by Jen Scoville
The frigid weather this week has tempered my envy of the cine-heads who get to
spend a string of days (Jan 16-26) watching independent films and discussing
them at the Sundance Film Festival. At least Austin filmmakers George
Langworthy and Paige Martinez — both heading north to present their works —
have had some recent practice bundling up to stay warm. Langworthy’s short
BREEZEWAY will be shown before Colin Fitz, a feature competing in
the dramatic competition. Paige Martinez’s Words of our Ancients, the
story of the Hopi struggle to retain cultural and religious freedom, is being
shown as part of a program titled View from the Center: Native Vision in
Cinema that this year features a pleasingly disproportionate number of
works by women. If you’re stuck getting your updates from the wire, there are a
number of websites providing great coverage. I have mentioned iLine Ltd.’s The
Road to Park City site () before; Starwave’s
Mr. Showbiz site (http://www.MrShowbiz.com/) is also worth a visit for
behind-the-scenes reports including a distribution scorecard, a daily news
column, movie clips, and lots of substantial inter-views starting with our own
Richard Linklater whose most recent film, subUrbia, will open the
festival on Friday. Stay tuned for news from Sun-dance, Slamdance
(http://www.slamdance.com), and the latest offshoot Slumdance
(http://www.slumdance.com) when our film editor Marjorie Baumgarten returns
from Park City in two weeks…
According to the Hollywood Reporter,
Matthew McConaughey is finalizing negotiations for a role in Steven Spielberg’s
next picture, Amistad, a period flick about a mutiny in 1839 on the ship
of the same name, to start filming in February. McConaughey also has the lead
role in Linklater’s The Newton Boys, and his involvement in Speilberg’s
project would again delay the film’s April 1 start date, but apparently only
just a bit…
The Ritz Lounge on Sixth Street has started an Austin Film Series
on Tuesday nights dedicated to showing the work of local independent
filmmakers. This Tuesday, Jan. 21, they’ll screen Tara Veneruso’s Janis
Joplin Slept Here, a filmic love letter to Joplin that explores the
influence of her legend on the Austin music scene. The projector rolls at 8pm;
admission is free. Also, series organizers are on the lookout for local films
to present, so if you have something for consideration call Jon Mitchell at
474-2270…
Other special screenings Tuesday night include the free Films by
Russian Women series at the Union (7pm) continuing with Kira Muratova’s
Brief Encounters (1967), a film about the love of two women for the same
man that was shelved by censors for 20 years; and The Austin Film Society’s
Satyajit Ray series (8pm, Union) which progresses with The Big City
(1963), the light-hearted story of a woman who, much to the dismay of her
husband and in-laws, takes up a job. AFS Gangsters & Outlaws series on Wed.
(7:30pm, Dobie) features Dick Richards’ The Culpepper Cattle Company (1972), a revisionist Western focusing on a teenager who falls in with a group
of eccentric and unpredictable outlaws…
Artists’ Legal & Accounting
Assistance of Austin (ALAA) is presenting a free seminar on Art in Cyberspace
on Sat, Jan 18,
1-4pm at the UT Law School Auditorium. Sessions will
explore Internet usage for arts business including the legal aspects of
copyright and censorship issues. Call 476-4458 to reserve a seat.
This article appears in January 17 • 1997 and January 17 • 1997 (Cover).