FAQ
The Austin Film Festival, is dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and filmmaking by providing unique, year-round cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. The Austin Film Festival is a not for profit 501c3 corporation.
The 19th annual Austin Film Festival is October 18-25, 2012.
The film festival shows movies at theaters throughout downtown Austin and the surrounding area. Venues include the Paramount Theatre, Alamo Lake Creek, Regal Arbor, Landmark Dobie, Long Center Rollins Theatre, Hideout Theater, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Musuem IMAX Theater. (Venues are subject to change each year). The conference panels take place at the Driskill Hotel & Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin hotel in the heart of downtown Austin.
Yes. The conference is October 18-21 and the festival is October 18-25.
The Conference provides over 80 inspiring and interactive panels, roundtables and meet and greets with established screenwriters and filmmakers. The Conference conducts workshops on the core elements of screenwriting and filmmaking, including dialogue, story structure and character development. Some popular panels focus on writing scripts that producers want to develop, overcoming writers block, producing your film on an indie budget, marketing your project and more.
Panelists photos and bios can be found at the 2012 Panelist page. All panelists are confirmed, schedules permitting, and may be subject to change without notice.
The AFF Awards Luncheon presented by Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation will be held on Saturday October 20, and you can buy tickets by calling 1-800-310-FEST. Tickets are $50 and only Conference and Producer badge-holders may reserve a ticket. The Awards Luncheon honors the 2012 Awardees, Screenplay Competition winners, and Film Competition winners. For more information, please visit the Luncheon Information page.
The festival will show over 190 films during the 8 day event.
Opening night starts at 7 pm. Films are screened all day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Afternoon matinees and evening shows are offered Monday thru Thursday.
Each year the Austin Film Festival holds film competitions in 6 categories, including: Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Narrative Student Short, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short and Animated short.
Yes! You can get involved by helping us prepare for the festival or by working at the actual event. Please feel free to give us a call at 512-478-4795 or email at volunteer@austinfilmfestival.comfor more information. More information can be found at the Volunteer Information page.
Yes. To see what badges get you into what parties, please see the list on the Parties Information page.
Yes. Lots! There are meet and greets with many writers and producers as well as parties where you can meet lots of industry people. In fact, many people have gotten their scripts sold and found new opportunities by attending the festival. To hear some of our success stories, visit the Success Stories page.
No. The Film & Food party is a separate event that raises money for Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program the night before the festival at the Driskill Hotel. Badge-holders do receive a discount on the ticket price. For more information, visit the Film & Food information page.
A pass allows you the opportunity to see over 190 films in 8 days and grants you priority in line over single pass tickets giving you more time to get seats, popcorn, and drinks. A badge gives you access to all the films plus access to four days of panels at the conference and to some of the parties and meet and greets offered by the festival.
- The Producers Badge grants you access to everything, including panels, front-of-line entry to all Film Festival films and to all of the parties.
- The Conference Badge grants you access to the four days of panels at the conference, unlimited access to the film screenings throughout the festival and entry to some of the parties, including the Late Night Welcome Party, the Pitch Finale Party and the Conference Wrap Party.
- The Weekend Badge grants you access to the conference on Saturday October 20th and Sunday the 21st, all of the films and entry to the Pitch Finale on October 20th and the Conference Wrap Party on October 20th.
- The Lone Star Badge grants you access to Saturday panels and entry to all of the films and the Pitch Party on October 20th. To purchase a badge, visit the Badges and Passes information page.
Yes; however, we recommend buying a film pass ($65) that grants you access to over 190 films over the 8 days of the festival, with priority entry over individual ticket holders. Individual tickets cost $10.
The Producers, Conference, Weekend and Lone Star Badges are on sale at a discounted price until September 8, then go to full price until the festival. Film passes are on sale at a discounted price until September 8, then go to full price until the festival. Individual tickets are on sale the day of the screening, 30 minutes prior to show-time at the designated theater if seating is still available. For more information and pricing visit the shopping page, or order over the phone (1-800-310-FEST (3378)).
If you buy your badge or pass online, it will be available for pickup at the Registration Center located in the Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos) starting on Wednesday afternoon, October 17.
Driskill Hotel:
Wednesday, October 17, 12:00pm–11:00pm
Thursday, October 18, 8:00am–11:00pm
Friday, October 19, 8:00am–9:00pm
Saturday, October 20, 8:00am–9:00pm
Sunday, October 21, 10:00am–4:00pm
Tech Center (location TBD):
Monday through Thursday, October 22–25, 12:00pm–5:00pm
Discounts are available to Austin Film Festival members – depending on the level of membership. For more information on membership, visit the Membership page. We also offer discounts to approved screenwriting and filmmaking groups. For more information on these Group Discounts, please contact our Conference or Screenplay Directors.
Refund requests for the Festival must be in writing, postmarked by July 5th, 2012, and all refunds will incur a $75 processing fee. After July 5th, 2012, all payments are non-refundable for any reason, including, but not limited to illness, acts of God, or travel related problems. Badges are non-transferable and are the property of the Austin Film Festival, Inc. Unused registrations cannot be credited for future year’s attendance.
The Capital Metro Bus System, taxis and walking are options for transportation downtown. Bus day passes are only 1 dollar. Plus, the downtown area is very accessible for walking.
We do not offer a specific area to park; however, there are several options to park downtown. There are parking garages and meters. Parking garages are available all around the downtown area and are only a few dollars to park there. Metered Parking hours are as follows: Monday-Wednesday: 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Thursday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.-Midnight, Saturdays: 11:00 a.m.-Midnight. The hours listed will apply to all meters between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street, and between IH-35 and Lamar Blvd. Outside of that area, meters will begin operating from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Unless otherwise marked, metered on-street parking has a three-hour time limit.
It’s a common saying here: if you don’t like Texas weather, just wait a minute. While Austin weather is not so dramatic, it can change from hot to chilly very quickly. In general, Austin sees highs of around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and lows around 60 degrees Fahrenheit in October.
While there are many great options for places to stay in Austin, the Austin Film Festival has several special rates for those attending the festival. For the 2012 Film Festival we will be offering special rates at the following hotels: The Driskill, InterContinental Stephen F. Austin, Holiday Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Downtown Mariott and Radisson Hotel. To get the special rate, the room must be booked through the Austin Film Festival. Please call 1-800-310-FEST(3378) to book today! For more information, please visit us the Travel & Lodging page.
AFF also presents out-of-competition Marquee Screenings, giving audiences their first opportunity to see films that will grab the spotlight during Oscar© season.
