Tomorrow opens the 2017 Austin Film Festival and Conference. The 8 days highlight the writers behind the stories that captivate our movie houses, television screens, and internet browsers. Over the next few days we'll be highlighting a few of the films and the talent behind them. To start off our coverage of the 2017 festival and conference we give you THE LANDING by Writer/Director's Mark and David Dodson.
https://vimeo.com/212466276
"On the 25th anniversary of the ill-fated Apollo 18 mission – which singularly and officially ended the U.S. space program's moon race – a documentary filmmaker tracks down disgraced astronaut hotshot Bo Cunningham (Don Hannah), the flight's sole survivor, who has lived in near seclusion for decades. But the disturbing story pieced together by him and others involved in the notorious incident seem to raise more questions than are answered … Leaving us all to wonder, how far would you go for murder?"
A film that tackles "fake news" like never before! Writer/Directors Mark and David Dodson have created a masterful movie that appears as a true-to-life documentary but is so much more. The film is part of AFF 2017's DARK MATTERS competition and one of the most intriguing films we've seen so far at the festival. The way in which the audience is lead on a murder mystery through this false documentary is utterly remarkable. The film stars Don Hannah, Jeff McVey (Austin's own) and Warren Farina as our Apollo 18 crew and a slew of talented actors as the crew's wives, colleagues and investigators. A movie that not only makes you think about it's content, but about its structure and premise altogether.
The Dodson brothers were awesome enough to break their silence with me about just what their film is all about. We also talk about their Texas ties, their backgrounds and much more. Here is our interview with filmmakers Mark and David Dodson of THE LANDING.
The Festival screenings:
Fri., Oct. 27 @ 9 p.m.
St. David's Episcopal Church, Bethell Hall, 301 E. 8th St., Austin
Wed., Nov. 1 @ 10 p.m.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Village, 2700 W. Anderson Lane, Suite 701, Austin