Austin Film Festival (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing writers’ and filmmakers’ contributions to film, television, and new media, announced today the first wave of films included in their 2017 film slate.
Taking place October 26 through November 2, AFF will premiere the season finale of HBO’s new drama The Deuce. Creators David Simon and George Pelecanos will be in attendance. Other titles include Permanent with Rainn Wilson and Patricia Arquette, Please Stand By with Dakota Fanning and Toni Collete, and 24 Hours to Live with Ethan Hawke and Liam Cunningham.
In addition to playing films from all over the world, AFF continues to spotlight local films and talent. This year AFF will premiere the romantic comedy Amanda and Jack Go Glamping starring David Arquette and Amy Acker, written and directed by Austin filmmaker Brandon Dickerson. Additionally, AFF will present a remastered retrospective of 1985 Austin-produced cult horror film Confessions of a Serial Killer starring famed local filmmaker Robert Burns. Based on the crimes of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, Confessions was the first independent film acquired for distribution by Roger Corman.
Already confirmed to attend the fest this year are David Arquette for Glamping, and Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live) and Brent Morin (Undateable) for the World Premiere of comedy The Outdoorsman. These actors will join AFF’s already announced Distinguished Screenwriter awardee Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea).
The complete list of programming, including over 100 more films as well as hundreds of panels, will be announced in late September.
AFF FIRST WAVE:
24 Hours to Live
Writers: Zach Dean, Jim McClain, Ron Mita
Director: Brian Smrz
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Liam Cunningham, Rutger Hauer
24 Hours to Live follows a career assassin who turns rogue after his latest mission goes awry.
Amanda & Jack Go Glamping
World Premiere
Writer/Director: Brandon Dickerson
Starring: David Arquette, Amy Acker, Adan Canto, June Squibb
With his mid-life marriage on rocky ground, dejected one-hit-author Jack Spencer goes glamping (glamorous camping) with his wife, Amanda, in search of a spark. When the isolated retreat suddenly becomes anything but private with the arrival of double booking honeymoon hipsters and a super-hunk land owner, Jack must learn to get over himself as he dives deep off the grid into a comedic exploration of love, failure, relevance, and miniature donkeys.
Confessions of a Serial Killer – Remastered 1985 Retrospective
Writer/Director: Mark Blair
Starring: Robert Burns, Dennis Hill, Berkley Garrett
The thinly veiled account of the chilling life and crimes of notorious Henry Lee Lucas, whose reign of terror came to an end on July 11th, 1983.
The Deuce-Season Finale
World Premiere
Creators: David Simon, George Pelecanos
Starring: James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kazan
Created by George Pelecanos and David Simon and starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world at the pioneering moments of what would become the billion-dollar American sex industry. George Pelecanos, David Simon, James Franco and Nina K. Noble executive produce.
Flock of Four
World Premiere
Writer/Director: Gregory Caruso
Starring: Braeden Lemasters, Shane Harper, Coco Jones, Reg E. Cathey
In 1959, four best friends search for a legendary jazz musician and discover an unforgettable night of culture and music in South Central, Los Angeles.
Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End
World Premiere
Director: Pablo Bryant
Mr. Fish, one of the most dangerous American cartoonists working today, is faced with selling his art or selling his soul.
An Ordinary Man
North American Premiere
Writer/Director: Brad Silberling
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Hera Hilmar, Peter Serafinowicz
The life of a fugitive war criminal takes a turn for the unexpected in An Ordinary Man. After years of hiding in plain sight following the brutal Balkan wars, a man known only as the General, ferried nightly from couch to couch by faithful loyalists, at last is placed in an apartment of his own. When Tanja, the young housemaid of the prior tenant unwittingly stumbles through his door, it’s clear to both that her simply departing will not be an option. What follows is a cat and mouse game of intentions and identities, in which the General’s need for human contact drives him to take increasingly greater risks, pressing to unearth Tanja’s secrets…and setting them both on a collision course with the past.
The Outdoorsman
World Premiere
Writer: Ryan Gilmour
Director: David Haskell
Starring: Brent Morin, Sasheer Zamata, Spencer Grammer
As he prepares to cut ties with society and spend a year in the mountains, an aspiring wilderness writer meets a goal oriented, corporate woman who has quit her job to ‘find herself.’ He falls in love, but ultimately must ask himself what he wants: the ‘normal’ life he’s avoided his whole life, or living his outdoor fantasy, alone.
Permanent
Writer/Director: Colette Burson
Starring: Kira McClean, Rainn Wilson, Patricia Arquette
Set in 1983 in small town Virginia, Permanent centers around a 13-year-old and her family. The story of a hairstyle gone incredibly wrong and a young girl’s plight to fit in while encountering bullies at a new school.
Please Stand By
Writer: Michael Golamco
Director: Ben Lewin
Magnolia Pictures’ upcoming dramedy starring Dakota Fanning and Toni Collette.
Touched
North American Premiere
Writer/Director: Karl R. Hearne
Starring: Hugh Thompson, Lola Flanery
A ghostly, psychological drama about a young woman who disappears from her building and her solitary landlord who tries to track her down.
