The Austin Film Festival furthers the art and craft of film making by inspiring and championing the work of screenwriters, filmmakers, and all artists who use the language of film to tell a story.
The Austin Film Festival is a not for profit 501c3 corporation.
2012 CONFERENCE: October 18-21
2012 FESTIVAL: October 18-25
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Freak Dance (USA, 98 min.) Make no mistake, FREAK DANCE is a straight-up musical—a brilliant, musical comedy with dance numbers that rival the very films they are parodying. Adapted by Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder, Matt Besser, from the stage show that ran for more than a year at the UCB Theatre, the comedy skips cheap reference humor and goes right for absurdity. FREAK DANCE tells the story of Cocolonia, a spoiled rich girl who just wants to dance, so she sets out to join the ranks of some local street dancers. Little does she know that this will ultimately involve her in an epic battle of good and evil between two warring dance troupes. Besser and Neil Mahoney have created a sure to be cult classic featuring a cast of new comedic actors and fellow UCB Theatre founders Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts and Horatio Sanz. |
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Fred & Vinnie (USA, 89 min.) Writer Fred Stoller stars as Fred Stoller, an actor in Hollywood, playing an assortment of deliverymen, clerks and other oddballs. The rest of the time he wanders the streets researching his book project, Restaurants You Don’t Feel Self-Conscious Eating Alone At. He has a long distance bond with his old friend from back East, Vinnie DAngelo, who hardly ever leaves his rent-free basement apartment. Their relationship is put to the test when Vinnie ventures cross country to stay with Fred to give show business a try. At first, Fred is thrilled to have the company and eager to give Vinnie a live tour of his life, but soon feels trapped when Vinnie quickly reverts to his agoraphobic ways. Stoller and Skrova, both comedy veterans, create a surprisingly touching, but hilarious film about that one friend who everyone has and wants to ignore but ultimately, somehow, can’t. |
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High Road (USA, 83 min.) Fitz is about to finish his rock opera about his life philosophy: the triangle theory that describes how any three points or people can make a triangle. But his world crashes around him when his band mates quit to take paying jobs. A despondent Fitz, thinking the cops are also out to bust him for dealing pot, decides to drive to Oakland to visit his estranged stepfather. He reluctantly agrees to let Jimmy, the 16-year-old neighborhood kid, tag along. However, Jimmy’s dad thinks their road trip is a kidnapping and sets off in pursuit of the duo. Naturally, mayhem ensues. The second directorial debut from an Upright Citizens Brigade founder in the program, Matt Walsh delivers a stoner farce from a script he wrote with AFF Alum Weiner. |
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Treatment (USA, 83 min.) Sometimes, screenwriters get to a point where they will do anything to get their film made. Leonard (Leonard actually is the character’s name) is no different: All his life he has dreamed of being a famous filmmaker, but he's better at making excuses than making art. A chance encounter with a wasted A-list movie star could be his lucky break. All he has to do is come up with $15,000 to join the actor at a luxury rehab facility, where their friendship can blossom into wealth and glory. Leonard pressures his writing partner (Nelson) into paying expensive bills while he checks into treatment under false pretenses. Leonard soon discovers that addiction comes in many forms. A daring comedy with serious underpinnings, TREATMENT is about the lies we tell ourselves in order to live, and the price we pay when we start to believe them. Indie film stalwart Joshua Leonard (HUMPDAY, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT) and writer/co-director Sean Nelson portray the doomed writing team—two friends who are both ambitious and desperate to make it. |
Mark Your Calendars!
AFF 2012, October 18-25
AFF 2013, October 24-31
AFF 2014, October 23-30
AFF 2015, October 22-29