Short Cuts

"Moon Over My Hammy" Dept.: If you were one of the literally hundreds of shivering Alamo Drafthouse patrons turned away from last Sunday's sold-out premiere of the Mr. Sinus Theater 3000 series, all I can say is thank your lucky stars you weren't standing out there nekkid. What am I talking about? Why, the Hill Country Nudists, of course, whose fleshy protuberances were jutting in fine, frigid fashion at the live parody/B-movie premiere which featured cinefemme Doris Wishman's hilariously awful "nudie" pic Nude on the Moon. Whether or not the impromptu Night of the Living Genitalia was to your taste or not, the whole affair went so well that the Alamo has scheduled not one, not two, but three encore performances of the Jerm Pollet brainchild, Oct. 3-5, 10pm, ages 18 and up. Alamo head boob and avowed nocturnal naturist Tim League promises that this time out he'll reserve a special row for the clothesless ones, ensuring that the more epidermally skittish attendees won't find themselves situated fewer than five inches from a naked stranger with a suspicious popcorn bucket in his lap. My advice? Get there early, plan to stay late, and don't schedule your IPO for the next moring 'cause drinking games are definitely encouraged with this one. The naked truth about the whole shebang can be found at www.drafthouse.com... Filmfests galore! The Austin Film Festival (www.austinfilmfestival.com) kicks off Oct. 12-19 with, among many, many other things, a personal appearance by Slap Shot's notorious f*@!in Hanson Brothers, who will be on hand for a retrospective screening of George Roy Hill's 1977 ode to blood on the ice. Tix, passes, and more can be had by calling 800/310-FEST... Also upcoming is Cinematexas 2000 Short Film+Video Festival (uts.cc.utexas.edu/~cinematx/home.html), Oct. 18-22, which will be spotlighting indie auteur (and John Lurie fishing buddy) Jim Jarmusch. The director of Ghost Dog and Stranger Than Paradise will be on hand to screen a selection of his favorite shorts by other filmmakers (including the legendary "Towers Open Fire" by cut-ups William Burroughs and Brion Gysin) and generally look imposing. Other fest events include a retrospective of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami and a rare screening of Lars von Triers' epic The Kingdom. More info can be had at their Web site, above... Speaking of Cinematexas, they're looking for volunteers to help out this year. Orientation will be held Fri. and Sat., Oct. 5-6, at Communications Bldg. B on the UT campus (corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe). Call Juliet Dervin at 452-1455 for more info... Barna Kantor's Center for Young Cinema is once again offering its hands-on filmmaking courses for kid filmmakers beginning Oct. 1 and running for the following eight weeks, with a parents orientation held Saturday at 2pm. The courses will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse. Call 469-0114 for more info... This weekend in Dallas, Sat., Sept. 30, is Fringe Media 2000, a Dallas-based horror/cult festival, which will feature Troma Films head Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo and Juliet), cartoonist Mack White, and scream queen Debbie Rochon, among others. Austin filmmaker Bob Ray will also be screening his fabled Rock Opera for the masses. More info can be had by calling 214/321-8636.

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