Sundance 2013 Photos: AFS Brings Texas to Park City

The Texas Party at Sundance

I may not be in Park City, but I am enjoying many aspects of the Sundance Film Festival from the comforts of home (you can too!). Today's vicarious living involves the Texas Party, hosted by the Austin Film Society and Texas Monthly at the height of Sundance festgoing. The party celebrated the number of Lone Star films at this year's Park City fest.

AFS Marketing and Events Coordinator Austin Culp and other photographers to be named later [update: Ryan Long and Chris Cortez] took a number of photos at the event, and I'm amused because if I showed you the photos and didn't tell you where they were taken, you would have assumed it was a filmmaker party here in Austin. Former and current Austinites and Texans were everywhere ... well, admittedly they did seem to be everywhere at Sundance in general this year.

I'm not sure why actor/filmmaker Jonny Mars and producer Kelly Williams appear to be sparring in the above photo. I'll let them tell me sometime. They were at the party shortly before departing for the premiere of Black Metal, which Debbie has detailed in her Sunday dispatch.

I've included more of my favorites below. If that's not enough for you, check out the Texas Party photo set from the event.

The Texas Party at Sundance

Let's start with some Austin folks involved in the film Before Midnight, which premiered at the fest. You might recognize director Richard Linklater, fourth from the left. The rest of the crowd: assistant editor Mike Saenz, post-production supervisor Laura Yates, composer Graham Reynolds, editor Sandra Adair, and Dwight Adair.

The Texas Party at Sundance

Here we have a local filmmaker flanked by some friends from the Dallas International Film Festival. Sarah Harris is the Senior Programmer for the April fest, and James Faust on the right is Artistic Director. That's Berndt Mader in the middle, who was a producer on David Gordon Green's new movie Prince Avalanche. Mader also wrote and directed 5 Time Champion, which played both SXSW and Dallas IFF in 2011.

The Texas Party at Sundance

AFS Executive Director Rebecca Campbell appears to be having a good time!

The Texas Party at Sundance

I don't know everyone in this photo of Computer Chess cast and crew. The back row: Someone I don't know wearing a scarf I covet, actor Wiley Wiggins, writer/director Andrew Bujalsk and producers Alex Lipschultz and Carlyn Hudson. Front row: Producer Houston King, someone else I don't know, and actor Patrick Riester. (Feel free to let me know the names I missed, or correct me if these are wrong, in the comments.) Jonny Mars had a small role in this one too, I believe, although he's not in the photo.

The Texas Party at Sundance

If you live in Austin or Dallas and like to watch movies in cool theaters than you should recognize at least one person in the above photo. On the left is Alamo co-founder and impresario Tim League, and next to him is producer and Texas Theatre co-founder Adam Donaghey. And a big hi to Texas Independent Film Network co-founder and AFS Programs and Operations Manager Ryan Long on the right.

The Texas Party at Sundance

This trio of gentlemen may be less familiar to you ... for now. They're responsible for the movie Houston, which premiered at Sundance. Director Bastian Gunther, in the center, is now living in Austin. He's surrounded by director of photography Michael Kotschi and producer Martin Heisler. Houston is a German film that was shot partially in the title city.

The Texas Party at Sundance

If I'd known Lynn Shelton had a movie at Sundance, that might have been the one last thing to persuade me to buy snow boots and brave the weather. Hopefully we'll see Touchy Feely in Austin soon. The Humpday and Your Sister's Sister filmmaker is standing with Touchy Feely DP Ben Kasulke.

The Texas Party at Sundance

The Pit Stop crew, appropriately enough. There's Kelly Williams again, the film's producer. Next to him in the back row is director Yen Tan, then actors Richard C. Jones and John Merriman, someone I don't know [update: director of photography Hutch] and Arts + Labor co-founder Alan Berg. In the front row: someone else I don't know, actor Corby Sullivan, and Kristin Johansen-Berg. (Kelly or someone, help me out here.) The cast also includes, wait for it, Jonny Mars.

The Texas Party at Sundance

Finally, Heather Kafka! The local actress (Lovers of Hate, Saturday Morning Massacre) was involved in almost as many Sundance films as Jonny Mars this year: Pit Stop, Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Black Metal. If I ever do go to Sundance, I want a sweater like hers.

[Photo credit: All photos by Austin Culp, Ryan Long and Chris Cortez. Photos used with permission from the Austin Film Society. All rights reserved.]