Festival Express
Summer's almost gone, which – with apologies to South by Southwest and Cine Las Americas – means Austin's film-festival season is about to get going
By Shawn Badgley, Fri., Aug. 12, 2005
Summer's almost gone, which – with apologies to South by Southwest and Cine Las Americas – means Austin's film-festival season is about to get going. Below, you'll see the slate, with just enough information on each event to get you going yourself. The stalwarts – Cinematexas, the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, and the Austin Film Festival – are always in need of volunteers; see the Web sites listed below to find out how to become one.
QT6: Quentin Tarantino comes to the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown for the sixth sampling of his own personal archive, Sept. 9 through Sept. 17. Badges – which run $145 and get you into any or all of the more than 30 screenings – go on sale Friday, Aug. 12, but only for Austin Film Society members. Make your way over to www.austinfilm.org or www.originalalamo.com for the message.
Cinematexas: Version 10 of the bravest film festival in the country starts up Sept. 14 and runs through the 18th. Among its many programs are the awesome Terra Cognita and Parallax View, as well as the UT and International competitions and Cinemakids. For the specs on admission and more, log onto www.cinematexas.org, and keep an eye on the Chronicle in the coming weeks for updates and a preview.
aGLIFF: Sept. 30 through Oct. 8 will see the 18th installment of Texas' largest and most diverse collection of queer films, discussion, and partying. In the meantime, check out www.agliff.org for everything you need to know about its trailer contest and My Gay Movie competition and workshop. Even without founder and longtime linchpin Scott Dinger, the festival is thriving under new Executive Director Lonny Stern and Programmer Mo Ratel (above, l-r), with twice as many features as last year.
Fantastic Fest: Ain't It Cool News' Robogeek, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, heads up this first annual three-day ode to geekdom (Oct. 6-9), from sci-fi to horror to fantasy. With Harry Knowles' helping hand, who knows what might happen? For a hint, head over to www.fantasticfest.org.
Austin Film Festival: Like aGLIFF, AFF offers a trailer competition, but if you're reading this on Friday, Aug. 12, you're running out of time. Postmark deadline is today; see www.austinfilmfestival.com for more. There, you'll also discover that film passes are available for $35 – we're talking about access to hundreds of films, here, folks – and that other admission packages are available, as well. From Oct. 20 through Oct. 27, AFF will offer screenings of new ones from Harold Ramis (there'll even be a Ghostbusters retrospective) and Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), just to scratch the surface, in addition to screenwriting competitions and panels.
