Austin Represents at Lone Star Film Festival

Love movies and want to make a short road trip this weekend? Head to Fort Worth for the Lone Star International Film Festival (LSIFF), which runs from Wednesday, November 11 through Sunday, November 14. LSIFF kicks off on Sunday night with The Scenesters, which played Austin Film Festival last month. The noir-ish comedy is about a group of mumblecore-ish filmmakers trying to find a serial killer who's been murdering L.A. hipsters. Writer/director Todd Berger and actor Kevin Brennan both attended UT in Austin.

Other films with an Austin connection scheduled for LSIFF include the quirky comedy Artois the Goat, which was shot in Austin and played SXSW this year (Jenn Brown's review); local filmmaker Kat Candler's short Love Bug, which won the Narrative Short Audience Award at AFF; and the Coen brothers' first feature, Blood Simple, which was shot in Austin, Hutto and Houston. LSIFF is also screening Tender Mercies, which was shot in Waxahachie.

In addition, musician/actor Kris Kristofferson will be on hand to receive the first Stephen Bruton Award on Friday night. The award will honor musicians who also have done work in film. LSIFF has named Horton Foote for its Lifetime Achievement Award; Horton Foote, Jr. will receive the award for his late father.

Panels on filmmaking take place all day Saturday, and although the fest runs through Sunday, the closing-night festivities are Saturday night, with the film The Messenger screening. Check out the fest website for more details about venues and tickets.

[Some of this info was found via a Star-Telegram article on LSIFF.]