A Note on Badges, Passes and General Admission [Austin Film Festival]

When you think about all the big name film festivals, we bet it sets off a soundtrack of ka-ching ka-ching in your head. Expensive to get to and pricey to attend, most folks like us can't work that sort of expenditure into our yearly budget. Well, we would like to remind you that this isn't Utah; you're livin' in Austin, baby, and around these parts Austin Film Festival passes start at the totally-affordable-even-if-you-don't-have-a-ton-of-money price of $42, and it all happens right in your backyard.

That's right, the $42 Film Pass gives you access to 8 days filled with over 190 film screenings. Members of the Austinist staff have used passes in the past and have gotten into every film that they wanted to see. Screenings at the Paramount, which tend to be the bigger-name, marquee events, can accommodate every single badge and film pass holder. And there are seven other venues to choose from besides the Paramount that are showing films simultaneously. That's a lot of seats up for grabs and an incredibly varied schedule of films guarantees that you can catch a film at any time slot on the calendar.

This year, AFF is also offering four levels of badges so that you can customize what you want to attend. The First level of badges is the Lone Star badge, which gets you into all 8 days of screenings, plus the Saturday panels of the Screenwriters conference. At just $95, it gives you a ton of films and the chance to rub elbows with screenwriters, directors, producers, actors and all manner of film industry insiders. You even get a ticket to the Saturday Night Pitch Finale Party where you can wind down from a day full of hobnobbing.

The Weekend badge is your ticket to everything listed for the Lone Star badge, as well as all of the Screenwriters Conference panels on Sunday, plus the Conference Wrap Party. For someone just starting out, we'd say that two full days of screenwriting insight will put you on a firm track to making your own script a reality. At $225, it's certainly not cheap, but is definitely worth it if you are serious about starting or expanding a budding filmmaking career.

If you really want to experience the full Screenwriters conference, then the Conference badge is the right choice for you. With it, you gain admittance to all four days of Conference panels, eight days of festival screenings, meet & greets, access to the Exhibit Hall and entrance to select parties. This one will run you $375, but will give you voluminous knowledge of the industry and even more chances for networking with your future colleagues.

Finally, the pinnacle of the badge world is the Producer badge. This is for those who are going to dedicate the next eight days of their lives to AFF, and includes all that has been listed above, plus the Thursday Night ACVB Opening Night Reception, the Friday Night Film Texas BBQ Supper, the Friday Night Filmmakers Happy Hour and the Sunday Morning “Hair of the Dog” Brunch Hosted by Jessica Bendinger and Terry Rossio. Basically, the Producer badge gives you all access to everything that AFF has to offer and if you choose to shell out the $650 to get one, we hope that you will wring every last drop of goodness and knowledge out of the festival that you possibly can.

If all this sounds like too much of a commitment, then remember, you can also go to individual screenings and buy single tickets for $9. It may be a little bit tougher to get in or get the best seat, but you still get to experience a little bit of AFF for a very reasonable price. See you at the theater!

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