Film Flam

Reviews for Sundance, entries for Fantastic Fest and Austin Film Festival: It's a neverending circuit, isn't it?

• University of Texas Radio-Television-Film alumna Elizabeth Chatelain has taken home an International Documentary Association Award for her thesis film, My Sister Sarah, which follows her sister's journey through recovery from a methamphetamine addiction. Alumnus Russell O. Bush's short "Vultures of Tibet" was also nominated.

• 'Tis the season – festival season. If you're thinking you just escaped that, yes, yes you did, but just in time for festivals open their doors and mailboxes for 2014. Fantastic Fest is now accepting your genre masterpieces, and Austin Film Festival is also accepting submissions both for its Screenplay & Teleplay Competition and for its Film Competition. You'll find more information, including deadlines and entry fees, here.

• Film site HammertoNail.com, edited by Ping Pong Summer director Michael Tully is taking a unique approach to festivals in 2014: Starting with the Sundance Film Festival, Ted Hope and co. will watch and review a certain number of films (in his case, eight) in order to help spread positive reviews for indie filmmakers whose projects might otherwise have been glossed over in the media. Read more about the experiment here.

• As production begins in and around town, we finally get a better idea of what the Jason Reitman outfit Men, Women & Children is all about: A recent press release said the film "follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives." Keep your eyes peeled for the star-studded cast, which includes Rosemary Dewitt, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Dean Norris, and more.

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