A Big Week for Film Festivals
Greetings all,
The festival floodgates here in the DFW area are beginning to open. For those of you out of town, you can skip to Ed Bark and Elijah’s insights. This Tuesday, at 7:30pm at the Violet Crown in the West Village, we are sponsoring a screening of Richard Bailey’s new film “Howler,” which is almost sold out; there are only four tickets left. We are working on another screening and will keep you posted. I think this is Richard’s best film.
Here is a link for the information and tickets.
Then, on Wednesday night, the Thin Line Festival opens up in Denton. Thin Line is a free festival featuring documentary film, music, photography, and more. The festival starts on Wednesday and runs through Sunday.
Here are some films that are worthy of screening. Since it is a music and film fest, you might rightly expect that there will be many music documentaries. The opening night film, “New Wave,” has been playing at many festivals and is about 80s new wave in Vietnam.
The Fest closes with “Speak,” by Jennifer Tiexiera, who made “Subject.” This is one of those follow-all-the-people competing genres, which became popular with “Spellbound”. In this case, we follow the stories of high school students competing in public speaking. This is an entertaining and well-made film.
The most intriguing film is “Night of the Coyotes,” which tells the story of a small Mexican town that puts on a role-playing simulation for tourists to experience what the illegal immigration process is like. The point of this is to get the people of these small towns to stay, rather than making the dangerous and challenging trip.
“Zurawski v Texas” is a powerful film about women who were denied abortions who band together to sue the State of Texas.
“Testament” follows the lives and tragedies of everyday people living through the war in Ukraine.
The USA Film Festival also kicks off on Wednesday at the Angelika Theater and runs until Sunday night. There are two classic films you can catch. Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking “Memento”, which is, can you believe it, is 25 years old. While Nolan will not be here, Stephen Tobolowsky, who stars in it, will be in attendance. I am sure there are some great stories about the making of this film. This is free and on opening night at 6:45pm. To get tickets for this and all other films, go here.
The other classic film is “Death Race 2000,” and that is Saturday at 7 pm.
There is a great Holocaust film on Thursday at 7pm called “Unbroken.” A short description is:
The daughter of a Holocaust survivor uncovers the extraordinary story of her mother and six siblings' escape from Nazi Germany. Aside from being a good film and a good story, watching a film about these atrocities is essential, as we witness elements of democracy and the constitution disappearing. As the old Frank Zappa song says It can happen here.
The closing film, “Tonic,” was shot in Deep Ellum, made by local filmmaker Dereck Presley, and produced by Lola Lott. Derek also wrote “The Last Rodeo,” which opens the festival.
In the Texas Shorts compilation, I suggest you see Justin Wilson’s (a former student of mine) “Number Thirteen: A Tattoo Story.” Another short that I have not seen is by Travis Lee Radcliff, a filmmaker we have shown at Video Fest and on Frame of Mind. It is “Dynasty and Destiny.”
Two other films of note, “Hancock Park” and “Rebel Without a Cause.”
The Dallas International Film Festival kicks off on Friday and runs until May 1st. I will write about films playing this weekend and Monday, and I will write about the others next week. Many of the films are at the Cinepolis Theaters in Victory Park, where you can get validated for free parking. Others are at the Texas Theatre.
For the last several years, when I go to Austin, I get depressed about how the city has gone from “Slackers” to Bro Town. I have been hoping Rick Linklater would [word missing?] “Slackers” into “Bro Town.” While “The Salamander King” is not Bro Town, it is all about what is in danger of being lost in Austin. This is a fun ride and a great film to see opening night. 7pm at the Cinepolis. The film centers on the eclectic crew that works at the municipal (Muni) golf course. Some forces want it to make money instead of losing money, and others just want to develop it. It is a fun ride, and perhaps the best film about golf since “Caddyshack.” The locations, the ensemble performance, and the music all have the perfect touch and tone.
A MUST SEE at DIFF this year is “The Librarians.” It is showing at the Texas Theatre on Sunday at 7pm. It plays at the upstairs theater, so it will probably sell out. I am not sure, but I think I am doing the Q&A for this first screening. There is a Monday screening on Monday at 4:45pm at Cinepolis.
This film is by Kim A. Snyder, with some sections shot by Mark Birnbaum. It premiered at Sundance. It tells the story of the coordinated efforts to ban books in libraries nationwide, especially in red states. It follows brave librarians who put themselves at risk to save books and our freedom. I saw this well-crafted film at a sold-out showing at SXSW. Really, you do not want to miss this film.
Also on Friday, 9pm at Cinepolis, is “Danielle Forever,” which plays like an extended episode of “Black Mirror.” The film centers on a man who is deeply struggling with the loss of his wife and uses a new therapy that brings her back in his lucid dreams. What could go wrong?
The last Friday recommendation is “Omaha,” which was a big hit at Sundance. The film takes you on a family road trip that is not what the kids thought it would be. It features a strong performance by John Magaro. It is playing at 5:30pm at the Cinepolis, where it also plays on Saturday at 10pm.
On Saturday, Cinepolis will host two North Texas High School Film Showcases at 11am and 1:30pm.
The film “Due West” is about a small-town woman in need of medical care in West Texas who is forced to break the law. This screens Saturday at 4pm at the Texas Theatre (downstairs) and Sunday at Noon at Cinepolis.
As the title implies, director Yael Melamede made “Ada—My Mother the Architect,” a film about her mother, Ada Karmi Melamede, one of the most accomplished architects in Israel. It is showing on Sunday at 1pm at Cinepolis.
Also, “Willie Nelson Presents King of Roadies” will be at the Texas Theatre at 1pm on Sunday.
Sunday at 2:30pm is a film I programmed at the Oxford Film Festival, “Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet,” a well-crafted film revealing a side of her that we did not know then, at the Cinepolis.
I have not seen this, but from the title, it sounds good: “Take it Away: The Rise and Fall of the Tejano Hollywood.” It is Sunday at 3pm at The Texas Theatre upstairs and Monday at 2pm at Cinepolis.
“To Use a Mountain” tells the story of six American communities that are set to be the home of 770,000 tons of nuclear waste. This film uses archives and personal stories of the people’s resistance. It will be shown Monday at 7:30pm at Cinepolis and Tuesday at 4pm at the Texas Theatre upstairs.
The last film I will mention is “Toxic,” a film from Lithuania that tells the story of two girls navigating through toxic landscapes, toxic beauty standards, and toxic relationships, in a dreary landscape. The great performances of Ieva Rupeikaite and Vesta Matulyte, the cinematography, and the landscape put you in a trance as you see these girls looking for freedom and spiraling down.
One more thing before I go: I just found out that one of my favorite films,” The Brainwashing of My Dad,” which we showed at the VideoFest, will be screened on Tuesday at 7pm. at the Horizon Unitarian Church, 1641 W Hebron, in Carrolton. This is an excellent film about how the media, particularly the right-wing media, affects us. Here is the trailer.
-Bart
Escapist TV fare can be arresting, too. As long as it’s not overly taxing. Hard core IQ-defilers need not apply, which rules out the likes of “The Kardashians” or any entry in the “Real Housewives” franchise. Best to keep your cortex out of their vortex. Otherwise, it’s assumed we’d all like to get away — now more than ever. So here are two scripted series that will let you do just that.
Amazon Prime’s “Reacher,” which recently concluded its third eight-episode season, stars Alan Ritchson as the hulking, short-spoken, dry-humored title character. From a physical standpoint, he’s not to be confused with Tom Cruise’s big-screen Jack Reacher. In fact, Amazon’s reincarnation looks as though he could throw Cruise like a Frisbee. Renewed for a Season 4 before Season 3 began and based on the bestselling novels by Lee Child, this latest entry finds the vagabond Reacher pitted against a criminal weapons importing business while also searching for a super-sinister villain he previously killed — or so he thought. Also look for former Brat Packer and Breakfast Clubber Anthony Michael Hall as a crooked rug importer whose business is a front. The violence is primal and frequent, but the line between good and super-bad is always very firmly drawn. Reacher shoots first and never asks questions later. And when he tells a big-time bad guy to open a door or “I’ll open it with your head,” it’s both a laugh-line and a certainty if his order is ignored. As slam-bang entertainment goes, “Reacher” is both cathartic and reassuring in a real-life world where rights and wrongs are increasingly vague.
My other recommendation is Netflix’s “The Residence,” also eight episodes. It’s from the Shonda Rhimes hit factory, which first fired up with “Grey’s Anatomy,” now in its 21st(!) season and renewed for another one. Uzo Aduba, who first came to prominence as “Crazy Eyes” in Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” stars as eccentric, fastidious bird-watching detective Cordelia Cupp. She’s called in to investigate a mysterious death at the White House on the night of a big State Dinner. A wide variety of possible culprits emerges as Cupp sifts through a maze of false leads and suspects. Think of it as Columbo meets Clue, with all of the principals gathered in a big room for the elongated reveal. “Saturday Night Live” alums Al Franken and Jane Curtin have supporting roles in the sprawling cast, with Franken fittingly playing a senator while Curtin is the batty mother-in-law of the President. Have fun guessing along until the very end of a satisfying romp.
-Ed
Howdy,
Just today (Monday, April 21), the Academy announced that the 2026 Oscars will air on ABC on March 15. The biggest change this year will be the addition of the Best Casting Award, potentially prolonging the ceremony, but also recognizing a crucial department. Also, the note making the most rounds on social media is a requirement for members to indicate that they have viewed all of the nominees in a category before voting for a film. While it might make common sense, of course a lot of members just vote for their friends or for filmmakers they have liked in the past. The onus is on members to actually watch the movies, but at least this new requirement will give them pause (or "play" as the case may be) before just voting blind.
There are lots of exciting festivals in DFW this week, but if you are closer to Fort Worth, we have a couple of screenings at the Modern this week. On Thursday at 7pm is the Spanish-language film "El Planeta" with a post-film discussion. "Amidst the devastation of post-financial-crisis Spain, a mother (Ale Ulman) and daughter (Amalia Ulman) bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction."
Also this weekend, our Magnolia film is "On Swift Horses," from Sony Pictures Classics. This is one of the first films that we have screened the same weekend that it goes into limited release across the US. It's based on a gorgeous book by Shannon Pufahl about gambling and finding oneself, set in San Diego and Mexico. There's a lot of interesting lore about casinos and horse racing, so I don't know how widely appealing this will be, but the talent is great with Jacob Elordi ("Euphoria"), Daisy Edgar-Jones ("Where the Crawdads Sing"), and Diego Calva ("Babylon").
-Elijah