The July 15 deadline has almost arrived for submitting works to the
CinemaTexas 1997 Short Film+Video+New Media Festival to be held Sept. 25-28 at the
University of Texas at Austin. The organizers encourage submissions that “explore
short cinema as a free genre” and are not simply “industry calling
cards.” Eligible for the juried competition are short narratives, documentaries,
animation, experiments, CD-ROMS, and WWW pages. For more info and entry forms contact
fest directors Rachel Tsangari and Kyle Henry by phone at 471-6657 or by e-mail at
kylehn@mail.utexas.edu…
The topic for the monthly meeting of Reel Women is “Works in
Progress,” an opportunity for participants to discuss current or future projects. The
meeting is set for Wed. July 16, 7:30pm, at Movements Gallery (211 E. Sixth). Call
280-8706 for more info…
Bull riding may be one of those activities akin to climbing
Everest — what on earth possesses people to do it? Well, that’s one of the questions
explored by filmmakers Harry Lynch and Jeff Fraley in their fascinating new
documentary Chasing the Dream: A Bull Riding Adventure. In the course of the film, they talk with
dozens of bull-riding champions and hopefuls and come up with an insightful and
entertaining portrait of modern cowboy culture. Exciting action footage is combined with
interviews that reveal the riders to be a diverse lot — from humble country-boy
personalities to swaggering rodeo kings. Helping to shape the film are the contributions of
editor Don Howard (whose similarly-toned Letter from Waco won the best
documentary award at this year’s SXSW Film Fest) and music supervisor John Riedie (who
recruited such artists as Don Walser, the Derailers, Stop the Truck, Chris Wall, Paul
Russel, Mary Cutrufello, Jack Ingram, ThaMuseMeant, and others to perform songs for
the soundtrack)…
The Austin Film Society (AFS) is presenting the local premiere of Chasing the
Dream on Thurs. July 17, 7:30pm at the Dobie Theatre. The filmmakers will be on
hand for a Q&A at the theatre following the screening. Afterwards, there will be a
party at Donn’s Depot (1600 W. Fifth) with entertainment provided by Mary
Cutrufello, Stop the Truck and other soundtrack musicians…
Should you happen to be up Dallas
way this weekend, you might want to stop in at the screening of frequent
“Scanlines” contributor Christopher Null’s short film Pressurecooker on Sat. July 12,
7pm, at the Richardson Square Barnes & Noble. Christopher wrote, produced, and
stars in this 13-minute-long film, which tells the story of two brothers dealing
with the murder of their mother and the insanity that affects them both; brother
Bradley Null directed. The brothers will also be on hand for a Q&A. Christopher Null
also maintains a website called Movie Emporium (http://www.filmcritic.com) which
contains scads and scads of film and video reviews by this prolific guy, as well as
up-to-date info regarding the current and future projects of Null Set Productions…
This week’s free screening in the AFS Summer Free-for-All is a new 35mm print of Budd
Boetticher’s Buchanan Rides Alone. The modestly made but narratively complex Randolph
Scott Western screens Tues. July 15, 7pm, at the Union Theatre.
This article appears in July 11 • 1997 and July 11 • 1997 (Cover).
