Local Film Fests

I knew going into Saturday's collection of Austin Polish Film Festival films that I was going to discover aspects of the country that were completely alien to me. This was never more true than when I attended the screening of Baczyński (pictured at top), a documentary/narrative focusing on the all-too-brief life of Polish poet Krzysztof Baczyński. The film tells the story of the invasion of Poland and a young soldier who finds escape from the battle and the bloodshed through poetry.

Part talking-head documentary and part narrative feature, the film particularly struck me with its cinematography. It would have been so easy to make the surroundings within the film as bleak as the events taking place, and yet the filmmakers put together such vivid colors and images that in a way it signified the indestructible beauty and spirit of the country. Meanwhile, the weaving of Baczyński's words alongside images of war and horror was really effective. I was most taken with the poems themselves, which called to mind those thoughtful and pensive moments that one wouldn't ordinarily attribute to times of war. I found it really moving that in spite of such times, this young poet never lost sight of what made his country great. Perhaps the greatest element of Baczyński was the intercut shots of Polish young people in the present day sitting in the audience as they took turns reciting Baczyński's own words, which still had meaning and resonance decades later.

When I saw the chance to cover the 8th Annual Austin Polish Film Festival and Poster Exhibit, I jumped at it mainly because of a Roman Polanski documentary that was slated to screen. While I knew the Austin Polish Society was a thriving organization here in Austin, my knowledge of the country itself is limited to school history books. I took my lack of information as a blessing in this case, as I went into the three-day festival ready to let the collection of Polish filmmakers and their differing views on their land and countrymen wash over me.

Friday night was geared towards young Polish filmmakers. Two in particular, Julia Kolberger and Kuba Gryzewski, both graduates of Polish film schools, each exhibited two of their short films.

The first pair of films, I Won't Be Here Tomorrow and Easter Crumble, were written and directed by Kolberger. Both are family-centric stories about individuals of different ages who all come to a crossroads, and they each had a definite literary feel that comes from the normal everyday. They reminded me of an author named Peter Cameron, whose novels tend to lean towards the internal conflicts of life. Kolberger creates with the same sensibilities; while there is confrontation among her characters, the most explosive ones are with themselves.

Dear Diary,

I still have so much more to tell you about my time at Forever Fest. O-M-G. At the halfway mark on Saturday (read part 1 of my Forever Fest experience here), we were treated to the fierce spectacle that is Danceoke. Think karaoke, but for dancing.

Dear Diary,

This weekend I met my new BFFs - the Forever Fest audience! We laughed together, danced together and became one in our love of girlie pop culture. With pink streamers and feather boas, the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz was a welcoming sight on Friday evening, signaling that Forever Fest attendees were in for something truly, truly, truly outrageous. And Diary, IMHO it was GR8.

"Cheer when something romantic happens." These were our instructions from our fabulous leaders Brandy Fons and Sarah Pitre when introducing the opening-night film, Empire Records. We were treated to a 35mm print of the 1995 movie, which meant that we saw the theatrical cut, not the longer (more verbose) director's cut. Empire Records' perfect blend of laughs and angst still holds up today, making it a perfect starter to the festival.

When Sunday came around, the organizers seemed (understandably) tired, but the audiences still wanted more gore and continued to turn up for it. I started off the morning by paying tribute to a film shot right here in my new adopted city. I Didn't Come Here to Die (our review) is the tale of several twentysomethings setting out to do volunteer work in the woods where they come upon evil and sinister forces. The setup might seem a tad familiar -- in a way it does kind of read like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil from the preppy kids' point of view. However, the sort of guerilla filmmaking used in I Didn't Come Here to Die calls to mind past classics while breathing new life into a genre so obsessed with remakes. It's a feat most horror movies try, but fail at hopelessly. At least there's one that hasn't. 

In order to illustrate that the folks at Housecore weren’t just offering up one blood splatter flick after another, I attended, along with a good number of other festivalgoers, a documentary called Art/Crime. The film focused on a special effects artist named Remy Couture from Quebec, who for years had created photo shoots and short films depicting scenes of gruesome horror and violence using live models as his subjects, which he published on his website, Inner Depravity. The film explores his 2009 arrest for obscenity and the corruption of morality long after he stopped actively posting to his site due to his career as an effects artist on feature films.

Art/Crime is perhaps one of the few documentaries to explore the subject of censorship in such a careful and honest manner. Couture's work is perhaps some of the most explicit I've even seen, and while I have been watching gore fests since I was in elementary school, even I was a bit taken aback by some of his work. While I've always been a fan of gore, I never actually looked at those scenes as works of art. Yet through Couture's eyes, the vibrant colors, the unnatural shaping, and the positioning of the subjects do give off a truly dark beauty. I found myself getting more and more angry at the bogus claims brought against Couture. Anyone who has ever seen at least one police procedural could see this as nothing more than a witch hunt. Yet its idea of how easy it is for artists of all kinds to become victims of representation is stark and real. 

If I'm being honest, I believe there are very few people who aren't fascinated by Charles Manson and his "family" on some level. From the countless documentaries to the classic (some would call it) Helter Skelter, the story of Charles and his followers has been told from many points of view. However, with the screening of The Manson Family, the family members themselves finally get to tell their story. Shot in the late 90s but not released much of anywhere, it was a rare opportunity to catch this new take on this part of 1960s California. I won't rehash the events that took place, except to say that the film portrays them accurately without dwelling on any one moment longer than necessary.

When I say, "Rex Manning," do you smile in recognition or stare in confusion? This is a test of whether you are Forever Fest's target audience (Rex Manning is, of course, the obnoxious yet idolized pop singer from the movie Empire Records). The new film festival, which takes place November 1-3 at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, celebrates all things "girlie" pop culture ... I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it.

I sat down with the festival's founders Brandy Fons and Sarah Pitre at Hey Cupcake to discuss the formation of Forever Fest and to learn from these two girlie-gurus.

Slackerwood: How was Forever Fest first conceived?

Brandy Fons: Forever Fest was, in many ways, born during Fantastic Fest 2012. I had just seen and loved Pitch Perfect [a rather girlie film about college glee clubs], but I didn't allow myself to indulge because it was Fantastic Fest time and not many attendees were super interested in sharing my Pitch Perfect love. I was thinking about all the film festivals that Austin had to offer, and there really wasn't an option for the Pitch Perfect audience.

Then I started talking with Sarah about her audience that she had already built with her website Forever Young Adult for YA literature fans and the Girlie Night events at the Alamo Drafthouse, and I wondered if she wanted to partner. Some have called it the "little sister of Fantastic Fest," although I'm not quite sure I like "little."

The Housecore Horror Film Festival debuted in Austin this weekend. An offshoot of Housecore Records, the four-day long event was a combination of a series of concerts from many heavy-metal bands as well as a showcase of indie horror flicks that ranged from classic to little-seen, plus advance screenings.

"First year" was a term thrown around quite a few times over the weekend as a reminder that this was the festival's inaugural year, and understandably so. A few screenings were delayed, while others were postponed or canceled -- and occasionally zombies on the screen had to compete with goblins on the stage with only several feet of space separating the two.

Yet, despite unavoidable mishaps, for a festival in their "first year," Housecore presented one of the most eclectic and impressive lineup of horror titles, leading this scare fiend to wonder what kind of blood splatter future years will hold.

The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) hosts its tenth annual Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival and Short Film Competition this November 1 and 2 at the Alamo Drafthouse Village.

The Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival was founded in 2004 by CTD staffer William Greer, with the goal to counter negative stereotypes about people with disabilities and to celebrate positive portrayals of disability culture. Since its inception, the festival has twice been awarded the Barbara Jordan Media Award for Special Contribution by an Organization.

Events from previous years have included a 2005 screening of What's Eating Gilbert Grape preceded by an interview with star Darlene Cates, an exclusive interview with Dr. Temple Grandin screened in conjunction with the 2009 feature Temple Grandin, and numerous other special guests.

You can buy tickets now for Friday, November 1 featuring the documentary Getting Up: The TEMPT ONE Story -- about graffiti artist Tempt One -- and for Saturday, November 2 featuring The Crash Reel -- a documentary about professional snowboarders. In addition to entry, the $10 tickets are vouchers you can redeem for $10 of food and drink from the Drafthouse menu. Both evening events also include short films from the competition and Q&As.

By Christina Bryant

The fifth annual Lights. Camera. Help Film Festival at Alamo Drafthouse Village was quite a whirlwind trip around the world and back in time. On opening night, I excitedly sat in the packed theater for A Film About Kids and Music: Sant Andreu Jazz Band. The documentary followed a talented jazz band of students ranging from age 6 to 18 in Spain, led by their fierce conductor Joan Chamorro. It was amazing to see these kids mastering jazz standards by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong that were written decades before they were born. If a six-year old named Elsa can play a mean trumpet to a packed concert stadium, maybe it's time I dust off my grade-school violin.

Director/producer Ramon Tort and Joan Chamorro received a standing ovation as the credits rolled. Later, I wasn't surprised to learn the film went on to win Best Feature at the festival. I'd like to thank the translator on stage after the screening, as Tort and Chamorro were most informative in their native language. A person in the audience asked why the children sang in English. Chamorro simply replied, "It's American music. We learn through the models and the models are American."

My meeting with actor Anson Mount of AMC's Hell on Wheels at this year's ATX Television Festival conjured up memories of me at elementary-school-age slumber parties, where I distinctly remember watching the Britney Spears-fronted Crossroads and the horror flick Urban Legends: Final Cut. Oh, the early 2000s. Both films starred Mount in his days as the stereotypical clean-cut, good-guy romantic lead.

If his performance in Hell on Wheels wasn't enough to prove that the 40-year-old has come a long way from his Razzie-nominated performance in Crossroads, meeting him in person definitely did. He still seems as charming as my 10-year-old self remembers, but definitely more confident and scruffy than he was in his twenties. Some good old-fashioned manual labor (even if it may be only onscreen) has done this Tennessee native good and has provided him with a platform to show off his acting chops.

Since the show's release in 2011, both Hell on Wheels and Mount have been gaining steam. Mount plays Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier who works as a foreman on the railroad in the late 1860s. The series centers on the settlement that accompanied the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. Fun fact: Mount's great-great-great grandfather was a Confederate cavalry colonel in the Civil War. But Mount told me he doesn't understand why reporters keep asking him if this helped in any way in his portrayal of Cullen... because it didn't.

I had the chance to speak with Mount about his teaching experiences at Columbia University (he's an adjunct assistant professor at the university's School of the Arts), where he graduated with an MFA in 1998. He can next be seen in the third season premiere of Hell on Wheels on Aug. 3 and in the action thriller Non-Stop, scheduled for a U.S. theatrical release Feb. 28, 2014.