Nueva Onda

Movies This Week: Lemon Trees, Hangovers and Pride

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Every Little Step

Six new movies open this week, and there's something for just about everyone. That's not including all 15 other special screenings (and that's not breaking down all the Paramount movies into separate events).

Arthouse-wise, Lemon Tree is opening at the Dobie. The film stars Hiam Abbass (The Visitor) as a Palestinian widow whose new neighbor, the Israeli Defense Minister, threatens to destroy her lemon grove. Directed and co-written by Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride), it's likely going to be funny and heartbreaking.

The Arbor has Every Little Step opening (pictured above), a documentary about auditions for a revival of the legendary musical A Chorus Line. Considering that it's about auditions for a musical, references to life imitating art imitating life must abound.

2009 Guide to Free Summer Movies in Austin

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 Grindhouse double-feature

Check out our updated 2011 Guide to Free (and Cheap) Summer Movies.

While Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday are no longer free events, if you're still looking for free movies, you have plenty of options around town this summer. Recently, Jette briefly mentioned the Reel Independents series this summer at Austin Public Library. APL has two additional summer series at different libraries, so there's no excuse to miss these movies.

Nueva Onda Summer Film Season Starts Tonight

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Nueva Onda hosts a series of films in the warmer months, and tonight they seem to be celebrating the spirit of Cine Las Americas with the short Danzak, an Andean tale that earned director Gabriela Yepes an Austin Film Festival award. The lineup also includes an episode of Austin Stories and The Bickersons.

The screenings happen on the patio at Nuevo Onda rain or shine, at 8 pm -- the restaurant opens at 6:30, and you can get some great Mexican food beforehand. Admission is free. Nuevo Onda is located at 2218 College Avenue. More information at the Nueva Onda website.

Movies This Week: B-Side at Screen Door, Lasting Images, and The Unforeseen

Now that Slackerwood is back up and running smoothly, there's no reason why we shouldn't have a Movies This Week, and the sooner the better. Let's look at some of the special screenings and events you can catch around town this week:

  • Screen Door Film and B-Side Entertainment are partnering to show us some great films you probably haven't seen outside of festivals yet ... and really should. Four-Eyed Monsters (which played SXSW in 2005) is playing on Wednesday, Pirate Radio USA (one of my favorites from AFF last year) on Thursday, and The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat and Beers (a favorite from AFF 2005) on Friday. All screenings are at Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Rd.
  • Nueva Onda is showing a feature-length film at the restaurant's Movie Night this Thursday: Lasting Images. Admission is free. The movie starts at 8 pm, but get there early for a good seat on the patio. (More movies after the jump.)

Movies This Week: Renoir, Office Space, and a Garage Sale

I've been out of town for a long weekend in the New Orleans area, where they really could use more indie/arthouse theaters, although that's not exactly a priority post-Katrina. Still, my youngest brother is terribly envious of the diversity of film choices we have in Austin, which is why I hope he doesn't see the following list. He's not going to be in a good mood until he gets to see Superbad, and that doesn't reach theaters for another 10 days. If he were here, these are the movies and film-related events I'd be telling him about:

  • The Paramount is showing Rules of the Game tonight and Wednesday, and I would love to see this Jean Renoir movie again, especially since it's a restored print. I can't go (I actually have to see Daddy Day Camp tomorrow) but you should all go for me and tell me how wonderful it is. Other Paramount movies in the Summer Classic series this week include a David Lean double-bill of Brief Encounter and Summertime on Thurs. and Sunday, Fellini's La Strada on Sunday, and Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast on Monday.
  • The "Sing-Along" version of Hairspray will be showing for the rest of the week at Barton Creek Cinemark (the one that's not in the mall). I still need to see the non-sing-along version myself, although I am wary after what happened with The Producers. (more films after the jump)

Movie-related Events This Week

I've been hearing about a lot of interesting screenings and events around town this week, so I thought I'd share a list of the highlights. If I'm missing anything, feel free to promote your own movie-related event in the comments section.

  • Tuesday night, Austin Film Festival kicks off their new seminar series, Conversations in Film, with a panel called "Script to Screen: Making the Short Film." Panelists include Steve Collins (who expanded his short Gretchen and the Night Danger into the LAFF-winning Gretchen), Jenn Garrison (Prizewhores), and Scott Rice (Perils in Nude Modeling and the very funny Script Cops shorts that preceded films at AFF last year). The seminar takes place at Coldtowne Theater at 6 pm, and you can buy tickets from the AFF site, or call the AFF office if you're eligible for the member discount. I'm amused that two of these three panelists have directed shorts that feature the acting talents of AFF Membership Director John Merriman. That's coincidence ... or is it?
  • Also on Tuesday, if you are a Filmmaker-level or higher member of Austin Film Society, you can attend the Docs-in-Progress screening of Best Kept Secret, directed by PJ Raval and Jay Hodges. Reserve seats through AFS. Best Kept Secret is about the transformation of Trinidad, Colorado, into the "sex change capital of the world." You might know Raval primarily as a cinematographer, who's photographed a number of local films such as Room, The Cassidy Kids, and the aforementioned Gretchen. Hodges is a book editor who has also worked with the Cinematexas film festival. (I really wish these AFS and AFF events weren't competing with one another -- it would be fabulous to attend both.)

SpongeBob, Jet Li, and Yaks on a Jetski

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A title like that can only mean that this week's News from Slackerwood entry is now available on Cinematical. The entry includes a charming still from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie that I included just to make my husband happy. Never let it be said that I am not a devoted wife. (Yipes. Did I just type that?)

The movie I'm most interested in next week is Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, which I've never seen because I used to be chicken about watching Sam Peckinpah films. The movie is playing Monday through Wednesday at Alamo Downtown. However, I'm not sure I can go: I've got a meeting Monday night, a screening Tuesday night for a movie to review, and Nueva Onda Movie Night on Wednesday.

Nueva Onda doesn't start until 8 pm or so, so I could see the Peckinpah film and arrive there late ... but I would hate to miss seeing/hearing local filmmaker Steve Collins, who will be there to discuss his two short films included in the lineup. One of the shorts, Gretchen and the Night Danger, was the basis for Collins' feature Gretchen, which played at SXSW and then won Collins the big award at LAFF. (I'm on the Nueva Onda programming committee and I suggested we consider showing Collins' movies and asking him to attend, so I'm especially invested in this month's event.)

I should be happy to live in a town where I have so many film choices and such tough viewing decisions, I know.

Metroblogging likes Nueva Onda movie nights

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Lauren at Metroblogging Austin recently posted an upbeat story about her experience at last week's Nueva Onda Movie Night. I'm happy she had a good time ... because I'm on the programming committee for the monthly outdoor screenings.

Naturally, I want to encourage all of you to go to Nueva Onda's movie nights, which are on the second Wednesday of each month, starting around 8 pm (or a little later, whenever it gets dark enough). Admission is free. You can order giant plates of nachos or enchiladas, have some beer, and enjoy a variety of short narrative and documentary films (or the occasional feature). Get there a little early if you want a good table where you can eat and watch the movies, or else you can move your chair when the movies begin. You can flicks [at] nuevaaustin [dot] com (join the mailing list) to find out in advance about the film lineup for the next month's screening.

Also, if you are a filmmaker and you have some short films or features stashed away, why not submit them to Nueva Onda for consideration? jette [at] celluloideyes [dot] com (Email me) for more information about where to send a copy of the film, etc. You don't have to live in Austin to submit a film -- last week's theme was "World Short Films."

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