by Jen Scoville
Film news this time of year usually revolves around Park City, Utah, as the
line-up for the January Sundance Film Festival is finalized and then discussed
and debated at great length. While last year a number of films with Texas ties
were represented, out of the 127 features selected, only one film by a local
director has been chosen for the 1997 program. Not unsurprisingly, that
filmmaker is probably our best known — Richard Linklater — who has the honor
of opening the festival with a premiere screening of his latest film,
subUrbia, the movie adapted by Eric Bogosian from his stage play of the
same title. subUrbia was shot in Austin this summer. Every year, more
and more of the films featured at Sundance are arriving at the festival with
distributors already attached, and this year that trend is especially apparent.
Critics who believe the festival has become “too Hollywood” can be sure to find
more indie films at Slamdance, the alternative festival founded by Sundance
rejects — now in its third year — held simultaneously in Park City. Though
Slamdance has yet to release their movie line-up for 1997, iLINE Ltd.’s Indie
Film Cybernetwork site for Sundance, The Road to Park City (http://www.ilineltd.com/parkcity/), is impressive with its complete listing
of the selected films, an archive, a Park City travel guide (including a link
to the seemingly impossible Sundance on $32 a Day), and a message board
to exchange tickets, rides, and accommodations. There’s even a link to the
Slamdance site (http://www.slamdance.com), and we’ll be waiting to hear news of
any local filmmakers who might be attending…
The Austin Museum of Art’s video
series of shorts by and about African-American women concludes next Tuesday,
December 10, with its fourth and final program. This last group of titles
represents the most recent works of the series, and includes Kathe Sandler’s
A Question of Color, which takes issue with the European model of
physical beauty; Demetria Royal’s Conjure Women, a performance-based
documentary exploring the philosophies of four women artists; and Zeinabu Irene
Davis’ Mother of the River, a rare portrayal of slavery from a young
female perspective. The videos show at AMOA’s Congress Avenue location;
admission is $4…
The Austin Film Society’s special screenings this week are
as follows: Masterworks of Satyajit Ray continues on Tuesday, Dec. 10,
8pm at the Texas Union with The Music Room (1958), the story of the last
in a line of landed aristocrats who suffers economic ruin and is left only his
love of music in the end. The Wednesday series (Dec. 11, 7:30pm at the Dobie),
Gangsters and Outlaws, proceeds with another western, Henry King’s 1950
film The Gunfighter, starring Gregory Peck as a gunslinger trying to
overcome his bloody past. AFS is also hosting a benefit screening of the
regional premiere of Nora Ephron’s shot-in-Austin film Michael, starring
John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, and William Hurt on Dec. 17 at the Paramount.
The $15 ticket (on sale Monday, December 9) benefits AFS and the Texas Freedom
Network. See ad for complete details on p. 77…
Filmmakers: Don’t forget the
deadline for submissions to the ’97 SXSW Film Festival is lucky Friday, Dec.
13. Call the SXSW office at 467-7979 for an application.
This article appears in December 6 • 1996 and December 6 • 1996 (Cover).