we found more Lone Star connections among the nominees: former Austin dweller Alex Karpovsky for Red Flag (Jette's review); Texas natives Amy Seimetz for Sun Don't Shine (Don's review)and Terence Nance for An Oversimplification of Her Beauty; and former Austinites and UT alums Wes Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom (Jette's review) and Mark Duplass for Your Sister's Sister (Mike's review) and Safety Not Guaranteed (Debbie's review). Additionally, voting is now open for the Audience Award prize. Nominees for this prize include local productions Bindlestiffs and Trash Dance (Mike's review). Winners will be announced at the annual award show on November 26 in NYC.
  • Austin-area residents can get a sneak peek of the new Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery, located at 620 and Concordia, Nov. 5. The venue, which officially opens to the public November 9, houses 11 theaters, including five dine-in theaters and a full-service bar, as well as one of the largest screens in the state.
  • The Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery's sneak peek coincides with its Concordia University partnership benefit screening of Bastrop: Up From the Ashes. The feature-length documentary, which chronicles the aftermath of the Central Texas wildfires, was created by two Concordia University students. All ticket sales from the event will benefit the nonprofit organization All About Families.