AFF 2011: Austin Cinema Was Everywhere

Austin Film Festival is over for another year. This year I saw fewer films than I have in the past, but I have to say I'm really proud of the way Austin and Texas were represented overall. The newly re-named and expanded Texas Independents program was a big hit. 

I didn't get much of a chance to see films that didn't have a local connection, but thankfully I did get a chance to see the delightfully poignant Harold's Going Stiff (writer/director Keith Wright pictured above with an unknown AFF guest). I was also pleasantly surprised with Sironia, which hopefully will play again in Austin soon, as it was a real crowd pleaser with some outstanding music. You Hurt My Feelings was a surprise because it's such a sneaky little quiet movie, one that may be the breakout film for Steve Collins and John Merriman (pictured below).

My biggest regrets are missing Some Guy Who Kills People and The Artist. I can honestly say I don't regret missing Johnny Depp and the insanity at the Paramount for Rum Diary at all, although I'm glad it was such a draw for the fest. 

Best panel was "A Conversation with Elizabeth Avellan," moderated by Dallas International Film Festival Artistic Director James Faust (pictured below). I readily admit I'm prejudiced; she's an Austin legend. But she's also eloquent and so forthright the time seemed to fly by.

It was also fun to hear about the Pixar story development process; I love the fact that even though they have directors on staff, each director has to come up with three unique story pitches for their next project, and the iterative process that relies not only on the Pixar "brain trust" but the fact that everyone at Pixar gets a chance to provide feedback. I didn't make it to half the panels I wanted to attend because there were just too many schedule conflicts of must-see sessions, especially early morning ones.

Best special event was hands-down The Nice Guys script reading, although next time I'll know to sit up in the stands if it's at the Rollins, especially if Thomas Jane participates, as it was often hard to see (especially sitting behind a woman with an updo). I do hope there are more AFF script readings in the future, and not just one a year. And hopefully next year they'll have more of the logistics worked out for readings, because this one started so late it threw off the rest of the day. 

Best party was yet again the Hair of the Dog Brunch, although the food wasn't quite as good this year. And I do need to remember not to grab a drink just because it’s the first thing in line; it always ends up messy. I ended up having some great conversations with folks I hadn't had a chance to talk with otherwise, including Script Competition Finalist Jill Weinberger and Nick Brandestini, whose Darwin won Best Documentary Feature. I also got a chance to finally meet Austin filmmaker Kat Candler in person, as well as get a chance to talk with Carla Jackson and Kelvin Phillips of A Swingin' Trio (all three pictured above).

I still feel bad about not giving my business card to a woman who was in town from the UK, because she was delightful every time we ran into each other. But the logistics of trying to linger at the brunch can be tricky when you know there are still people waiting in line for food. Next year I'll be going later in the brunch to hopefully miss the lines and linger more leisurely.

AFF certainly saw some growing pains this year; last year they implemented the "25 minutes" rule for badgeholders to be at the theater in line, or have to wait to get in until all pass and ticket holders got seated. This year, despite the "Priority admission is given to all badge holders" clearly stated on the AFF website, some venues had passholders and ticketholders getting seated before or with badgeholders regardless of whether it was before the 25-minute mark, causing a lot of frustration, particularly at the Bullock and the Arbor. Badges aren't exactly cheap, and it's already annoying when dozens of guests are seated first, especially later in the fest (both Deep in the Heart screenings were packed with non-badgeholding guests).

And some of the theater logistics were ridiculous: the Long Center employees certainly didn't help at the Rollins, with several of their staff (not AFF volunteers) blocking the already narrow entrance in misguided attempts to improve seating time. It really got ridiculous when Madam "Does someone know you’re out here?!" kept grilling women in the ladies' room who'd secured their seats before waiting (sensibly) to take a restroom break.

Nonetheless, there was fun to be had. It was great having a chance to get to know some of the Austin and Texas filmmakers at the various parties, and running into a few old friends. Now we get to see which movies make the Best Of lists for the year, and what gets nominated in the upcoming awards season.  

If you attended Austin Film Festival, please be sure to vote and review on the films, panels and special events you attended over at FestG. It's very helpful for both the festival organizers and the filmmakers to get your candid, respectful feedback.  You can also vote for films at IMDb. Lastly, you can give feedback to AFF via a link on their "AFF is Growing" post on their website.  

[Photo credit: All photos by Debbie Cerda except Steve Collins and John Merriman by Jette Kernion. Used with permission; all rights reserved.]