AFF

I find it intriguing that shorts are recognized as an art form in Europe with the European Film Academy's short film initiative in co-operation with a series of film festivals. With most filmmakers starting out by making short films before tackling feature-length projects, one would hope the American film industry and festivals would embrace and support the short film format as well.

Thankfully, local film festivals feature some short films in their schedules, with the Austin Film Festival (AFF) offering the largest and most diverse programming of shorts at festivals in Austin. This year is no exception, with 13 separate shorts programs and a few short films preceding features, highlighting emerging filmmakers from Texas as well as across the globe.

Check out some of my recommendations from this year's list of Compiled Shorts programs -- you can add them to your AFF Festival Genius schedule by clicking the related link for each shorts program -- after the jump.

The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at AFF, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.

Deep In The Heart, starring Jon Gries (Natural Selection, Real Genius) and Val Kilmer (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), is premiering at AFF. Writer and producer Brian Hoffman (Corked) talks about the real-life story behind the script and his favorite spots in Austin. Hoffman is pictured above with director Christopher Cain on the set in Georgetown.

Slackerwood:  Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.   

Brian Hoffman:  It is the true story of a Texas man, Richard "Dick" Wallrath, whose personal demons caused him to hit rock bottom. After losing everything -- jobs, his family, hope -- Dick found faith, picked himself up and trudged on to eventually earn back the love of his children, build a successful window company and become the highest all-time individual donor to Texas 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Wallrath’s story proves hope is found Deep in the Heart.

The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at AFF, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.

Austin-based filmmaker Brandon Dickerson's feature film debut Sironia features music by Texas singer-songwriter Wes Cunningham, who also co-wrote the script with Dickerson and Thomas Ward. Dickerson, pictured above on the right with actress Amy Acker and Wes Cunningham, shares some very personal stories about how the story and the film began. Audiences may not recognize all the names of cast and crew, but may notice a lot of familiar faces onscreen. The cast includes Jeremy Sisto, Carrie Preston and Ryan Cartwright, not to mention Dallas-born actress Acker.

Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.

Brandon Dickerson: I've had some folks describe Sironia as "Once meets Away We Go," which I'm cool with. Music plus love story. In simplest terms ... the film is inspired by the music of singer-songwriter Wes Cunningham.

The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at AFF, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.

Writer-director Kelvin Phillips and producer/partner Carla Jackson made A Swingin' Trio here in Austin. A Swingin' Trio is their first feature film.

Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.

Kelvin Phillips: It's a film about a married couple who find themselves at an impasse. The wife, Trude Garçon-Moore, is at the start of an exploding career as a film producer. She's "busy, busy" as her husband, Homer Garçon likes to remind her. Homer is a "househusband" of sorts; he's a smart and talented writer, but it hasn't happened for him yet, and now he's frustrated and suspicious about his wife's activities. The movie is about what could happen in a marriage when one partner's success eclipses the other. Or when someone feels trapped in a situation (marriage, job, whatever) and how they can subconsciously sabotage things to free themselves.

The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at AFF, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.

A few years ago the (mostly) Austin-shot Chalk was the talk of Austin Film Festival. Now director Mike Akel is back in town with his latest film, An Ordinary Family. Akel is now based in Houston, but there are still some recognizable Texas locations in his feature, along with some familiar faces from Chalk.

Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.

Mike Akel: An Ordinary Family is Modern Family meets Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

An Ordinary Family is a humorous drama about one family, two brothers and a really big problem. Thomas Biederman is blindsided when his estranged brother, Seth, shows up unannounced to the annual family vacation ... with his boyfriend.

As much as we all like to think we're above celebrity watching, it's part of the fun at film festivals. And this year's Austin Film Festival has an eclectic mix of celebrities, both local and national. Below are the big names in attendance, and by no means a complete list of all guests in attendance at AFF this year.

Local filmmaker Mike Judge will be at AFF to present a special preview screening of a new edition of Beavis and Butt-Head on Sunday; the screening is open to the public (although badges and passes get priority seating). There will also be an exclusive premiere party for Producers Badge holders after the screening. If you were paying attention to TBA slots in the AFF Program Guide, that takes up one of the three slots; one is still unnnnounced and The Artist, a previously announced film, is taking the Tuesday, October 25 at 7 pm Paramount slot.

James Franco (pictured above from a previous Austin visit) will be back in town, attending a special regional premiere for his new film Sal on October 23. With only two premieres of this movie before AFF (including Venice Film Festival), this is a highly anticipated event at this year’s festival.

The 18th Austin Film Festival is almost here. To help celebrate all the locally connected movies at this year's fest, we've reached out to a number of filmmakers to find out about their Austin and Texas-tied films screening at AFF, and to hear about what they're looking forward to doing during the festival.

Searching for Sonny was filmed in the Fort Worth area by first-time feature director Andrew Disney, with a very recognizable cast including Jason Dohring, perhaps best known from his role on Veronica Mars. Disney and Dohring who will be in attendance at the film's AFF screenings along with cast members Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney. As Disney points out in the interview, Dohring isn't the only recognizable name or face in the cast.

Slackerwood: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph.

Andrew Disney: Searching for Sonny is an indie comedy mystery movie. It's a ride film that I hope feels like Big Lebowski and Rushmore had a baby. And that baby is on crack. We're a bunch of Texas filmmakers who tried to to create a big-looking Hollywood-feeling stylish flick with a very indie-sized crew on an incredibly indie-sized budget. Perfect film to watch with a beer and friends.

Austin Film Festival has just announced its opening-night, centerpiece, and closing-night films for the 2011 fest. The previously announced feature Jeff Who Lives at Home, directed by former Austinites Jay and Mark Duplass, will serve as the anchoring centerpiece selection, with Jay Duplass in attendance. Two newly announced titles will bookend eight days of films, starting in just two weeks.

The comedy Butter (pictured above) will open the fest on Thursday, October 20 at the Paramount. The feature film takes place in the "cutthroat" world of competitive butter sculpting, and stars Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Ty Burrell and Olivia Wilde. 

AFF's closing-night movie is Union Square, with actress Mira Sorvino in attendance. Union Square is the story of a reluctant reunion between estranged sisters. It's directed and co-written by Nancy Savoca (Dogfight, Dirt), and the cast includes Sorvino and Daphne Rubin-Vega (nominated for a Spirit Award for her performance in Jack Goes Boating). 

[Editor's Note: Lone Star Cinema is a new series in which we look at Austin and Texas-shot/set movies that are available on DVD, Blu-ray or online.]

While some filmmakers need a few films to their credit before developing their styles, Wes Anderson's joyously skewed cinematic vision has been evident from the start of his career. Anderson's first feature, Bottle Rocket, has all the hallmarks of his later movies -- quirky characters, the presence of one or more Wilson brothers (in this case, three of them), an unlikely but somehow believable story (at least within Anderson's cinematic world) and a cheerful pop-music soundtrack, to name but a few.

Released in 1996 and based on an earlier short film with the same title, Bottle Rocket is the story of three Texas friends with grandiose plans to go on a crime spree, a goal for which they are wholly and hilariously unqualified. The plot revolves around Anthony Adams (Luke Wilson), who -- upon his release from a mental hospital -- joins his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson, who also co-wrote the script) in a vaguely defined and ill-advised scheme to commit various crimes with Dignan's former boss, Mr. Henry (James Caan).

Joining Anthony and Dignan is their oily, ne'er-do-well neighbor, Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave). Knowing nothing about the criminal arts and needing some cash, the three get in a little practice by robbing a bookstore. The heist goes awry, of course, and they go on the lam, ending up at a remote motel.

In the middle of one film festival, it's challenging to switch gears and write about another big festival that will engulf my filmgoing life in October. But Austin Film Festival has just announced its television-related programming for this year's fest, and I didn't want to wait to share the info. Several of the TV writers and showrunners who will screen and discuss select episodes of their shows have Austin ties, too. You can get all of the details via the fest's full panel schedule, which has just been published.

Here are the TV screening events announced for AFF:

• Local writer Kyle Killen (The Beaver) will talk about and show an episode from his new TV series, Awake.
• Native Texan and Former King of the Hill writer/producer Jim Dauterive will be at the fest with Loren Bouchard to show an episode of the animated show Bob's Burgers, followed by a Q&A.