Indie Film Fans of Austin Rejoice

For far too long Austin (a burgeoning giant in indie filmmaking) has gotten a bit of the stepchild treatment with regard to indie film releases. Often times it we don't even get films that other towns like Chicago, Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles get. Hell, even Houston gets some films we don't. Houston? WTF?!

And it seems like every time we want to see an indie film, that's not being shown during a festival here, we have to drive way up to the Arbor or cram ourselves into the obstructed-view Dobie. We love these theatres, don't get us wrong. (And you can occasionally find a good indie/foreign screening around town.) But we have longed for the day that Austin would have its own full-sized theater close to home (specifically our home in South Austin) that specialized in the presentation of independent/foreign/specialty films.

Well, tomorrow that day will be upon us, as Austin's AMC Barton Creek 14 Cinema has been named one of the 72 theaters in the country to be earmarked by AMC Entertainment, Inc. as a member of the AMC Select program. This means more independent films will be shown at this wonderful theater. It is unclear how much money will be poured into this new venture, but AMC is saying that the marketing money spent on the program will be "significant," and that has to be a good sign, right?

*Image (c) Sysy81 on Flickr*