Sonic Youth has been getting a lot of attention lately, to the point where they're appearing in really weird places, like "Fresh Air" and stuff. This seems strange to us, since we treasured our cassette of "Goo" in ninth grade and certainly would never have thought of SY as NPR-approved Culture. Thankfully, the new documentary Sleeping Nights Awake is a bit different from these official sanctifications of Kim, Thurston, et al....

Last August, as the Austin Film Festival was ramping up, we spoke to Austin-based filmmaker Don Swaynos about the creepy slash awesome animated commercials he'd produced (along with partner Cameron Petri) for the folks at AFF. But Don's commercials weren't the only work he had premiering at AFF '07. Along with pal Steve Metze, he presented a documentary feature called Year at Danger, a firsthand account of Metze's deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom....

This Sunday, as part of the Austin Film Festival's "Conversations in Film" series, Writer / Director / Actor / Producer Johnathon Schaech will appear at the Hyde Park Theatre for an intimate discussion about screenwriting....

On Thursday night, the Austin Film Festival will make you wonder what you would do for a joy ride as they bring us Blood Car, one of the surprise hits of the 2007 fest. Based in the not-so-distant future, where gas prices are over $30 a gallon and everyone's new mode of transportation involves Rollerblades, vegan kindergarten teacher Archie discovers that the future of the combustion engine may not lie in fields of green, but in pools of blood....

Walk Hard Moive PosterAfter a much deserved break, the folks at the Austin Film Festival will resume their fantastic year-round screening series next week, beginning on Wednesday with a sneak peek at Marc Forster's adaptation of The Kite Runner, which will see a limited release on December 14th after much controversy about the film's effect on its young stars. On Friday evening, AFF will also present an advance screening of the new Judd Apatow /......

Still from The District! The DistrictNovember 16-222110 South Lamar (2110 S. Lamar)Various Showtimes, $8.25[info]We heard a lot of good things about Áron Gauder's one-of-a-kind animated gem The District! during Fantastic Fest last year, but we hadn't had a chance to see it until recently. It's a Hungarian Hip-Hop / time travel / gangster odyssey set in Budapest's notorious 8th district, where rival crime families feud like Montagues and Capulets. That is, until their kids fall......

After a fantastic week of panels, parties and screenings, the Austin Film Festival will wrap up tonight with a screening of Sidney Lumet's highly anticipated Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Lumet (the man behind films like Running on Empty, Serpico, and one of our favorite movies ever, Dog Day Afternoon) directs an unbelievably great cast including Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Philip Seymour Hoffman in this caper-gone-wrong thriller. We haven't had the......

Like an accidental tourist, Terry George stumbled into filmmaking while penning a semi-autobiographical stage play with scribe partner Jim Sheridan about a failed prison break. Stemming from that first true-story collaboration, he has continued as both a writer and director, chronicling the triumph of the human spirit, and helping to catapult injustices in Ireland and the heinous genocide in Rwanda into our national consciousness with the critically acclaimed Hotel Rwanda. In conjunction with the regional......

Okay--so there are a bunch cool things happening at the Austin Film Festival tonight, and a we wanted to let you know about a few last-minute tidbits and screening changes. *The Rebel is now playing at 9:45pm at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, NOT at the 9:30 Paramount slot we'd previously told you about. *The awesome narrative feature and 2007 AFF "Film Jury Narrative Feature Winner" Shotgun Stories is now playing at 9:45pm......

There are so many great films playing at this year's Austin Film Festival that we've been having trouble keeping track of them all. And one that flew completely under our radar until this morning is a Vietnamese martial arts film called The Rebel, which is screening at the Paramount tonight. Billed as the "first ever Vietnamese martial arts film", The Rebel looks like all kinds of action-packed awesome. Secret agents? Check. Black magic? Check. Face-kicking......

There are some fantastic documentaries screening at this year's Austin Film Festival, so we thought we'd give you the heads-up on a few standouts that we've seen. Chasing the Dream | Dir. Angelo Mei Saturday, October 13th - 5:00pm, Dobie Theater Monday, October 15th - 7:15pm, Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek A high school surfing coach who claims to have "lost his compassion years ago" takes his team of freckled, hormonal surfer boys on a journey......

Reservation Road I Dir. Terry George Friday, October 12th, 7:30pm Paramount Theatre It could happen to any of us. Running late and in a dizzied hurry, distracted by cell phones, radios, possibly a conversation that we had earlier in the day, and unexpectedly a single moment changes the course of our lives. In his adaptation of the John Burnham Schwartz novel Reservation Road, Writer/Director Terry George dissects the lives of two men whose destinies are......

We're gonna come right out and say it: We're total crybabies. No seriously, we may be the most empathetic people in the entire world. Anytime that we see someone in pain, someone suffering injustice, or even something sappy and overly romantic, like a first love, it's Niagara Falls, Frankie Baby. When you see a bunch of puffy-eyed, slobbery messes walking around downtown for next week, you can blame these films. And yeah, we're fine, we've......

This is a big one for comedy fans: the folks at the Austin Film Festival have just announced Mr. Warmth, The Don Rickles Project as their third "TBA" film. John Landis' star-studded look at the infamous insult comic will screen at the Regal Arbor on Tuesday night, and will presumably be very funny. It'll also undoubtedly be jam-packed with what can only be described as "Rickles Schtick". There's very little early word on this film......

You know how sometimes when you are out on the town for a nice dinner, you wish that you could order tiny versions of everything on the menu because all of the dishes sound so delicious? Well, that's how we feel about film sometimes - if only we could watch 20 minutes of splatteriffic gore, 20 minutes of absurdist comedy and round it out with a piquant documentary or two, we would have all of......

Sure, family-friendly films, "green" cinema and the corresponding warm-fuzzies you get from caring about your lil' ones and The Earth are nice. But historically, motion pictures have always been driven by violence, outlandishness and the public's insatiable and prurient interest in watching things on film that they don't necessarily want to see in real life. In this hallowed vein, the AFF Dark Matters Series explores subject matter ranging from blood-spattered vegans to Korean hillbilly gangs......

Yeah, we hate the term "movers and shakers" too. But the fact is that, in any industry, the big leagues run on star power. Nowhere is this more true than in the movie biz; accordingly, we saved the last post in our Austin Film Festival Panel Preview for appearances by the talented, charismatic, and/or sensational people appearing at this year's fest. Regardless of whether you've heard these names before, they've been around the block and......

Director Jason Reitman and Screenwriter Diablo Cody have just been confirmed as panelists for this year's Austin Film Festival. Reitman and Cody are the team behind the brilliant new comedy Juno, which is screening as the festival's centerpiece film (and which we highly recommend seeing). Jason (son of legendary comedic director Ivan Reitman) is best known for his critically adored feature film debut Thank You For Smoking, but he has also directed several shorts, including......

We’ve created a selection of the most noteworthy panels happening at this week's Austin Film Festival, organized to appeal to particular festival-goers, from curious onlookers to those looking to break into the business. Yesterday we looked at panels for indie filmmakers. Today we highlight panels for aspiring and professional screenwriters. So get out your planners and take note! THURSDAY 10/11 Austin Pitch Prep They say you only get one chance to make a first impression,......

The folks at the Austin Film Festival have just announced this year's second "TBA" film, The Go-Getter, an indie drama starring Taylor Pucci and Zooey Deschanel. The Go-Getter is Director Martin Hynes' second feature film, but you may also remember his portrayal of a young George Lucas in the 1999 short film George Lucas in Love (which we hadn't seen until now, but is hilarious). The film will screen this Thursday night at the Bob......

Even people with kids like to watch movies. Partly because family films are just plain fun and educational, and partly because they, if only for a short period of time, provide a distraction from the endless, high-pitched squealing that children provide. But whatever the motivation, the Austin Film Festival's Family Film Series has a little something for everyone this year. Check out our rundown! Moondance Alexander | Dir. Michael Damian Saturday, October 13 12:30pm, Regal......

If you’re planning on attending the Austin Film Festival this weekend, you’re probably beside yourself with excitement about the lineup this year; with such highly-anticipated films such as Control, Juno and Reservation Road on the schedule, and appearances by legends like Oliver Stone and John Milius, who wouldn’t be? But one sorely-overlooked facet of the festival deserves special mention: the panels. Last year’s panel lineup featured some of the most powerful, if not famous, people......

Don't you just love surprises? We do! Especially ones that involve movies and John Cusack. So we were excited to hear that Grace Is Gone will screen as one of four top-secret "TBA" films at this year's Austin Film Festival. The film stars Cusack (in what some are already calling an Oscar-worthy performance) as a middle-class American father who can't figure out how to tell his two young daughters that their mother has been killed......

Here in Austin, we're all about the environment and stuff. Right? Damn right! So this year's AFF Green Cinema Showcase should go over especially well with all you envirothusiasts out there. This year's program will feature three films that explore topical environmental issues like global warming, industrial hemp production and renewable fuel sources. Oh hey--if you're interested in these films, you might also want to check out Gimme Green, a short documentary exploring America's obsession......

Harris Goldberg has spent most of his screenwriting career penning successful, high-concept comedies like Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Without a Paddle. But these days, he's no longer interested in hammy, big-studio money machines. In 2006, after a long struggle with an unusual psychological disorder called "Depersonalization", Harris decided, for the first time in his life, to write something personal. His directorial debut, Numb is being billed as a "semi-autobiographical" film--but in reality it's a......

The Austin Film Festival is right around the corner, and this year's Marquee programming is some of the best in the festival's history. With a wide variety of stellar comedies, dramas, and documentaries (not to mention several strong Oscar contenders) announced, there's something for everyone in the 2007 Marquee category. To help you plan out your festival schedule, we've put together a list of best bets for this year's program. The whole program looks excellent......

The complete schedule for the 14th annual Austin Film Festival has been announced, and it looks pretty amazing. 79 feature films and 98 shorts will screen over the course of eight days at various locations in Austin, beginning on October 11th with Brett Morgen’s much hyped docudrama Chicago 10, starring Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Wright. Jason Reitman's brilliant new comedy Juno (starring Ellen Page, Michael......

No plans for tonight? No need to call in for backup--the Austin Film Festival has you covered with a screening of revered cop documentary Sheriff at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. Filmmaker Daniel Kraus gets up close and personal with Sheriff Ronald E. Hewett as he brings about justice in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Critics rave about the intimate portrait the film manages to capture in little over an hour; according to the event site,......

ACL Previews Interview: Ghostland Observatory Previews: The Broken West, Big Sam’s Funky Nation & Rose Hill Drive Previews: Billy Joe Shaver and Fionn Regan Previews: Brandon Rhyder and Ocote Soul Sounds Interview: The Broken West Previews: Sylvia St. James, Jeffrey Steele, and Amy Cook Interview: Bloc Party ACL Fest Updates: Google Mashup, Contests, Eco-Chic Previews: Augustana, Amos Lee Interview: Peter, Bjorn, and John ACL Band Clash, Round 3: Wilco Vs My Morning Jacket Travis......

The folks at the Austin Film Festival have just released three slightly bizarre, but intensely cool new animated television spots. The ads feature actual interviews with longtime festival attendees, animated using an unconventional stop-motion technique that's best described as "creepy / awesome". The spots were created by local filmmakers Don Swaynos and Cameron Petri, who've made the AFF's animated television spots for the past three years (ever since winning the AFF trailer competition and an......