Sure, the “face-off” joke is kind of funny given the skull on the cover. But we really mean it: You’ve got your choices this weekend.

Here, we give you a brief introduction to both of your cinema-centric options (see “In the Blue Corner: Austin Film Festival” and “In the Red Corner: Housecore Horror Film Festival“), with a handful of our personal favorite events flagged in convenient capsule form. But there’s plenty more research and reportage on both; click around to dive into our more in-depth preview coverage, or head to the Screens blog for up-to-the-minute news from the festival front lines.

Austin Film Festival

Women’s Writes

Blood Brothers

Mourning After

Documentary Reviews

Narrative Reviews

Housecore Horror Film Festival

Give Me Freedom and Give Me Death Metal

‘Found’ Affects

And of course, there’s plenty of cross-pollination between the festivals, too, so if you simply can’t pick a favorite, don’t be afraid to try to do both. Just keep your head about you, OK?

This article appears in October 25 • 2013.

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