Film Flam

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival announced its lineup this week. The local nonprofit hosts its 19th fest May 4-8, with screenings at the Marchesa Hall and Theatre, the Mexican American Cultural Center, the North Door, and Salvage Vanguard Theater.

Las Plantas, one of the films making its North American premiere at the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Bringing in a carefully curated roster of films and shorts from the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Cine Las Americas is also continuing its “Hecho en Tejas” program, which spotlights films made in Texas. This year, there are two world premieres in that series, Cody Duckworth's thriller Harbinger, about a young girl plagued with night terrors, and Eugene Martin's Marisol, in which the titular character discovers she has been living as an undocumented immigrant when she tries to register for college.

New this year are two music video showcases. As festival director Jean Anne Lauer explains, “Film is an audio/visual art form, and so are music videos, but so much of the time, the latter is not given space in film festivals. We're really looking forward to incorporating more artists and performers into the lineup of CLAIFF this year.” Many of the screenings are free and open to the public, and there will be parties and meet-ups throughout the festival, along with special guests. To see the full slate of films and to purchase badges, head on over to www.cinelasamericas.org.

Local filmmaker Clay Liford, whose latest film Slash had its premiere at SXSW this year, has written an essay (more like a salvo) over at film blog the Talkhouse taking to task a certain group of pop-culture fans. Titled “Fanboys, Hollywood Owes You Nothing,” Liford discusses the increasingly toxic way some fans use social media. He asks, “when did we as consumers decide we need to dictate not only the type of movies that get made, but the actual manner in which their associated stories get told?” It's a provocative and insightful read, and Liford writes about his own experiences with Slash – about a boy who writes erotic fan fiction – coming under fire from the fan fiction community. You can read the full article here.

Last month, TBS launched a new game show called Separation Anxiety, hosted by Dallas-born comedian Iliza Shlesinger. The premise is having couples answer questions about each other, with “unique twists” thrown in to keep it interesting. Next month, the show will feature an Austin couple, Jenna Hopkins and Sebastian Salinas. How well do they know each other? Tune in May 17, 9pm to find out.

Hit us up at filmflam@austinchronicle.com.