Oct
06
Austin Film Festival
So I was a volunteer at the Austin Film Festival last week. It was a fun experience, I met a bunch of other film geeks, and if I didn’t have scheduled volunteer hours, I probably wouldn’t have had a better excuse to ignore all my pressing work and go to the movies. Also, the free WhichWiches, ginger beer, and gin at the after party were nice perks.
Here are the highlights (actually, this is just what I saw):
Catch and Release
Kevin Smith acts in a supporting role for a not-overly-cheesy, small budget romantic dark comedy.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Based on an equally strange and creepy novel about a man in 18th century France with a supernatural sense of smell. The method of story telling adds a light-hearted element that gives it a Delicatessen or Amelie kind of feel.
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
The movie is a coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, N.Y., during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead, on drugs or in prison, he comes to believe he has been saved from their fate by various so-called saints.
The Pick of Destiny
Tenacious D brings back the rock opera! Instant cult classic. Go see it.
Prison Pups (Documentary)
Selected inmates in minimum security Massachusetts prisons adopt and train puppies to become service dogs. Interesting idea, it seems to help rehabilitation of the prisoners, and the dogs get more training than professionals can provide.
And a bunch of shorts, but I won’t mention them. You can find out what they were on the AFF site.