AFS Alumni at the Austin Film Festival

The 18th Annual Austin Film Festival begins this Thursday and runs October 20 – 27 with panels, screenings and parties throughout Austin.

We’d like highlight those films selected to screen by filmmakers that have been supported through the Austin Film Society’s filmmaker programs like the Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund (TFPF) and the Docs-in-Progress and Narratives-in-Progress series. Many of these filmmakers will be in attendance and their screenings, so be sure to say hello and congratulate them!

Screening times are below. All synopses are courtesy of the Austin Film Festival.

ARCHER
Directed by Erik Mauck (TFPF Alumni)
Screens in Shorts Program 1
Fri, Oct. 21 at 3:30PM, Hideout Theatre
Sun, Oct. 23 at 8:30PM, Hideout Theatre
After a long day reading to his deceased wife at the local cemetery, Mr. Archer is asked to leave by a young groundskeeper who is closing up. The two try to find common ground in a world of loneliness. 

AN ORDINARY FAMILY
Directed by Mike Akel
Screened as an AFS Narrative-in-Progress
Sat, Oct. 22 at 1:00PM, Austin Convention Center Screen 1
Mon, Oct. 24 at 9:30PM, Regal Arbor

Thomas is blindsided when his brother shows up unannounced to the annual family vacation with his boyfriend. Despite a well meaning attempt to surprise everyone, things do not go as planned, throwing the family into an awkward vacation where everyone has problems and no one wants to talk about them.

STRINGS
Directed by Mark Dennis & Ben Foster (TFPF Alumni)
Sun, Oct. 23 at 9:45PM, Rollins Theater
Tue, Oct. 25 at 7PM, Rollins Theater

In the wake of his daughter’s death, a troubled musician seeks out an experimental therapist to turn his life around. When the therapist calls for him to leave everything behind and take on a new identity, the musician realizes his new life isn’t what it seems and his therapist is using patients to commit vigilante crimes. Providing the foundation for this action-packed film is a drama about a man grappling with who he has become while reaching for his past life.

A SWINGIN’ TRIO
Directed by Kelvin Phillips
Screened as an AFS Narrative-in-Progress
Fri, Oct. 21 at 7PM, Rollins Theater
Wed, Oct. 26 at 6PM, Texas Spirit Theater

A darkly-comic tale follows a writer as he dives into the prickly territories of self-awareness and self pity, in his quest to find the truth about his possibly cheating wife – and himself – all at a Valentine’s Day dinner decidedly set for three.

UNCERTAIN, TX
Directed by Eric Steele
Screened as an AFS Narrative-in-Progress
Thu, Oct. 20 at 7:15PM, Rollins Theater
Sun, Oct. 23 at 5:30PM, Austin Convention Center Screen 1

Uncertain TX Two drifters take shelter in a bed and breakfast owned by an elderly blind couple and their mentally challenged (but physically imposing) son in the bayou town of Uncertain.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
Directed by Steve Collins (TFPF Alumni)
Thu, Oct. 20 at 9:30PM, Texas Spirit Theater
Tue Oct. 25 at 10:15PM, Texas Spirit Theater

Rarely does a film as thoughtfully quiet as this one speak such volumes. John Merriman stars as Johnny, a male nanny who tries to win back his girlfriend after she takes up with a man who looks just like him. Although Johnny seems to have a genuine desire to create a family of his own, he can’t seem to bring himself to follow through on the idea. The film tracks the growth of the relationships between Johnny, his girlfriend, and her new man over four seasons in New England, as writer/director Steve Collins adds layer upon layer to these three fascinating characters. A drama with the humor of spring and the sorrow of winter, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS speaks with the honesty of a child about people struggling to let go of darkness and find love.

Z & BEAU
Directed by Carlyn Hudson (SLACKER 2011 filmmaker)
Fri, Oct. 21 at 7:15PM, Austin Convention Center Screen 2
Sun Oct. 23 at 6:30PM, Austin Convention Center Screen 2

A couple on the lam avoids traditional society until a mysterious stranger appears and ruins everything.

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