Austin Film Festival is known as a writers’ festival but it’s also a fest for directors with the second wave of titles including the last films from Noah Baumbach, Chloé Zhao, and Park Chan-wook.
Baumbach kicks off the list with Jay Kelly, the new drama starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler as an aging actor and his manager contemplating their shared career. The film debuted last month at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival and now receives its Texas premiere at AFF, as does Hamnet, the fictionalized biography of William Shakespeare from Chloé Zhao (Nomadland). Rounding out the trio of Texas premieres is another film from another internationally lauded filmmaker: Eojjeolsugaeopda, better known to American audiences as No Other Choice, the new tale of class and ruthless capitalism from South Korean director Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave, The Handmaiden).
The festival has also announced several world premieres, including not one but two from local resident Adrianne Palicki. The John Wick star returns after her performance in 2024 AFF selection Texas Cult House to appear in both pickleball comedy Pickleheads and literary satire Sell Out, the latest movie from AFF veteran Nick Holden (The Golden Rut).
There’s another local star at the heart of another of this year’s selections with Armadillo Man: The Trips of Jim Franklin. The poster artist is an Austin Music Hall of Famer for his legendary work for Vulcan Gas Company, the Ritz Theater, and of course the Armadillo World Headquarters, and now his impact on the visual style of Austin is finally given its full credit in the new documentary from Emil Lozada.
The festival has already announced a first wave that includes Train Dreams from Sing Sing creators Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Nia DaCosta’s Hedda, and the Texas premiere of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the latest whodunnit from Rian Johnson starring starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc.
Austin Film Festival takes place Oct. 23-30, and the Writers Conference runs Oct. 23–26. Passes and info at austinfilmfestival.com. Now here’s the complete second wave, including six world premieres:
NO OTHER CHOICE (Eojjeolsugaeopda)
South Korea
Texas Premiere
Director: Park Chan-wook
Co-written by: Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, Lee Ja-hye
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won
From director Park Chan-wook and based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax, the story follows Man-su on his desperate hunt for a new job after his abrupt layoff from the paper company he served for 25 years.
JAY KELLY
Texas Premiere
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Co-written by: Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer
Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Emily Mortimer, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Riley Keough, Isla Fisher
Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind.
HAMNET
UK
Texas Premiere
Directed/Co-Written by: Chloé Zhao
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
World Premiere
Written by: E. Nicholas Mariani and Joe Carnahan
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Zachary Levi, Josh Duhamel, Marshall Cook, Terrence Terrell, Quentin Plair, Floriana Lima, Jessica Blackmore, JoBeth Williams
Not Without Hope, based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of a tragic 2009 fishing trip taken by four friends – including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith – who are stranded at sea 70 miles off the coast of Clearwater, Florida after their boat capsizes. With the storm of the century fast approaching, the four friends are left to battle hypothermia, dehydration and the unrelenting elements in a fight for survival. As anxious families hold out hope for a miracle, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close marshals every asset at his disposal to find the four men, resulting in the dramatic rescue of former University of South Florida football player and personal trainer Nick Schuyler.
TUESDAY’S FLU
World Premiere
Written by: Brian Parri and Stephen Parri
Directed by: Daniel Roebuck
Cast: Ross Marquand, Jackie Earle Haley, Jon Gries, Daniel Roebuck, Tony Todd, Craig Conover
Drowning in debt to a ruthless bookie and blackmailed by his ex-wife, a recovering gambler sees one last chance to break free—but pulling it off means risking everything to win back his son.
BITE TO BITE
World Premiere
Written/Directed by: Kelly Lipscomb
The fascinating story of one giant Bluefin Tuna on an unlikely journey around the world with two fishermen from Nova Scotia to the legendary Tsukiji Seafood Market in Japan and the underbelly of a lucrative but controversial global sushi industry.
PICKLEHEADS
World Premiere
Written by: Jared Bonner
Directed by: Josh Flanagan
Cast: Pej Vahdat, Kristine Froseth, Jared Bonner, Harvey Guillén, John O’Hurley, Adrianne Palicki, Eric Nelsen, Ryan Cooper, Lindsey Morgan
A disgraced ping pong star is dragged back into the limelight by a documentary crew, hoping to capture his redemption tale in a plucky, new sport – pickleball.
SELL OUT
World Premiere
Written/Directed by: Nick Holden and Josh Holden
Cast: Nick Holden, Stephanie Hunt, Adrianne Palicki, Olivia Applegate, Jimmy Gonzales, Gabriel Luna, Temple Baker, Bill Wise
A neurotic novelist can’t tell if his biggest problem is the blank page, his Southern family – or his best friend’s off-the-rails political campaign.
ARMADILLO MAN: THE TRIPS OF JIM FRANKLIN
World Premiere
Directed by: Emil Lozada
Cast: Jim Franklin, Leea Mechling, Billie Buck, Jason Mellard, Nakia
Armadillo Man: The Trips of Jim Franklin tells the story of Jim Franklin – the iconic concert poster artist who helped establish the Austin music venue, Armadillo World Headquarters, and is credited with making Austin “weird.”
SACRIFICIOS
Mexico
US Premiere
Written by: Mauricio Chernovetzky and Alexander Ioshpe
Directed by: Mauricio Chernovetzky
Cast: Jorge A. Jimenez, Siddhartha Tonalli, Frida Astrid, Noé Hernandez, Costanza Andrade
After suffering a traumatic loss, Juan attempts to find solace in the vastness of the sea. There, a miraculous event promises to reverse everything… but at what cost?
