Austin Film Society

From January through mid-February, Austin Film Society will be screening contemporary movies from Asia for their latest Essential Cinema series. "Asia: Hot or Cool" includes a selection of films from Japan, Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Taiwan.

All of these screenings will be at the Alamo Drafthouse Village location. Tickets are free for AFS members at the LOVE level, $5 for members at the WATCH or MAKE level, and $8 for general admission.

Here's the lineup:

Untold Scandal (Joseon namnyeo sangyeoljisa, 2003)
Tues, Jan. 8, 7 pm
A South Korean take on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Untold Scandal places the familiar tale of love and deception at the end of the Chosun dynasty in 18th Century Korea.

By Katie Ormsbee

The setting: a grade-school classroom.
The players: eight obscure but promising up-and-comers.
The theme: treachery, unjust punishment, redemption, and reconciliation.

It's the first day of filming, and all is quiet on the set. What this picture's visionary 4'5" director lacks in height, she more than makes up for in a set of pipes that could raise the dead.

"ACTION!" she bellows.

The air is thick with the palpable anxiety of both crew and cast. This is the third take of the film's most pivotal and emotionally charged scene: an inciting incident of brutal betrayal. While sitting only inches away from their victim, our two antagonists -- the victim's purported best friends -- clandestinely plot the tragic heroine's downfall.

By Susan LaMarca

The documentary GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling screened at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz on December 4 with Houston filmmakers Brett Whitcomb and Brad Thomason in attendance. Alongside an 80s commercial featuring Hulk Hogan in his most terrifying prime, pre-screening bumpers featured a clip of classic women's wrestling from the 1950s: Blond Ballerina vs June Adair with commentary from two male announcers who "sure do love to see a ladies' wrestling match." Then an Alamo programmer took the stage and asked the audience: "Who is your favorite GLOW lady?"

GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was the first ever all-female wrestling show, recorded in Las Vegas and airing for four seasons in the late 80s. Aspiring actresses, stuntwomen and models went face-to-face in wrestling matches staged before a live audience and remained in character to perform sketch comedy throughout the show. Although some of the participants speculate that the show was originally conceived as a vehicle for product placement and Vegas spectacle, GLOW became wildly popular among adults and children all over the world. The audience response to GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling proved many of the characters of GLOW continue to be very revered.

Longtime GLOW fans, director Whitcomb and writer Thomason were inspired to make the documentary by "childhood memories, idle time at work and YouTube." Their film celebrates the wrestlers of the television show. For many of the Ladies, being part of GLOW was an unexpected experience that they are proud to have been a part of.

During the Q&A portion of the evening, Whitcomb and Thomason discussed how almost all the performers were thrilled to be a part of the documentary. The Ladies remembered the sisterhood that developed backstage and felt regret that many of them lost touch since the show was cancelled. Former GLOW Lady Little Egypt was even inspired to organize a reunion that the filmmakers were able to capture for the documentary.

Attention Austin film-lovers and filmmakers! An event is taking place this Saturday evening with you in mind. Austin Film Society is hosting their Make Watch Love Austin party, offering an opportunity for community members to mingle with other movie-loving folks (including some AFS board members) at Austin Studios. 

You can network (if you want); KingsIsle Entertainment will have representatives there accepting resumes for open creative positions.  SAG-AFTRA will have handy information available about filming in Central Texas. AFS board members will be there for you to meet and chat with. If you'd rather just party, there will be video games to play, food and drink to buy and enjoy, and a chance for you to enter to win some nifty prizes! You'll also be able to see more of AFS's plans for expansion into the former National Guard Armory.

Make Watch Love Austin kicks off at 5 pm Saturday at Austin Studios (Stage 7). Tickets are free for AFS members, but it's $10 for anyone else.

You can read more about the event on the AFS website.

Oslo, 31 August (titled Oslo, August 31st for American audiences) premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where the drama scored many accolades. The Austin Film Society is hosting the movie's first big-screen outing in our town on Wednesday, December 5 at the Alamo Drafthouse Village [tickets].

Spoken memories and reminiscences begin the Norwegian film, as scenes of Oslo past and present flicker on the screen. Then Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) wakes up and begins his day -- the 24-hour-period in his life which Oslo, 31 August encapsulates. Anders is currently in rehab with two more weeks to go. He is given an evening pass to go to town for a job interview and plans to meet up with his sister afterwards.

Anders Danielsen Lie's multilayered performance is the true base of Oslo, 31 August. His character is deeply troubled and abashed; he tends to keep a stoic facade, but emotion cracks through. He persistently leaves voicemail messages for his ex-girlfriend Iselin (whom we never see), which vary in tone as his story plays on. He knows he has failed his parents, and yet is dismayed when his sister lets him down. Even though the ending seems nigh inevitable, Lie still had me holding out hope for Anders. I became so attached to the protagonist through my watching that I sighed with disappointment when he started searching through coat pockets at a party for money to spend on drugs.

Learn the ropes from experienced filmmakers with this month's Moviemaker Dialogues from Austin Film Society. Held around 6-8 times per year with visiting filmmakers, the next series kicks off at 7 pm tonight in the AFS Screening Room with "Sustainable Film Culture" featuring Ted Hope, producer of the awardwinning movies Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Ice Storm. Hope will discuss how producers and filmmakers can contribute to a sustainable culture for independent films. A meet-and-greet with Hope, who is in Austin for the annual International Film Festival Summit, will follow the discussion.

Keep the dialogue going this weekend with a cinematography master class at 2 pm on Saturday in the AFS Screening Room with Tim Orr, director of photography for Pineapple Express. Orr, who is in town shooting the new David Gordon Green film Joe, will discuss techniques and trade secrets in this conversation about the art and craft of filmmaking. The discussion will be moderated by Hammer to Nail magazine editor and filmmaker Michael Tully. 

After almost 13 years, French film writer/director Leos Carax brings his unique visual imagery and surreal minimalistic storytelling to the screen with the critically acclaimed film Holy Motors, which opens in Austin on Friday, December 7. Denis Levant stars as Monsieur Oscar, a mysterious character who travels throughout Paris and takes on different roles -- beggar, monster, father, captain of industry -- accompanied only by his driver Celine, exquisitely portrayed by Edith Scob.

To celebrate Carax's return, Austin Film Society and Alamo Drafthouse present a retrospective "Essential Cinema Plus: The Films of Leos Carax" from December 2 -10, at Alamo on South Lamar. Tickets are $8 for AFS members and $10 for general admission. All films are in French with English subtitles.

Here's the lineup:

The Lovers On The Bridge (1991)
Sunday, December 2, 7 pm (screening info)
Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant (pictured at top) star in this dark romance set on Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, as a homeless painter and circus performer.

So have you bought your tickets to see Cinema Six yet on Friday night at Blue Starlite Urban Drive-In? As you might remember, Slackerwood and Austin Film Society are presenting the Austin premiere of Cinema Six, and we'd love to see you there at Austin Studios. So would Mark Potts, one of the filmmakers, who will be at the screening and will hold one of his infamous post-film Q&A sessions. Who knows what he might do? Who knows who else might be there from the Central Texas-shot movie? Show up and find out.

But wait, there's more: You can buy a double-feature ticket and see both Cinema Six and A Movie To Be Named Later. Josh Frank at Blue Starlite has kept this title a surprise even from us! But he promises something good that we won't want to miss.

Blue Starlite is currently running an Early Bird Special discount on car prices for both Cinema Six and for the double-feature on Friday night. You can get three people in a car (well, more if you stuff some folks in the trunk, but we don't condone that behavior) so it's a great deal. But you have to buy your ticket by Wednesday, yes, that's tomorrow. So do it now. You can always buy a single-admission ticket, but you'll need to bring a lawn chair or blanket or you'll end up like those two characters in the above photo.

By Ashley Harkrider

Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain ... Even non-skateboarders will recognize some of these names. The impact they had on skateboarding in the 1980s made them household names, rock stars of sorts, and legitimized skateboarding as both an art and a sport. They were a group of kids, some as young as twelve, formed into an elite team by Stacy Peralta, who had partnered with George Powell to form Powell-Peralta Skateboards. The team became known as the Bones Brigade.

When I was 12 years old, I saw an ad in the back of a magazine to "join" the Bones Brigade. After a long day of begging, my mother relented and soon the mailman delivered a box with my official membership card and the greatest t-shirt I had ever seen. It had all-over print featuring the board logo designs from every single rider and a large "Member: Bones Brigade '89" on the back. They were my heroes, and I was now a part of them in my young eyes. Long story short, I spent the next 10 years of my life doing everything I could to be just like my heroes. I may not have achieved those dreams, but in watching Bones Brigade: An Autobiography and hearing both Rodney Mullen and Lance Mountain speak in person after the film, I couldn't help but find myself feeling the same rush I once did. I believe that everyone who experienced the rise of the Bones Brigade will never forget the effect it had on us all.

By Ayshea Khan

While my stomach has finally recovered from the Halloween sugar overdose, I'm still reveling in the eerie magic that occurred at Mendez Middle School two weeks ago. The students in the Austin Film Society's after-school Film and Game Club program brought a haunted house to life through the principles of game design, filmmaking and theater arts.

Last summer, in partnership with the AMD Foundation's Changing the Game initiative and AISD's ACE Afterschool, the AFS Film Club began to delve into the realm of videogame design with the Digital Media Magic pilot program. The three-week workshop was offered to students from both Martin and Mendez Middle Schools to keep them thinking creatively about media production outside of school time. AFS was able to extend the transmedia curriculum into the school year with the AFS Film and Game Club at Mendez Middle School co-taught by myself and Lora-Jean Garza, the school's theater arts instructor, teaching both the art and technology of the two media.

I was excited to have the opportunity to be an AFS Filmmaking Mentor at Mendez and couldn't wait to get started. Lora-Jean and I both wanted to think outside the box for something particularly creepy and fun to engage our students during the pre-Halloween months. Well, what would be more fun than creating a haunted house in the school auditorium? Plus, a haunted house is the perfect project to build while learning the tools and techniques of game design and filmmaking.

Here's how we did it: We started the semester introducing students to game design through the online gaming resource Gamestar Mechanic. Alongside that, we did simple forms of animation including flipbooks and thaumatropes to provide students with a historical context of the computer animation they would use in the process. Some of the most important concepts a young digital media maker must learn are the five elements of game design: space, rules, components, mechanics and goals. (See AFS Community Education Manager Katy Daiger Dial's look at these elements through a film lens.) To bring these elements into a more physical space, students were tasked with creating their own board games that replicated the maze-like aspects of a haunted house.