Austin Film Society Announces January and February 2019 Programming
AUSTIN, TX (December 6, 2018) — AFS announces its January and February programming calendar with its signature blend of New Release and repertory films, all curated by AFS programmers. Major series in January include Edith Head’s Hollywood, with five films that showcase the Academy Award-winning work of this famous wardrobe designer. Each film will be followed by a discussion with Jill Morena, Costume Specialist at the Harry Ransom Center, or Susan Mickey, Costume Designer and Professor at The University of Texas at Austin.
MEDIA CONTACT
Christine Lee, Director of Marketing and Communications
christine@austinfilm.org | Office: 512-322-0145 | Cell: 214-908-2704
AFS highlights the Austin film scene with screenings of the early works of Austin-based filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (Support the Girls) and conversations with Bujalski after each film. The series Also Starring Austin explores Austin as a destination for film production with the 2018 doc Also Starring Austin (director Mike Blizzard in attendance) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
In February, AFS welcomes Canadian filmmaker Ron Mann in-person for screenings of his documentaries including Comic Book Confidential, Poetry in Motion, and Grass. Vadim Rizom, editor of Filmmaker Magazine, curates a series of underappreciated documentaries for the Alt-Doc Canon series. The Essential Cinema series celebrates the works of Lee Chang-Dong (Burning) in conjunction with the Austin Asian American Film Festival. The Films of Hayao Miyazaki screen in February accompanied by a pop-up Kinokuniya store.
In conjunction with Valentine’s Day, we have a few thematic films, including Before Sunrise (Director and AFS Founder Richard Linklater in person at the February 11 screening), Wild at Heart, Wings of Desire, and an alternative take with La Bête.
AFS Cinema hosts a Red Carpet Evening and Viewing Party on Sunday, February 24, complete with red carpet, Oscar ballots, and costume contests.
Ticket prices range from $9 to $11.25, with discounts for AFS members. Special pricing is noted if applicable.
For a complete list of film screenings and special events, please visit www.austinfilm.org. A digital press kit, including the two-month calendar PDF and high-res images, is available.
AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2019 CALENDAR
Special Events
Red Carpet Evening: A Viewing Party
February 24, 6 p.m.
Special event pricing applies.
We’re rolling out the red carpet for a livestream Academy Awards viewing party. Come prepared for costume contests, voting ballots, themed drinks, and more. This event is not sponsored by or affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
AFS Film Club Winter Festival
January 26, 10 a.m.
Free and open to the public
Enjoy a free screening with short films created by students in the AFS Film Club, our after-school program that engages young filmmakers at local elementary and middle schools.
Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2018, DCP, 121 min. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
Opens in January
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the new film from Hirokazu Kore-eda shows us the close bonds that exist within a Japanese family of petty thieves and hustlers who take in a lost child and raise her as their own. This saga of day-to-day triumphs and setbacks may well remind you of the neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini and, like those earlier films, is filled with humane grace notes of insight about family and society.
Paweł Pawlikowski , Poland, 2018, DCP, 88 min. In Polish with English Subtitles.
Opens in January
Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida) won the best director award at Cannes for this sweepingly intimate love story about a star-crossed couple falling together and apart, through the iron curtain of post-war Europe.
2019 Oscar-Nominated Shorts
Opens in February
Prepare for the Academy Awards with these nominated 2019 Academy Award shorts. We will have select showtimes of the live action, animated, and documentary shorts.
Essential Cinema: Edith Head’s Hollywood
During the silent era, a number of women worked as writers and directors in the nascent film industry but as the talkies approached, women were largely excluded from these positions. Highly creative women were thus shunted over to the technical trades. However, this did not mean that female creativity was entirely suppressed. In the case of wardrobe designer Edith Head, a highly creative storyteller found her means of expression, not with camera and typewriter, but rather with sketchpad and sewing machine. Here are some of Edith Head’s greatest triumphs in the field of storytelling via costume. Join us for post-screening discussions with Jill Morena, Costume Specialist at the Harry Ransom Center, and Susan Mickey, Costume Designer and UT Professor. Media sponsor: Tribeza
Preston Sturges, USA, 1941, 35mm, 94 min.
January 3, 7 p.m.; January 6, 4 p.m.
Preston Sturges’s screwball comedy is well known as a triumph of writing, directing, and the acting of its stellar cast, led by Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. Here, we focus on the eye-popping outfits created by Edith Head as well.
William Wyler, USA, 1949, 35mm, 115 min.
January 10, 7 p.m.; January 12, 6 p.m.
Edith Head won the first of her eight Academy Awards for Costume Design for this period drama, starring Olivia de Havilland as the dowdy daughter of a rich man. When handsome young Montgomery Clift takes an interest in her, it sets off a family and class struggle.
William Wyler, USA, 1953, DCP, 117 min.
January 17, 7 p.m.; January 19, 7 p.m.; January 20, 4 p.m.
One of the most perfect romantic concoctions in cinema history—starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck—is aided immensely by Edith Head’s wardrobe creations.
George Roy Hill, USA, 1973, 35mm, 129 min.
January 24, 7 p.m.; January 26, 4 p.m.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford, two of the biggest male stars of the 1970s, play a pair of hustling con artists in this joyous crime comedy. Edith Head, a master at dressing Hollywood actresses, proves her great facility at outfitting men.
Blake Edwards, USA, 1965, 35mm, 160 min.
January 31, 7 p.m.
This light-hearted Blake Edwards comedy epic about a round-the-world auto rally has a lot of big stars—Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon to name a few—but Edith Head’s witty costume creations steal the spotlight from all of them.
Essential Cinema: Lee Chang-Dong
Born in Korea in 1954, Lee Chang-Dong first made an impact as a novelist before turning to film in 1983. His films, which often feature closely observed, novelistic details, have made him popular both in and outside his native country. His recent film Burning was a breakthrough in the states and inspired us to look back at some of his earlier film works. This series is presented in collaboration with the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
Lee Chang-Dong, South Korea, 2002, 35mm, 133 min. In Korean with English Subtitles.
February 7, 7 p.m.
This acclaimed film by South Korean auteur Lee Chang-Dong (Burning) is about a romance between a mentally handicapped man and a woman with cerebral palsy. As they draw closer, we see the world closing in on them.
Lee Chang-Dong, South Korea, 2007, DCP, 142 min. In Korean with English Subtitles.
February 12, 7 p.m.
Lee Chang-Dong (Burning) achieved both critical and commercial success with this story of a recently widowed young woman who tries to begin a new life in her late husband’s hometown.
Lee Chang-Dong, South Korea, 2010, 35mm, 139 min. In Korean with English Subtitles.
February 21, 7 p.m.
As a grandmother in her 60s begins coping with memory loss and family problems, she finds solace and meaning in poetry. Writer-director Lee Chang-Dong (Burning) avoids the pitfalls of sentimentality and mawkishness as he creates a work of intensity and rare beauty.
Lee Chang-Dong, South Korea, 2018, DCP, 148 min. In Korean with English Subtitles.
February 28, 7 p.m.
A romantic rivalry between a poor, love-struck young man and an older rich man for the heart of a creative and vibrant woman takes some intense turns in Lee Chang-Dong’s riveting adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story.
From his beginnings as the so-called “godfather of mumblecore” to his current status as one of the most-well-known and appreciated independent filmmakers in the world, Andrew Bujalski has always surprised audiences. He joins us to present and reflect on some of his early works. Media sponsor: The Austin Chronicle
Andrew Bujalski, USA, 2005, DCP, 109 min.
January 9, 8:30 p.m.
Newly restored. From writer-director Andrew Bujalski, this startlingly realistic chronicle of the life of a new-to-NYC twenty-something brims with subtle humor and honest revelations.
Andrew Bujalski, USA, 2009, DCP, 100 min.
January 16, 8:30 p.m.
Legal troubles bring two sisters (played by real-life identical twins) closer together in this rarely screened festival-favorite from Austin’s Andrew Bujalski.
Andrew Bujalski, USA, 2013, 35mm, 92 min.
January 23, 8:30 p.m.; January 28, 7 p.m.
New 35mm print. Made in Austin and set deep in the subculture of 1980s computer nerds, a tournament to create the best code unfolds over the course of one strange weekend.
Films of Hayao Miyazaki, Presented by Kinokuniya
We celebrate the breathtakingly creative works of master storyteller and animator Hayao Miyazaki in this series. Presented in partnership with the local bookstore Kinokuniya and featuring a pop-up store at the AFS Cinema.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1986, DCP, 125 min.
February 2, 8 p.m.; February 3, 2 p.m.
The very first film animated by Studio Ghibli follows the adventures of a pair of orphans who discover a mystical floating city.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1988, DCP, 86 min.
February 9, 8 p.m.; February 10, 3 p.m.
Internationally loved and acclaimed, this film is a tale of two girls who discover they are being watched over by Totoros, gentle but powerful creatures seen only by children.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1992, DCP, 94 min. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
February 16, 8 p.m.; February 17, 2 p.m.
A World War I flying ace, mysteriously transformed into a pig by a curse, stands up to evil sky pirates in this underrated Miyazaki adventure.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 2001, DCP, 125 min. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
February 23, 8 p.m.; February 24, 2 p.m.
A young girl must use her wits to escape a spirit world inhabited by imaginative creatures, both benign and sinister, in this Academy Award-winning masterpiece.
Filmmaker Magazine presents: Alt-Doc Canon
Vadim Rizov, editor of Filmmaker Magazine, joins us to present his favorite non-fiction films of the last decade. Undistributed in the US, these docs are among the best underseen films of the last few years. Rizov champions documentaries on a daily basis for Filmmaker Magazine and has also written for Sight and Sound, Little White Lies, Indiewire, and The Dissolve.
Eliane Raheb, Lebanon, 2012, DCP, 128 min. In Arabic with English Subtitles.
February 18, 7:30 p.m.
A mother’s search for answers about her son who “disappeared” during the Lebanese Civil War. Moves with the procedural momentum of Zodiac.
Guido Hendrikx, Netherlands, 2016, DCP, 77 min.
February 25, 7:30 p.m.
Migrants seeking Danish asylum get a rude welcome in a film that’s part Lars Von Trier provocation and all bracingly urgent. Vadim Rizov will be in attendance.
Claudine Bories and Patrice Chagnard, France, 2014, DCP, 110 min. In French with English Subtitles.
February 26, 7:30 p.m.
Late capitalism is an unlikely source of black comedy at a French agency training the unemployed. Vadim Rizov will be in attendance.
Over the past 40 plus years, Canadian filmmaker Ron Mann has documented culture from the fringe inward, often focusing on visionaries and outsiders. We are honored to welcome Mann in person for several screenings of his films.
Ron Mann, USA, 1981, DCP, 91 min.
February 6, 6 p.m.
Ron Mann’s documentary shows us several masters of avant-garde jazz, both in conversation and performance – with Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, and Archie Shepp. Director Ron Mann in attendance. Media sponsor: KUTX 98.9
Ron Mann, USA, 1988, DCP, 90 min.
February 13, 6 p.m.
In Ron Mann’s doc, the history of comic books and sequential art in twentieth century America is presented by a nonpareil cast of major creators including Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Lynda Barry, and R. Crumb. Director Ron Mann in attendance.
Ron Mann, USA, 1982, DCP, 91 min.
February 20, 6 p.m.
An invaluable document of some of North America’s greatest poets, circa 1982, captured by filmmaker Ron Mann, including Charles Bukowski, Amiri Baraka, Ntozake Shange, Gary Snyder, Tom Waits, and many others. Director Ron Mann in attendance.
Ron Mann, USA, 1999, DCP, 80 min.
February 24, 4:20 p.m.
Ron Mann’s often funny documentary shows us the many ways that cannabis prohibition in the United States has been intertwined with social attitudes about race, gender, and class. Director Ron Mann in attendance.
Mike Blizzard, USA, 2018, DCP, 91 min.
February 22, 7:30 p.m.; February 23, 4 p.m.
Through interviews and judiciously edited film clips, this new documentary shows us how Austin became a destination for film production in the 1970s and has stayed that way ever since. Featuring Richard Linklater, Willie Nelson, Tobe Hooper, Sonny Carl Davis, and many others. Director Mike Blizzard and special guests join us for both shows. Presented in partnership with the Austin Film Commission and the Texas Film Commission.
Tobe Hooper, USA, 1986, DCP, 101 min.
February 23, 7 p.m.
Shot in Austin and presented in conjunction with the new documentary Also Starring Austin, this sequel to the legendary horror classic takes a lighter, more comedic approach to the material. With Dennis Hopper and a cast of many Austin regulars.
Screenings of some of our most popular and critically acclaimed favorites.
Stanley Kubrick, USA, 1999, DCP, 159 min.
January 1, 7 p.m.; January 4, 8:30 p.m.; January 5, 9 p.m.
Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy of sex and secrets, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, garnered mixed reviews upon release, but in the 20 years since, it has become recognized as a modern classic.
Yuen Woo-Ping, Hong Kong, 1978, DCP, 111 min. In Mandarin with English Subtitles.
January 11, 7 p.m.; January 14, 7 p.m.
Director Yuen Woo-Ping and star Jackie Chan distilled a classic in this early collaboration. Chan plays young Wong Fei-Hung, who must master the art of drunken boxing to defeat his rival.
David Lynch, USA, 1986, DCP, 120 min.
January 25, 7 p.m.; January 26, 7 p.m.; January 27, 7 p.m.; January 29, 7 p.m.
David Lynch’s unsettling slice of alternate-universe Americana is still potent today. The film features a dream cast, including Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, and Dennis Hopper.
Richard Linklater, USA, 1995, DCP, 101 min.
February 8, 7 p.m.; February 11, 7 p.m.; February 14, 8 p.m.
Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise is a thinking person’s romantic movie. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play a couple of strangers who meet on a train and spend an intense day together. Richard Linklater in attendance at the February 11 screening.
Lates are late-night weekend screenings of the new cult film canon. The first showing of each title is introduced by programmer Jazmyne Moreno.
John Coney, USA, 1974, DCP, 85 min.
January 11, 9:30 p.m.; January 12, 9 p.m.; January 15, 7 p.m.
In what may be the strangest sci-fi movie ever made, supersonic jazz composer and bandleader Sun Ra stars as himself in this cosmic action-philosophy-blaxploitation film full of mind-bending music from the master and his Arkestra. Media sponsor: KUTX 98.9
Andrzej Zulawski, Poland, 1988, DCP, 166 min. In Polish with English Subtitles.
January 18, 8 p.m.; January 19, 9:45 p.m.
From Andrzej Zulawski (Possession) comes one of the most astonishing visual spectacles of all time, a mystical sci-fi parable of space messiahs and tribal warfare on a faraway planet.
Agustí Villaronga, Spain, 1986, DCP, 110 min. In Spanish with English Subtitles.
January 25, 10 p.m.; January 26, 10 p.m.
Agustí Villaronga’s (Moon Child) shocking and transgressive film is about a Nazi pedophile doctor confined to an iron lung and the mysterious teenage boy who cares for him.
Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Japan, 1989, DCP, 67 min. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
February 1, 10 p.m.; February 2, 10 p.m.; February 3, 7 p.m.
Made with maximum ingenuity on a minimal budget, this ultraviolent basement sci-fi epic is full of ingenious touches, making for an unforgettable film experience. When a working stiff crosses the titular “man of metal,” things get super-weird for everybody.
David Lynch, USA, 1990, 35mm, 125 min.
February 8, 9:30 p.m.; February 9, 9:30 p.m.; February 13, 8:30 p.m.
David Lynch sends his hell-bound lovers (Laura Dern and the snakeskin-clad Nicolas Cage) on the yellow-brick road to Hell in this masterpiece of doomed romance, featuring one of the greatest casts ever assembled.
Walerian Borowczyk, France, 1975, DCP, 98 min. In French with English Subtitles.
February 15, 10 p.m.; February 16, 10 p.m.
In this erotic fairy-tale from Immoral Tales director Walerian Borowcyck, a young woman, promised in marriage to a nobleman, is consumed by visions about a legendary—and legendarily insatiable—beast of prey on the family’s estate.
Uli Edel, Germany, 1981, 35mm, 138 min. In German with English Subtitles.
February 22, 9 p.m.; February 24, 6:30 p.m.
Based on a true story, 14-year old Christiane F. lives in gloomy West Berlin with her family and longs to escape into the glamorous world of her David Bowie records. With the help of her friends and drug-dealers, she tries to do just that. A bummer classic, buoyed by powerful Bowie music and seventies heroin chic.
Alex Cox, USA/Mexico/Japan, 1991, DCP, 104 min. In Spanish with English Subtitles.
January 5, 4:15 p.m.; January 8, 7 p.m.
In this newly restored film from Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid & Nancy), we follow a young patrullero in Mexico as he learns the ropes in some remote stretches of the countryside and adapts to the sometimes ugly realities of life on the edge. Featuring a video introduction by filmmaker Alex Cox. Presented in partnership with Cine Las Americas.
Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union, 1966, DCP, 183 min. In Russian with English Subtitles.
January 12, 2 p.m.; January 13, 2 p.m.
Andrei Tarkovsky shows us a panorama of chaotic fifteenth-century Russia through the eyes of the eponymous painter of religious icons. As intense and gorgeous as any of Tarkovsky’s films, it returns to screens in a new restoration.
Charles Burnett, USA, 1990, DCP, 102 min.
January 21, 7 p.m.; January 27, 1:30 p.m.
Charles Burnett’s remarkable third feature, after Killer of Sheep and My Brother’s Wedding, is a multifaceted, nuanced film about a Los Angeles family, a generation removed from the South, who are visited by a smooth-talking relative (Danny Glover) from back home, with a mysterious agenda. *January 21 is a Free Member Monday screening.
Marcel Pagnol, France, 1938, DCP, 133 min. In French with English Subtitles.
February 2, 2 p.m.; February 4, 7 p.m.
From Marcel Pagnol, the maker of the Marseille Trilogy, and its star, Raimu, comes a joyous comedy of provincial manners that is as full of heart as it is of laughs. *February 4 is a Free Member Monday screening.
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, 1952, DCP, 116 min. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
February 9, 2 p.m.; February 10, 5:15 p.m.
This late-period Ozu masterpiece about two generations and their attitudes toward marriage has been little seen in the West but this new restoration seeks to bring it into the Ozu pantheon.
Wim Wenders, Germany, 1987, DCP, 128 min. Primarily in German with English Subtitles.
February 14, 7 p.m.; February 15, 7 p.m.; February 16, 2 p.m.; February 20, 8:30 p.m.
Newly restored. Wim Wenders’s timeless story of an angel who falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist returns to the screen, with Bruno Ganz, Nick Cave, and Peter Falk (Columbo) as himself.
More Than Meets the Eye: The Cinematic Puzzles of Scott Stark
Scott Stark, USA, Various, 77 min.
February 3, 4 p.m.
In a bittersweet milestone, AFS and Experimental Response Cinema present a retrospective program of the work of film/video/performance/installation artist Scott Stark in a farewell Austin screening before he relocates to the Bay Area. Presented in partnership with Fusebox Festival.
Patrick Wang, USA, 2018, DCP (Pt 1: 122 min, Pt 2: 120 min)
Part 1: January 1, 1:30 p.m.; January 5, 1:30 p.m.
Part 2: January 1, 4:15 p.m.; January 6, 1:30 p.m.
“As if Eric Rohmer made a Christopher Guest film” is the way Variety describes this unique two-part film about a non-profit arts center in upstate New York. Filmmaker Patrick Wang’s (In the Family) film is both a drama about the way community thrives—and sometimes doesn’t —and an off-kilter comedy about the people who populate this world. This is a two-part film.
Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2018, DCP, 70 min. In Romanian with English Subtitles.
January 7, 7 p.m.
The Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East of Bucharest) is one of the premier observers of the absurd condition of modern humanity in his narrative films. Here he lands on a documentary subject just as quixotic as any of his scripted characters – a bureaucrat with a vision to completely reinvent soccer – the most popular sport in the world.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey, 2018, DCP, 188 min. In Turkish with English Subtitles.
February 17, 4:30 p.m.; February 19, 6 p.m.
From the Palme d’Or winning maker of Winter Sleep, this epic story follows father and son whose shared love of the written word brings them together after the harsh tidings of life have pulled them apart.
Toshio Matsumoto, Japan, 1969, DCP, 105 min. In Japanese and English with English Subtitles.
January 22, 7:30 p.m.
Ahead of its time, this Japanese retelling of Oedipus Rex is an avant-garde/queer/punk revelation.
Lina Mannheimer, Sweden, 2014, DCP, 78 min. In French with English Subtitles.
February 19, 7:30 p.m.
This stylized documentary gives us a glimpse into the ceremonies and personal life of France’s most famous dominatrix, Catherine Robbe-Grillet.
Weird, Weird West
January 14, 7 p.m.
When television was still a young medium, the Western was perhaps the most popular genre of them all. This selection of episodes showcases some of the oddest moments of Western TV history.
January 20, 1 p.m.; February 17, 1 p.m.
Spend your Sunday morning enjoying the best classic and contemporary French films, brought to you by the Alliance Française Ciné-Club.
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, the Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch, and love creative media. AFS curates and screens hundreds of repertory, international, and art house films annually at the AFS Cinema; delivers financial support to Texas filmmakers through the AFS Grant; operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, and Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse media makers to train and collaborate. Through its award-winning after school classes, intern training, and the Ed Lowry Student Film program, AFS encourages media and film literacy and provides a place for youth of all backgrounds to learn the craft of filmmaking and gain access to tools for media production. By hosting premieres, special events, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about Austin Film Society’s mission visit: www.austinfilm.org and follow @AustinFilm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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