Austin Film Festival

Filmmakers and cinephiles nation-wide descended on Texas from October 19th through the 26th for the annual Austin Film Festival, which since 1994 has brought industry luminaries and armchair auteurs face to face to talk shop and celebrate their craft. This year was no exception, with dozens of feature films - both narrative and documentary - plus shorts, retrospectives, special presentations, contests, local showcases, and screenplay pitch sessions with L.A. agents.

One film which had the festival abuzz was the last-minute sneak preview and first U.S. screening of Death of a President, a controversial (three of the largest theatre chains in the U.S. also refused to screen the film, and both CNN and NPR refused to accept paid ads for it) yet surprisingly subdued new British film that poses and attempts to answer the question, “What would happen if Bush were assassinated?”

Also a hot commodity was Chalk, a documentary-style feature that follows around a group of first-year high school teachers. In the same vein as the Office and with just as sharp a comic syringe, it claimed the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and scored a distribution deal.

Personifying the festival’s attitude of passionate do-it-yourself filmmaking was Payback: Straight Up. Brian Helgeland, the writer/director of this 1998 Mel Gibson revenge vehicle, was unceremoniously fired during the film’s postproduction and his vision was then subjected to studio tampering. Recently, Helgeland managed to get his hands on the negatives and re-edit the movie back into his original cut, and he was on hand to field questions from an appreciative audience, which included San Antonio native filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, in a Q&A following the film’s unveiling.

Noteworthy too was the screening of TV Set, which concerned a writer struggling to survive in the cutthroat world of sitcoms. Director Jake Kasdan (son of the great Lawrence Kasdan) was present and also appeared on several of the many writing panels which afforded moviegoers rare insider access to both Hollywood and indie veterans. Panelists included Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), Sydney Pollack (Tootsie), Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Michael Ian Black (”Stella”). Kevin Smith was a no-show.

The closing night film was the regional premiere of the forthcoming Tenacious D in ‘The Pick of Destiny,’ which chronicles the improbable rise to power (with a little help from Lucifer) of the eponymous folk-metal duo and self-proclaimed Greatest Band on Earth, consisting of impressive physical specimens Jack Black and Kyle Gass.

Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story documents the harrowing real-life kidnapping of girls from Japan by Kim Jong Il’s regime to train North Korean spies in the ways of the Japanese, so that they may carry out espionage abroad in disguise. The timely film took home the Documentary Feature Film Award.

Also of note: Pirate Radio U.S.A., which tracks the rise of this radical new medium; Military Intelligence and You, a satire melding new footage and army training films; Cave of the Yellow Dog, the much-anticipated follow-up to indie darling The Story of the Weeping Camel, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Dito Montiel’s coming-of-age drama which opened to rave reviews, and The Hip Hop Project, a documentary about New York City teens using the poetry of the streets for spiritual and financial empowerment. While the festival’s overlapping schedule makes a comprehensive breakdown impractical, the full film lineup and winners are viewable at www.austinfilmfestival.com.