There's a lot going on in Austin's food scene this month, but sometimes events do seem to have a unique twist to them. If you've ever considered asking actor Edward Burns a question, like perhaps "how does one manage to win the Sundance Film Festival, convince Tom Petty to soundtrack your ideas, and marry Christy Turlington?", then this may be the evening to get your answer. Burns, The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, and Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace will all appear as featured guests at the Austin Film Festival's 8th Annual Film + Food next Wednesday at the Driskill Hotel.

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As some sort of satirical pop-culture Nostradamus, Mike Judge may very well have predicted humanity's sadly (and dare we say, most assuredly) tragic future. His seemingly prescient Idiocracy paints a world where we water our plants with sports drinks and watch entire television channels devoted to violence without comment. For some strange reason, when the film was released, it was done so by an almost silent studio and quickly exited theaters, perhaps because the industry realized that what was being skewered by the film's content was the very lifestyle that they work to create, but in any case there is a strong chance that you may never have had the chance to see it in a theater. As part of their Made in Texas Film Series, the Austin Film Festival aims to reverse that unfortunate situation for you tonight at the Bob Bullock Texas Spirit Theater. more ›

It is quite possible that you have never heard of the film Roadie. Hell, we certainly hadn't, and it is possible that the fact that it was released the same year that we were born might have something to do with that. However, before we tell you anything about it or tonight's screening in the Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, we are going to make a bold statement: YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE. more ›

Austinite Eric Bricker's Visual Acoustics explores the life and work of iconic architectural photographer Julius Shulman, whose portraits of modernist homes have become singular works of art and definitive documents of the modernist movement. Featuring interviews with architect Frank Gehry, designer/director Tom Ford, artist Ed Ruscha, publisher Benedikt Taschen and, of course, Shulman himself, the film is an intimate portrait of an extraordinary talent. more ›

The Troubadour on Santa Monica Blvd. is the cozy club that did it for us. After rock-out worshipping Beth Ditto of The Gossip, witnessing the hypnotic effect Bon Iver has on an audience, and giggle-festing with Chelsea Peretti, we were dead set on finding a way to actually live in one of the best venues on Planet Earth. We could imagine ourselves waking up under the blue glow from the light above the stage and high-fiving Joni Mitchell on our way to pay rent. There’s a unique, comfortable, respectful vibe where the performer rules and being a member of the audience can be pretty darn special. It’s an atmosphere that offers up a multitude of more than memorable nights and it was recreated by club owner and filmmaker Mark Flanagan at Largo on Sunset Blvd. No, you didn’t accidentally click on sibling site LAist; we’re just setting you up for Austin Film Festival’s documentary screening of the stellar, performance-heavy Largo at Alamo Lake Creek this Thursday. It’s a required A/V workout for all Austin music buffs. more ›

A Perfect World is by far our favorite John Lee Hancock work (he also wrote the screen adaptations of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and this year's upcoming football feel-good The Blind Side, as well as the unfortunate The Alamo) and as the final offering in their Made in Texas Film Series, the Austin Film Festival and Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum will be presenting not only a screening of this Clint Eastwood directed slow-burner, but will also host a conversation with Hancock himself. more ›

Whether you’re a longtime Austinite with many years of “it was much cooler back in the day” to speak of, or you’ve just moved here to join the beardeoisie, you probably have some film school friends who love the Coen brothers. From the whip-smart pacing and whacked-out dialog of Raising Arizona to the intense emotion and sheer badass-ness of No Country for Old Men, these guys have become film legends. more ›

Set in 1957, Alien Trespass chronicles a fiery object from outer space that crashes into a mountaintop in the California desert, brining the threat of disaster to Earth. Out of the flying saucer escapes a murderous creature - the Ghota, which is bent on destroying all life forms on the planet. A benevolent alien from the spaceship, Urp, inhabits the body of Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack) - a local astronomer - and with the help of Tammy (Jenni Barid), a waitress from the local diner, sets out to save mankind. more ›

David Wain is perhaps best known for directing the cult classic Wet Hot American Summer and working on the short-lived Comedy Central series Stella--both of which, Wain didn’t mind telling us, were “financial disasters.” (Released in 2001, Wet Hot American Summer just managed to turn a profit this year, through DVD sales.) Wain was in town to promote his Paul Rudd-Sean William Scott comedy Role Models. more ›

Danny Boyle has shed the “hip nihilist” reputation gleaned from 1995’s breakout hit Trainspotting to become a fixture on the international film scene, working in genres as diverse as zombie horror, sci-fi, children’s fantasy, and social satire. Boyle recently brought his new film, Slumdog Millionaire, to the Austin Film Festival, where it was enthusiastically received. more ›

Our advice? You may as well see it Tuesday, because you're going to need one viewing under your belt before you try to figure it out. It could be that there's not much to "figure out," that a character living in a literal house on fire has no meaning beyond the viewer's interpretation; no explicit message by the filmmaker—or at least none he's willing to explain. more ›

Nutkin's Last Stand plays as part of the Austin Film Festival's Shorts Program 10, Tuesday night at the Dobie. more ›

Road to Tlacotepec follows Austin director Brendt Mader around as he travels in the footsteps of his father, a well-known photographer and photojournalist, whose recent death leaves a family in traction. In an effort to connect with his father's past, Mader embarks on a trip to a small Mexican village where his father and mother spent time in their young, married lives. more ›

Creepy is a good word to describe this tale of two twin sisters with manically curly red hair, who never speak except to each other, and how far they’ll go to realize their bizarre dreams. The film follows the sisters from their stay in a mental institution onto their new life in a halfway house. How they react to the outside world while maintaining the bizarre dependence on each other makes for an interesting character study. more ›

The Austin Film Festival is officially on (we're headed over to the late night reception now!), and this year you can keep tabs on our festival adventures through the relatively new @AustinistFilm Twitter account. Keep an especially close eye this weekend, when we're likely to be really drunk and sassy. Stay digital friends with us after the fest is over, and we'll keep you up to date on Austin film news, events, tickets and gossip. Yay technology! [link] more ›

In what might be called Waking Life meets Rain Man, Bob Sabiston, the braintrust behind Linklater's two animated films (and those Charles Schwab commercials), brings beautiful backgrounds, and another insightful, revelatory use of filmic animation. The premise is the documenting of a road trip to Six Flags with Ryan Powell, who is autistic. This is the latest in a series of trips the pair has taken (along with a group of friends). more ›

Hold on to your high waters, Napoleon Dynamite. There’s a new weirdo in town. We’re talking about Ethan, the protagonist in this quirky comedy about a high school kid who can’t seem to figure out how to talk to Madison, the girl of his dreams. Or any girl, really. This charming feature was written and directed by Seth Packard, who also stars, and he does a bang-up job of maintaining a whimsical sense of humor reminiscent of such insane (and beloved) teen flicks as Better Off Dead . Ethan gets falsely accused of causing some trouble and ends up getting shipped off to stay with his even more maladjusted cousins in California. How will he be able to survive there, and what will happen when he returns home to woo Madison? more ›

What is it about summer camp movies that makes us so jealous our parents never sent us off for a few weeks of minimally-supervised, life-affirming fun? The films we’ve seen always seem to be filled with mischief, merriment and near-miracles – food fights hilariously erupt, unlikely friendships are forged and even the nerdiest of nerds manage to get kissed for the first time. more ›

If there's one documentary we recommend seeing during this year's Austin Film Festival, it's Eric Bricker's Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, a fascinating, beautifully realized portrait of famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics explores Shulman's life and work through interviews, animation, archival footage and heaps of gorgeous photographs. Featuring conversations with architect Frank Gehry, designer Tom Ford, artist Ed Ruscha, publisher Benedikt Taschen and a host of notable design-o-philes, the film is an intimate portrait of an extraordinary talent. more ›

This afternoon, the good folks at the Austin Film Festival announced Rock-afire Explosion as the first of two "TBA" titles slated for this year's festival (second if you count the very funny Role Models, which was announced fairly late in the game).Rock-afire Explosion chronicles the resurgence of the titular animatronic band who "broke up" in the early 90s when Showbiz Pizza, the restaurant chain that employed* them, was pretty much absorbed by Chuck E. Cheese's. Most hardcore Explosion fans had figured the band for dead, until the internet brought them back to life last year via YouTube's magic, star-making powers. more ›

Zack Galifanakis goes "Good Will Hunting" in a dystopian satire that critiques our country's obsession with material goods and 8 to 5 corporatism. Yes, this Zach Galifianakis. The film is shot in dark color tones, replicating George Washington Winsterhammerman's (Galifianakis) dreary job as a "visioneer," which requires him to wear strange glasses and sit at a desk, though we never discover exactly what his job entails. Drama arises when it's learned that the team's missing member exploded. Not in a sort of espionage, car bomb, way, but spontaneous combustion due to existential crisis. more ›

Just when you think perfectly blonde, perfectly nice, perfectly married Olive and Dax are about to get on your nerves with all their perfect perfectness, they start acting like normal, insecure people and begin to screw each other over. more ›

Grocery stores are the great equalizer—pretty much every one in America frequents one, be they monolithic or modest. And after you have purchased your snacks and sundries, there is generally one question that remains: do you want to carry your wares home in paper or plastic? Granted, in Austin the swing is towards "neither" with our cloth bag revolution, but across the country you will find dutiful baggers, sackers, or whatever you choose to call them, packing up jars, cans and bread, hopefully with the later after the former. Sounds like the stuff of legend, right? You wouldn't think so, but in the Austin Film Festival documentary feature Paper or Plastic?, those disregarded courtesy clerks finally get their moment in the sun. more ›

Though most people now equate "New Zealand film" with Lord of the Rings, the Kiwis have always done drama right. Jane Campion's The Piano, Niki Caro's Whale Rider and Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures all spring to mind as standout New Zealand-made features. And this year, the Austin Film Festival will offer a first look at another strong NZ drama, The Map Reader. more ›

The 15th annual Austin Film Festival is right around the corner (October 16th - 23rd!), and organizers are looking for a whole bunch of film-lovin' volunteers to help make it happen. Volunteers are needed in various capacities both before and during the fest. It's a great chance to gain event management experience, and it even counts towards any community service hours you might need to earn (hopefully for school). If you're interested, you'll need to fill out a quick application and attend one of four upcoming orientation sessions. Follow the link for more info, or send an email to volunteer@austinfilmfestival.com. [Link] more ›

Hurry up! Today is your last chance to get an Austin Film Festival badge at early-bird rates. If you're buying the fanciest badge (the Producers Badge), you can save yourself $65 by purchasing before midnight tonight. There are a number of badge options, all at varying price and access levels. And if you don't have the budget for a full-blown badge, you can purchase Film Passes for $42. They're available online, over the phone, at Waterloo Records and at Follett’s Intellectual Property (though service fees apply if you buy 'em in person). more ›

Whether you love Robert Altman or hate him, you can’t argue that he makes films like nobody else. It’s what made him a Hollywood institution and one of the most respected directors in the business. So when he calls you up and asks if you will send him some of your short stories, and then asks you to come write movies for him, you don’t say no. Because who would? That’s what happened to Anne Rapp, a native Texan and local script supervisor-turned-screenwriter; their first collaboration became Cookie’s Fortune, playing this weekend at The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. And that’s not all—you’ll get a chance to hear that story and much more from writer herself as the Austin Film Festival presents “Conversations in Film: Anne Rapp and Cookie’s Fortune.” For those up-and-coming filmmakers and screenwriters here in Austin (we know you’re out there, and there are a LOT of you), this is the kind of information you won’t want to miss out on. more ›

If you're one of the thousands of Austinites who DON'T work at an ice cream factory, we've got a great way for you to beat the Monday blahs: head out to the Cap City Comedy Club for the 3rd Annual Funniest Filmmaker in Austin contest, hosted by writer/comedian/filmmaker/handsome devil Matt Bearden. more ›

Heads up, film fans! The Austin Film Festival may still be several weeks away, but the reels of independent cinema are definitely in motion. more ›

This Thursday, the Austin Film Festival gives you a free (or cheapish) screening of the new doc "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections." You probably guessed already that the "new math" referred to here is not some fancy-pants non-Euclidean geometry, but rather the way that election returns have gotten easier and easier for unscrupulous parties to screw around with. more ›