Film Festivals

Toronto International Film Fest Lineup Includes a Slice of Austin

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manglehorn still

The Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 4-14 this year, and local director David Gordon Green, Austin-frequenter Jason Reitman and Austin native Ethan Hawke will all be premiering films there. 

Green, whose previous Texas-filmed work includes Joe (Jette's review) and Prince Avalanche (my review), shot Manglehorn in Austin last year and North American audiences will have the chance to see it for the first time at TIFF. Manglehorn stars Al Pacino, Holly Hunter and Chris Messina and tells the story of a lonely locksmith whose heart is stuck in the past.

The film crew was spotted at various Austin locations last fall, including Sharp's Locksmith and Little Mexico on South First and the Driskill downtown. In Debbie's interview with Green at the Dallas International Film Festival in April, he said Manglehorn would be the final installment of his "Texas trilogy" and described the movie as "melancholy but full of hope and life and love."

AFF's 20th Anniversary Lineup, from Award Winners to Low-Budget 'Jewels'

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aff logoHighlights of the Austin Film Festival 2013 lineup, announced Tuesday, include Cannes Grand Prix winner Inside Llewyn Davis from former Austinites Joel and Ethan Coen, Toronto IFF favorite 12 Years a Slaveand the star-studded ensemble August: Osage CountyThe full lineup consists of over 70 features and over 100 short films, including several US and world premieres. 

Other eye-catchers selected for the 20th anniversary lineup include Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela), Philomena (Stephen Frears' latest), a documentary directed by Whoopi Goldberg (HBO's Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley), and the previously announced Nebraska from Alexander Payne.

Films are presented in traditional categories like Marquee Screenings, Documentary Features, Comedy Vanguard and Dark Matters, and this year reveals a couple of new sections: Heart of Film and Write/Rec, which both highlight the best in low budget filmmaking and "out of competition jewels." (We were excited to see that Write/Rec selection 3 References comes from local filmmaker James Christopher, who guest blogged the film's shoot for Slackerwood.)

Austin Asian American Film Festival Preview

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AAAFF 2009Next Thursday, the sixth annual Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF) begins for four days of films, panels and special events celebrating the best in Asian and Asian American independent film.  Like other niche festivals, it's got a lot more to offer than the title might suggest to the uninitiated. 

This is a town that celebrates film, not just the big festivals, so it should not be surprising that the films will have universal appeal despite their only common themes being an Asian connection. It is also a good reminder that Asia is much more than the countries with a northern Pacific coastline, and are as far west as Israel. And that Asian films are not just chop-socky; the program at AAAFF includes documentary, experimental, animated, narrative and social justice films. 

Two such films are Sita Sings the Blues and Persepolis, the former an Independent Spirit Award nominated film, and the latter nominated for an Oscar. Both are beautifully made, personal stories within animated works that are equally poignant and sharp. And luckily for us, both are screening for free to the general public. Sita Sings the Blues is screening at the MACC, and Persepolis is part of an outdoor celebration that will include bands and food vendors. 

Among the other films and events to catch during AAAFF:

Slackery News Tidbits: DVD Gossip, a New Fest and Shaky Seats

Check out the latest movie news from Austin and Central Texas:

  • Kelly Williams at Austin Film Festival has written a lovely remembrance of Bud Shrake that also contains an exciting piece of news: Before he died, Shrake had recorded a commentary track for an upcoming DVD release of Kid Blue. You know we'll keep you posted when more info becomes available.
  • More on Shrake: the Austin Chronicle has republished Louis Black's excellent interview from 1985 with the Texas author and screenwriter.
  • Galaxy Highland is installing "motion-enhanced seats" -- about 20 in one theater -- in time for Terminator Salvation to open this weekend. Austin Movie Blog tells us that tickets for these seats will cost about $8 more. My first thought was that such seating will make it even harder to get through a long movie without a bathroom break; a colleague of mine noted that vibrating seats might be more appropriate to certain other genres of film.

Quick Snaps and News: 'Santos' is Back in Town

Santos at FF 08

I don't know how I missed this earlier, but the Cine Las Americas lineup this year includes a popular film from Fantastic Fest, Santos. The Chilean movie is about a comic-book artist who suddenly discovers that the fantasy superhero world he's been writing about may actually be real. It's very silly and full of dorky jokes, and I got a kick out of it. I wasn't the only one -- Santos won a Special Jury Award for originality and vision at Fantastic Fest.

The above photo is from the Q&A after the film, in which writer-director Nicolas Lopez chatted with Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Karrie League. I don't have any notes from that Q&A, but check out Kevin Kelly's interview with Lopez from SpoutBlog.

Elizabeth Avellan was one of the film's producers -- I believe Troublemaker Studios helped out with some of the special effects. You might remember that Avellan was at the Fantastic Fest awards ceremony and even chugged a beer.

Santos will play Cine Las Americas on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 pm at Alamo Ritz. You can buy tickets or a fest pass from the Cine Las Americas website.

Next Fest: Head to AFI Dallas

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 Rian Johnson

I attended AFI Dallas in its first year and had a great time. I'd love to go back this year, but it starts Thursday night and I'm still recuperating from SXSW.

This year's opening-night film is Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, which played during Fantastic Fest as a sneak preview last year. Johnson was at the Austin screening, as you can see from the above photo. Johnson and Reiko Kikuchi are scheduled to attend the AFI Dallas event. Kikuchi nearly steals the movie, which is a comedy about con men, in the tradition of The Lady Eve.

The Brothers Bloom isn't the only film from Fantastic Fest 2008 to play at AFI Dallas this year. Zombie Girl, the documentary about Austin teenager Emily Hagins directing a horror film, is screening in competition. And a favorite short from the fest, The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon, is in the shorts competition.

Austin Jewish Film Festival Starts This Weekend

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In case you hadn't realized -- or you're like me and time just slipped by and you lost track of it -- the Austin Jewish Film Festival begins Saturday night and runs through next Friday, January 30. Most of the films are screening at Arbor, with a few also playing on the UT campus, at Texas Hillel, and even in Georgetown.

You can still buy tickets for the opening-night films at the Arbor: Someone to Run With (with the screenwriter in attendance) and Emotional Arithmetic. AJFF also has film badges and passes available. The whole festival has a nice mix of films, and there's nothing much good opening in theaters this weekend, so why not check it out?

Tonight: Austin Underground Film Fest

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Austin Underground Film FestIf you're looking for something to do tonight that does not involve shopping, elves, eggnog, and that sort of thing, you might want to head over to Salvage Vanguard Theatre for the Austin Underground Film Festival (AUFF). You can get tickets at the door, and the event includes not only live music but about 30 short films from local and international filmmakers, including animator Don Hertzfeldt.

That Austin Girl recently interviewed AUFF founder Andy Gately about the fest and how it's changed in its three years. Gately's response on why you should go tonight: "Instead of popcorn we'll have falafels. We'll also be giving away free bongs, porn, massages, gift certificates, and Live Oak beer. And all of it's locally-made. Except the porn." Convinced yet?

Most Interesting Photos from SxSW 2008

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Billy Bob Thornton, photo by Kris Krug

As "curated" by the Flickr community. See the whole slideshow.

Weekend at Butt-Numb-a-Thon

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Many people spent the past weekend shopping for Christmas gifts, or sending cards, or putting up a tree or festive lights. But a number of hardcore film geeks in Austin spent the weekend holed up in Alamo at the Ritz, watching 24 hours of movies, vintage trailers, clips from upcoming films, and even a TV episode. The ninth annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon packed the larger theater at the Alamo -- 13 of us were in the right-hand balcony, and we were all quite friendly quite quickly. (One of my favorite moments with the group was the domino effect with the milkshakes: One of us ordered a shake, and when it appeared, everyone else immediately had to get one for themselves.)

You can see the truly prepared BNAT-ters in the above photo, toting pillows and blankets to make sure they could sit in reasonable comfort in a theater seat for more than a day. I wish I could have taken some photos of BNAT itself -- the costume contest, the meat pies served during Sweeney Todd, and Tim League appearing in a rented wizard's costume (he inadvertently broke the staff) during the traditional showing of the trailer for Stunt Rock. But cameras and other electronic gizmos are banned from BNAT, which is good because you never hear someone's phone go off in mid-movie.

I wrote up all the details on the films shown and audience reactions for Variety's film-fest site, The Circuit. Check it out. Catching up on sleep afterwards sucked, but I had a wonderful time, and my husband even reaped some benefits ... he's been playing with the HD-DVD player given away to BNAT attendees this year, ever since I brought it home.­

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