Indie Picks: At The Movies This Weekend

Vera Farmiga stars in "Higher Ground" (Sony Pictures Classics)

There are plenty of films opening in town this weekend, but nothing much to get excited about. The highest profile film on area screens is Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. With an all-star cast and the backing of Warner Bros., this is the kind of film that consistently alternates within Soderbergh's filmograhphy. He does a studio picture and follows it up with an indie picture. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Before things get too crazy with Austin City Limits festival and Fantastic Fest later this month, this might be a good weekend for you to catch up with movies you've missed. We'd recommend Attack The Block, The Guard, Point Blank and/or Senna.

Higher Ground (Regal Arbor, Violet Crown Cinema)
The only genuinely indie film of note this weekend marks the directorial debut of actress Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air, The Departed). She was originally only attached to this film as an actress. After three years of script development she was urged by Carolyn S. Briggs, the author of the memoir on which the film is based, to pull double duty on the film and also get behind the camera.

Farmiga portrays a woman in a tight-knit spiritual community who slowly begins to question her faith. The story depicts twenty years of her life and, as is noted in the director's statement on the film's official website, asks if it is possible for faith and doubt to coexist.

The film also stars John Hawkes (Winter's Bone, Contagion) and Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married) and has achieved wide acclaim since playing at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.

Also this weekend:
- Nathan Christ's documentary Echotone returns to Alamo South Lamar on Sunday night for a week's worth of 10pm screenings. Almost all of this film's previous engagements in town have been completely sold out, and now it is starting to spread to other markets (Echotone was even featured as a Critic's Pick by The New York Times this week). If you haven't caught it on the big screen, this is your chance.

- There's another screening of the highly entertaining local reboot Slacker 2011 on Sunday night at 7pm, this time at the Alamo Village.

- The Late Show at Midnight on Friday and Saturday nights is Pineapple Express.

It's also worth noting that the Alamo Drafthouse will be donating 5% of sales from Friday through Sunday at all Austin locations to wildfire relief efforts.