Doc’s Picks for The 2012 Dallas International Film Festival

Doc’s Notes

My Hot Picks for the Dallas International Film Festival 2012

There are some many amazing films coming to the festival this year.  It is a tough deal to pick only a few.  I am going to say first that ANY of the high school and college shorts showings are ALWAYS on my “must see” list.  They are the future of the business, tomorrow’s amazing filmmakers.

This year the screenings are:

Next are the films in the Texas Competition.  These are all Texas-made films.  This year’s crop is especially good.  My picks:

AMERICA’S PARKING LOT is about the dedicated tailgater’s at the Dallas Cowboys games.  The story of CINEMA SIX centers on a group of young adults who work at a small town movie theater.  It has some slow parts in the beginning but the last fifteen minutes totally redeem the film for me!  SIRONIA is the story of a singer/songwriter who moves to Texas when his music career falls apart.  Will he rebuild his career or destroy his life trying?  WOLF tells about one of the most difficult problems that a family can experience, a pastor molesting their son.  Unlike most other stories of its kind, this story is centered on the black community and their churches.

DIFF has a reputation for bring us amazing Premieres.  This year is no exception.  I will not even try to trim down this list.  They are all “must see”.

Here are this year’s premiere screenings:

Next up is the Narrative Feature Competition, a juried competition featuring the best of international cinema.  They all look interesting but the one I am most looking forward to seeing is:

TEDDY BEAR is the story of a mountain of a man, a body builder, who is magnificently strong but unable to meet women.

The Family Friendly group of films are wonderful films, one and all.

I plan to see all of them but the one I am especially looking forward to is COWGIRLS N ANGELS.  The cast is excellent, including James Cromwell, Alicia Witt, Frankie Faison, and Dallas-own Drew Waters.

The films of the Deep Ellum Sounds grouping are visual documents of popular music genius, in the spirit of Dallas' legendary entertainment district.  The four films look amazing.  The film I am most looking forward to seeing is:

Excerpt from the film description on the DIFF website: “Attractive and sensitive desert debutante Jolene lives in a fantasy, emulating a long-past time of relative innocence.”  This film stars Lizzy Caplan and Ron Livingston.

In the Documentary Feature Competition one film stands out to me.  It is the story of politics on the small Pacific island of Tinian where the Enola Gay launched for its mission to bomb Hiroshima.

If you love horror films there are three of those in this year’s lineup, sponsored by Texas Frightmare Weekend.  One is Japanese (TORMENTED), one is Spanish (JUAN OF THE DEAD), and the third is American (THE PACT).

The Special Presentations group of films are interesting, including screenings of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, ALADDIN (20^th Anniversary Screening), and the one I am most looking forward to ROBOCOP (a special 25^th anniversary screening at the Texas Theatre).

The two I most want to see are:

There are three categories of films that everyone should look into.  The South Korean Spotlight has four films including world premieres with the filmmakers in attendance.  The Latino Showcase contains five films in Spanish from the USA, Brazil, and Portugal.  The World Cinema category has ten films from Palestine, Greece, Russia, Spain, Japan, France, Israel, Italy, Austria, and Lebanon.

The Galas and Centerpiece Screenings are films shown which have after parties following their first screening.  Most of the first screenings are already almost sold out.  This year they come from Lithuania (THE OTHER DREAM TEAM), South Korea (MY WAY), and the USA (HELLO I MUST BE GOING).

The final category is a special favorite of mine, the Talk/Show Panels.  This year filmmakers and other film industry persons talk about subjects ranging from Screenwriting to Politics in Film and Its Influence.  There are also two panels featuring conversations with men who made a difference in the film industry.  One is with Eric Pleskow, the former president of United Artists and Orion Pictures movie studios.  The other is with Bernie Pollack, a Dallas Star Award Honoree and legendary costume designer.  Note that this event takes place at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Told you my list was long!  I know that I will miss a lot of these events because there simply isn’t time enough in the day to see everything AND attend the daily red carpets (I am going to be shooting stills), parties, and webcasts.  Thankfully I have an amazing team of reviewers, interviewers/hosts, videographers and photographers to work with me to bring as much of the festival to you that we can.  We will be taking a photograph of the team this Wednesday at the Press Reception and it will be posted on the Selig Film News Facebook page as well as the blog!

To find out more about these films and events, click on http://diff2012.dallasfilm.org/.  More information on tickets and vouchers, including the location of the Prekindle Main Box Office, can be found at this link: http://diff2012.dallasfilm.org/fest-info/getting-around/box-office-information/.  However you get your tickets, come out and have a great time!  I know I will!

-Doc Strange