Free/Cheap Movie Alternatives for the Festival Challenged

The Austin Film Festival pass is a steal at $50, as I pointed out this morning. For some people, that's still out of budget. However, that doesn't mean you have to sit at home and not see any movies except on your own TV or computer. Austin has a number of free/cheap options this week and next, whether you are short on cash, allergic to film festivals, or just want a variety of options to choose from. As a matter of fact, you could still see some of these movies while attending AFF. Just sayin'.

Austin Public Library Free Films. How film friendly is Austin? The libraries all over town run free movie series throughout the year. And several run today through AFF, just check them out below.

• Monday 10/18 -- Boo! Hiss! Hooray! Celebrating the Heroes and Villains of the Silver Screen is screening To Kill a Mockingbird (Hampton Branch at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Road.)
• Monday 10/18 -- Contemporary Latino Films featuring Edward James Olmos is showing My Family (Mi familia) and this one even has refreshments provided. (Cepeda Branch, 651 N. Pleasant Valley)
• Monday 10/18 -- Polish Cinema Series is presenting Hope (Nadzieja) based on Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Heaven, Hell and Purgatory" trilogy. (Spicewood Springs Branch, 8637 Spicewood Springs)
• Tuesday 10/19 -- Family Movie Night at the Pleasant Hill Branch features Percy Jackson and the Olympians  (Pleasant Hill Branch, 211 E. William Cannon)
• Wednesday 10/20 -- Weeknight Cinema: Contemporary Gothic Horror shows the Fantastic Fest hit Let The Right One In (Milwood Branch, 12500 Amherst Dr.)
• Tuesday 10/26 -- Atomic Cinema is screening Grave of the Fireflies (Twin Oaks Branch, 1800 S. Fifth St)

Santo Superestrella. Cine Las Americas has been honoring both the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence and the 100th anniversary of its revolution all year with a variety of film series, and the latest is free, and a perfect series for the time of year, held at the MACC. The films start at 8 pm both nights.

• Monday 10/18 -- Kick off AFF week early by seeing Santo en el museo de cera (Santo in the Wax Museum) update -- Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters screened on Monday due to unforeseeable circumstances.  Santo en el museo de cera (Santo in the Wax Museum) will now screen on 11/1
• Monday 10/25 -- Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis)

Music Monday. One of Alamo Ritz's weekly film series, Music Monday's theme is pretty obvious. At $2 for regular seats at regular screenings, it's a steal (add $1 for online ticket purchases). Even with special guests, there is no price hike for these two shows. In glorious 35MM -- not on DVD.

• Monday 10/18 -- Electric Dreams and no badges get in ahead of you here!
• Monday 10/25 -- Music Monday featuring the SXSW documentary Until the Light Takes Us. With a tagline like "Music. Arson. Murder. Art. Black Metal." who can resist? It's a film festival film, folks.

Terror Tuesday. Another $1 film series at the Alamo Ritz, this time with the focus on scary. And this time, you have special guests and presenters, one of whom is an AFF panelist. Like Music Monday and Weird Wednesday, these do sell out frequently before the day they play, but there are also no-shows, so you can try for standby.

• Tuesday 10/19 -- Angel with Robert V. O'Neill in person so it's like being a film festival, with an appreciative crowd and a special guest to talk about the film.
• Tuesday 10/26 -- Terror Tuesday featuring not only Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers but presented by AFF panelist Owen Egerton!

Weird Wednesday. As the series title implies, this is the bizarre stuff. Again, a whopping $1 gets you in (plus that pesky $1 surcharge when buying the ticket online). And again, there are guests for one show. I should also point out you can buy special tickets for balcony seats, but those are more than a dollar. Check the website for more.

• Wednesday 10/20 -- Wonder Women with Robert V. O'Neill in person.
• Wednesday: 10/27 -- Thrill of the Vampires

A great place to check for the free, the cheap and the weird is the Austin Chronicle Special Screenings page, which is updated on Fridays online but also available on Thursdays in print. And of course we'll highlights some of the best events in Movies This Week.