Fort Worth is rolling out the red carpet for the Lone Star Film Festival.
The festival returns Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 4, with all screenings taking place in the Cultural District — making the festival more walkable than ever.
Hotel Dryce kicks off the weekend with an opening party; Bowie House hosts the festival’s star-studded gala; and film screenings will bounce between the Kimbell Art Museum and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The filmmakers’ lounge, pass pick-up and the University of Texas at Arlington Cinematic Arts’ Film Talks will all be at The Crescent Hotel, Fort Worth.
Lone Star is more than just an opportunity to watch movies — though there’s ample opportunity for that, too — Chad Mathews, the festival’s executive director, said.
“The best part about the film festival is meeting new and seasoned filmmakers and hearing their stories behind making a movie,” he said. “Yes, on an entertainment level, the movies are great … but I love hearing the filmmakers tell about their journey and how they accomplished what they did on the big screen.”
If you go
What: Lone Star Film Festival
When: Oct. 31-Nov. 4. Find the full schedule here.
Screenings: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. and
Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort WorthAdmission: $10 per screening or $300 all-access pass if purchased by Oct. 31; $350 after Oct. 31.
Festival attendees will have several opportunities to support Texas filmmakers, including Fort Worth native Greg Kwedar.
Kwedar directed, co-wrote and produced the A24 film “Sing Sing” about a wrongly imprisoned inmate’s struggle to find meaning in the notorious maximum security prison. He will be joined by his co-writer and producer Clint Bentley for a Q&A session following the film.
Producer Philip Guitar will be present for a talk following a screening of “Water Wars.” The documentary is set in West Texas where residents of Dell City are divided over a legal fight on water rights.
Tyler Mann, an Austin resident who co-wrote and directed “I Voted,” will host a discussion on his feature film about the perils of a polling site placed under lockdown during a deeply divisive election.
“The election is right around the corner, and this movie touches on that in a very interesting, thoughtful way. It is kind of a mirror to ourselves in society,” Mathews said. “It’s one of those films that when you watch it you think this is really what’s happening … and it goes to a different place. I’m not going to give anything away, but it’s a pretty great independent film.”
Single tickets for the season premiere of Taylor Sheridan’s newest series, “Landman,” have already sold out, but the festival has several other debuts on its roster.
The filmmakers behind the fictional feature “Nuked” will host a talk following its Texas premiere, and the festival also will host the world premiere of the hourlong documentary “US Charros.”
Aspiring producers and directors won’t want to miss discussions about how to get into the film industry, music in cinema or the future of artificial intelligence in moviemaking.
“It’s hard to get people to get out of their house and go to a movie or film festival,” Mathews continued, “(but) I would recommend it because you will gain so much information from the filmmakers about how they make their magic.”
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.