Writing is a lonely vocation, what with all those long hours spent staring dully at a blinking cursor, a blank page, a bare wall. That’s why it’s so nice every year to let the writers loose from their cages to run wild at the Austin Film Festival and Conference, which opens today and continues through Oct. 29. The long-running fest is an especially inclusive one, with screenwriting hopefuls hanging out alongside industry vets, swapping stories and sometimes even contact info. This weekend’s panels are restricted to badgeholders, but you can still purchase one (quick!) at www.austinfilmfestival.com.
And then there’s the film festival, which started as an adjunct and has grown into a vital part of Austin’s film community. This year’s lineup boasts sneak peeks at winter’s big pictures, such as Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, award bait Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, and late additions An Education and Youth in Revolt. But there’s also a raft of smaller films that deserve your attention – you’ll hear more about them in our AFF preview package starting on p.50. What you won’t hear about are the competition films: It’s our policy not to do advance press on competition films, because we don’t have access to screeners for all of them and we wouldn’t want to give an unfair advantage to any one film. So that’s on you: Make a point to read up on them and show ’em some love. Those are the guys who really need it. You can find out about all the AFF films, as well as ticket info, at the AFF website. Happy festing.
For continuing coverage of the Austin Film Festival, visit our Screens blog, Picture in Picture, at austinchronicle.com/pip.
This article appears in October 23 • 2009.
