AFF: Friday's Schedule

Stop by the Driskill Hotel to purchase movies passes or badges. Individual movie tickets can be purchased at showtime the theatres.

Payback – Straight Up
Retrospective
Screens: 7:30pm @ Spirit of Texas Theatre
[from AFF] In 1998, during post-production of his film Payback, Brian Helgeland got fired -- 86ed -- pole-axed. The ending of the film was re-shot, narration was added, key scenes were cut and a character was recast. Seven years later he found himself in a basement at Paramount Studios with a shelf full of film retrieved from a salt mine somewhere in the Mid-West. See how he put his bad-ass vision back together as he presents Payback - Straight Up - The Director's Cut. [info] [Read our interview with director Brian Helgeland]
Catch and Release
Marquee Screenings
Screens: 7:30pm @ The Paramount
[from AFF] From the writer who brought you 28 Days, Erin Brockovich, and In Her Shoes comes a wry romantic comedy. Gray Wheeler struggles to accept the death of her husband and the secrets he kept from her as she rebuilds her life. When Wheeler and Fritz Messing are thrown together by a not-so-simple twist of fate, they find love entering their lives at the most unexpected time. [info]
The Amateurs
Special Presentations
Screens: 7:30pm @ Alamo Lake Creek
[from AFF] Regional Premiere Andy (Jeff Bridges) has the perfect plan for winning back his wife and son: adult films do big business, so why not get filthy rich by producing a porn flick? Recruiting his friends to produce the film and the man known only as Some Idiot (Joe Pantoliano) to direct, Andy's adult film progresses swimmingly - until it becomes apparent that the performance problems of the lead actor (Moose, played by Ted Danson) may be due to the fact that he may be gay. Released as "The Moguls" in the UK, which in itself may be telling commentary on the differences between British and American moviegoers. [info.]

The Descendant
TerrorVision
Screens: 4:30pm @ The Hideout
[from AFF] U.S. Premiere. A year after his mother passes away, James Duke contemplates doing the one thing she had always forbidden: contacting her parents. Yielding to temptation, the young man visits his grandparents and discovers that altough friendly, they are very nervous about his surprise visit. Staying on for a few days at their eerie, run-down and secluded farmhouse, he gradually uncovers the shameful chapter of family history that his mother never revealed. Carefully watched by menacing townspeople, James uncovers the clues to his disturbing past; old gramophone recording, altered photos, remains of uncertain origin, and a very unusual patchwork quilt made by tortured hands. Conspiracy and the heavy burden of truth confront James in his discovery of ghosts from the past. [info.]
Walking to Werner
Documentary Feature Competition
Screens: 4:30pm @ Stephen F. Austin
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. In the winter of 1974, German director Werner Herzog walked from Munich to Paris to see his dying friend, film critic Lotte Eisner, hoping that by making the journey on foot he would somehow keep her alive. In summer 2005, hoping simply to meet the man who had inspired him to make movies, filmmaker Linas Phillips made his own pilgrimage, walking 1,200 miles from Seattle to Herzog’s Los Angeles home. Braving freeway traffic, weather, the California Highway Patrol, and his own self-doubt, Linas fulfills a dream that parallels the filmic dreams accomplished by his hero, and as one marginal roadside character after another shares a story with him – redemptive, tragic, funny – Linas’ dream becomes much bigger than he originally intended. [info]
The Third Monday in October
Documentary Feature Competition
Screens: 7:15pm @ IMAX
[from AFF] World Premiere. Third Monday in October follows the presidential elections of 12-year-old kids vying for the promise of leading their middle school student councils in the midst of the 2004 national Presidential election. Taking an intimate journey with these young candidates as they enter their races, through their campaigning, slogan writing, poster creating, public speaking, and debating, and up until the final emotional and dramatic day of school elections, this film shows a true slice of American politics, raw and uncensored, through the eyes and votes of American 12 year olds. [map]
A Place to Dance
Austin Screens
Screens: 7:45pm @ Arbor
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. For 65 years people of a certain age in New Orleans have danced to the music of Pat Barberot. We meet these characters in May 2004 at his nightclub. Through them we learn a little bit more about what's truly precious in life. Very few talk about the job they once held or the size home in which they lived. Instead they talk about relationships and love. Then Hurricane Katrina hits. The people we've followed for 18 months are suddenly scattered across the Southeast. They lose homes, friends, and their dancehall. There's a deep sadness, but also grace and unexpected humor as they work to piece things back together. And of course, they find a way to dance again. The film is an extension of the 2004 AFF Audience Award winning film of the same name. [info.]
Whole New Thing
Special Presentations
Screens: 7:45pm @ Dobie
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. 13-year-old Emerson has been home-schooled in rural Nova Scotia by his counter-cultural parents. He’s written a fantasy novel to rival Tolkien but he’s not so hot at math. Obliged to submit to the contemptible public school where ‘those who can’t, teach’, he zeroes in on the one person who might be his intellectual equal: Don, a gifted English teacher, who also happens to be a closeted gay man with a taste for anonymous sex. A 13-year-old boy with a crush on him is exactly what this particular teacher does not need. Applying his parents’ liberal attitudes to sexuality and casual nudity, Emerson takes To Sir, With Love to dire lengths. [info.]
American Stag
Special Presentations
Screens: 9:45pm @ Alamo Lake Creek
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. From the birth of cinema through the 1960s in the United States, most pornographic films were brief, black and white, anonymously produced films known as 'stag films', 'blue movies', or 'smokers,' so called because of the smoke-filled rooms where men would gather for private screenings. This film examines the 'stag' film not as much for the subject matter or lack of production value, but as a metaphor and reflection of American popular culture. Featuring interviews with Adam Carolla, Melvin Van Peebles, Tommy Chong, Barbara Hammer, Linda Williams, Chris Gore, David Skal, and Rupert Jee. [info.]
Little Chenier
Narrative Feature Competition
Screens: 9:45pm @ IMAX
[from AFF] World Premiere. Deep in the bayous of Louisiana exists a unique place. It’s not a city or a town, but a slight stretch of land known as Little Chenier. Here, family and land are the basic necessities of living a good life. Beaux Dupuis and his mentally challenged brother, Pemon, live a simple life on a houseboat until Pemon is accused of a crime and Beaux resolves to protect his brother against all odds. Never has the Cajun life been captured so realistically and naturally. Featuring stunning cinematography, Little Chenier captures the sights and sounds of the bayou, an environment unlike any other in America. [info.]
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Retrospectives
Screens: 9:45pm @ Spirit of Texas Theatre
[from AFF] A knock to the head restores the memories of amnesiac soccer mom and schoolteacher Samantha Caine (Geena Davis), who begins to remember pieces of her former life as a secret agent and assassin. A few of her "old friends" show up to threaten her new life, but with the help of detective Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), Caine sets out to save suburbia from the bad guys. Long Kiss Goodnight mixes witty dialogue and eye-popping action sequences to create a quintessential Shane Black picture, highlighted by Jackson’s impeccable dialogue delivery. [info.]
Colma: The Musical
Special Presentations
Screens: 10pm @ Dobie
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. Variety calls it, "a less pretentious rock musical than 'Hedvig,' with music just as good." Taking place in the suburban town of Colma, Colma: The Musical takes the music of H.P. Mendoza and weaves it into a fresh personal look into the ups and downs of early adulthood. Best pals Rodel, Billy, and Maribel find themselves in a state of limbo. Fresh out of high school, they are just beginning to explore a new world of working part-time mall jobs and crashing college parties. As newfound revelations and romances challenge their relationships with one another and their parents, the trio must assess what to hold onto and how to best follow their dreams. Colma: The Musical boasts 13 musical numbers featuring all original music by H.P. Mendoza. [info.]
The Land of Shadowed Sand
Austin Screens
Screens: 10pm @ Arbor
[from AFF] World Premiere. The Korean War has just ended, and a young soldier named Frank returns home to follow up with his friend Louis about a job offer. Upon arriving, Frank finds the position has dried up, just like Louis' relationship with his boss, Ruby, the local crime lord. As Frank is drawn into Louis' world, he finds there may be more to lose in Ruby's desert than an occupation. Taking the film noir style and dropping it into the western landscape of Texas, Hice uses stunning visuals to create a unique Cold War crime film. [info.]
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Marquee Screenings
Screens: 10:15pm @ The Paramount
[from AFF] Regional Premiere. Based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Suskind, Perfume is a terrifying story of murder and obsession set in 18th-century France. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille has a unique talent for discerning the scents and smells that swirl around him, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. Strangely lacking any scent of his own, he becomes obsessed with capturing the irresistible but elusive aroma of young womanhood. As Grenouille's obsession turns deadly, twelve young girls are found murdered. Panic breaks out as people rush to protect their daughters, while an unrepentant and unrelenting Grenouille still lacks the final ingredient to complete his quest. [info.]