Dallas International Film Festival Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The inaugural AFI Dallas International Film Festival got the city excited about movies last year. True, the purist in me felt it wasn't the most adventurous of programs, and I wish there was a wider range of docs and foreign-language titles, but the festival did stretch the boundaries of what normally plays in the multiplexes. Celebrities like David Lynch (Inland Empire), Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), and Morgan Freeman (10 Items or Less) grabbed the attention of the local media, and it felt like "the thing to do" for people seeking a night out. I've lived here for years, but I was frankly surprised at how many folks turned out for little-known, unheralded pictures -- staying respectfully right to the end -- as well as the star-driven buzz titles.

The challenge now is to build on that success. Dallas Observer film critic and blogger Robert Wilonsky at Unfair Park posted the news that the festival has announced the first 15 selections for its second edition, which will be held from March 27-April 6. Two of the films are playing at Sundance: Nacho Vigalando's Timecrimes, a time travel suspense drama I loved when it premiered at Fantastic Fest (Jette liked it too, Kim wrote about the wild Sundance party, and Scott interviewed the irrepressible Nacho), and Alex Gibney's doc Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

Other docs include the US premieres of Scott Hicks' Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts and Michael Albright's Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake as well as Robyn Bliley's Circus Rosaire, Helen Hood Scheer's Jump! and Robert Patton-Spruill's Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome. Narrative feature highlights include Helen Hunt's Then She Found Me, Stuart Gordon's Stuck (based on a true story that took place in nearby Fort Worth), and the world premiere of Jeffrey Goodman's "noirish thriller" The Last Lullaby. As we did last year, we'll be covering the festival at Cinematical, so stay turned for regular updates.

The American Film Institute will announce today the launching of the spandy-new Dallas International Film Festival, a ten-day fest which will kick off next year, running March 22-April 1, 2007. The inaugural fest will showcase some 150 films, with a focus on international film. Michael Cain, who directed the 2006 Sundance film TV Junkie, has been named artistic director of the fest. Cain previously founded and ran the Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas, which is expected to take a bow as the new fest builds up momentum.

The Dallas International Film Festival marks the third fest the AFI has been involved with; the organization already runs the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival and SilverDocs. Target is already on board as a major sponsor for the Dallas fest, and will be providing awards to winners in the narrative and doc categories. The festival will run in venues throughout Dallas, including AMC Northpark Theaters, Landmark Magnolia and Inwood Theaters, and other locations, with discussions ongoing for other venues, including art museums and Southern Methodist University.

As a former Dallas resident with family living four hours north in Oklahoma City, I am thrilled at the news that Dallas will have its own major film festival. Now my family back in OKC will be able to make the short trip down to Dallas to see what I expect will be a lot of quality films. Dallas has a strong film and arts community, and that part of the country seems to be getting more access to quality film of late. In Oklahoma City, for example, when I moved from there 12 years ago, you weren't likely to see any independent films in theaters at all. Now Oklahoma City is showing indie films at both the Oklahoma City Art Museum and Quail Springs Cinemas, and my family is actually able to see many of the films I write about.