Spring Break is over, and so is Austin’s South by Southwest. While SXSW has gained notoriety as a music festival, its film festival is just as big a draw. So Ed Board has some good news for you in case you didn’t get your movie fix over the break.
The American Film Institute’s International Film Festival starts tomorrow, runs through April 1, and is being held right here in Dallas.
Ed Board just wants to make sure the SMU community realizes how big a deal this is and hopes you’ll take advantage of this opportunity.
The festival will showcase 191 feature films and shorts (which blows away AFI’s original goal of 150) and 201 screenings as part of its debut with its sponsor, Target, awarding prizes of $25,000 to the Target Filmmaker Award winners of the Narrative and International Documentary Competitions.
The 11-day festival will also feature “Signature and Centerpiece Screenings” with red carpet entrances at theaters throughout the city (like the Angelika, the Magnolia and even the NorthPark AMC theatre- all of which are just a hop, skip and a jump away from SMU campus). There will be a number of award presentations, filmmaker panels and other special events.
Need another reason to go? What if you could see the work of your peers on the big screen? AFI Dallas will be holding a student competition, showcasing the best from up-and-coming filmmakers across the world (including both short and feature-length films created by high-school and college students), as well as a competition entitled “SMU Presents,” which will feature the best work from SMU filmmakers.
You’re still not convinced? What if we threw some celebrities into the mix? The AFI Dallas Star will be presented to Lauren Bacall, Jack Valenti, David Lynch, Laura Dern, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Sarah Polley and to Veronique Peck for Gregory Peck (posthumously on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of “To Kill a Mockingbird” and the 40th anniversary of AFI, where he served as its first chairman of the board).
Other confirmed celebrities in attendance will include Sydney Pollack, Morgan Freeman, Todd Wagner, Ron Livingston, Hector Elizondo, Michael Sheen, Bill Paxton, Michael Beach and Joey Lauren Adams.
We don’t know about you, but rubbing elbows with established actors like these is an exciting prospect. However, just seeing their work up on the screen will be more than enough fun.
For more information or to purchase ticket packages, visit AFIDallas.com. We’ll see you at the movies!
