The IT CAME FROM TEXAS Film Festival makes its triumphant return to the Plaza Theatre in Garland, located at 521 W. State Street. The second annual IT CAME FROM TEXAS Film Festival, which celebrates films made either wholly or in part within the Lone Star State, will kick off on Friday, September 13 and continue through Sunday, September 15, taking place entirely within the Plaza Theatre, on the recently remodeled square in downtown Garland. As with last year’s inaugural edition of this new fest, IT CAME FROM TEXAS will be sponsored by the City of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts.
BEYOND THE WESTERN: INDEPENDENT TEXAS SPIRIT
“As promised, we’re shifting our genre focus this year, from the horror/Sci-Fi films of last year’s fest to films celebrating and examining the tall tales of the Independent Texas Spirit that lean into the Western genre. There’s no better place than Texas to pay homage to one of the foundational genres of cinema, the Western and all the variations of the Western outside Cowboys and Indians. This is why we’ve chosen three Oscar-winning Texas films that are Western adjacent, if you will: TENDER MERCIES (1983), THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) and GIANT (1956). After all, did you know that Garland is the Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas?” asked Kelly Kitchens, film festival director.
“Gordon Smith will be returning to offer his encyclopedic knowledge of films made in Texas. We are both grateful to the City of Garland and the Garland Cultural Arts team for their continued support of this one-of-a-kind film festival.”
GORDON K. SMITH RETURNS TO OFFER HIS FILM EXPERTISE
Gordon K. Smith, the unofficial film historian specializing in movies made in Texas, brings his deep-dive knowledge to this effort.
“This year, IT CAME FROM TEXAS will feature a collection of films rooted in the enduring saga of the Old West that were made in the state most closely associated with it. We have at least two films that were selected for preservation by the Library of Congress National Film Registry, which selects 25 films each year for their historical, cultural, and aesthetic contributions,” Smith said.
GARLAND HIGH SCHOOL IB SHORT FILMS PROGRAMMED
Like last year, IT CAME FROM TEXAS will be proud to include short films made in Texas by students enrolled in Garland High School’s Reel Owl Cinema (ROC) film program. Festival Director Kelly Kitchens is delighted to spotlight these Texas students’ first attempts at making movies.
ROC’s Film Department Head, Thomas Schubert, is thrilled to be invited back: “We’re so excited to be involved again with the City of Garland’s first film festival, and I can’t wait for audiences to get a chance to see how talented and dedicated our kids are.” This might be your chance to see the very first film from the next Scorsese or Gerwig!
RETURN OF THE MOCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Dallas’s only interactive movie mocking comedy troupe, The Mocky Horror Picture Show (MockyHorror.com, on Facebook and Instagram @themockyhorrorpictureshow) will return to close out the fest with a live skewering of a classic Texas film. The movie comedy troupe who have performed at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff and the Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson will perform a brand, new “public mockery” at IT CAME FROM TEXAS of the Texas music movie ROCK BABY – ROCK IT, a fun 1957 film showcasing Texas’ versions (or the Dollar Store equivalents) of Elvis, the Everly Brothers, and more.
Mocky Horror stars comedians Liz Barksdale, Danny Gallagher, and Albie Robles riffing on movies in the theater for a live audience with jokes, special edits and effects and sketches inserted throughout the movie and the fun doesn’t stop there. Timed prompts appear on the screen with instructions for the audience to do or say things at just the right time so you can mock the movie with them. The comedians even provide props for the audience to use during the screening.
FILM FESTIVAL WILL INCLUDE THESE FILMS (with more to come and subject to change):
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
HORTON FOOTE: THE ROAD TO HOME (2020)
Director: Anne Rapp (in attendance)
Filmed in Wharton, TX; New York City, NY; and Hartford, CT
Chronicles the creative journey of acclaimed Texas writer Horton Foote – a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and winner of two Academy Awards for screenwriting – through his own eyes and voice at the end of his life. (IMDb)
TENDER MERCIES (1983)
Director: Bruce Beresford
Filmed in Palmer, Waxahachie, and Arlington, TX
Featuring an Oscar-winning screenplay by Horton Foote, Tender Mercies tells the story of a broken-down, middle-aged country singer who gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together. (IMDb) It stars Robert Duvall in his Best-Actor Oscar-winning performance.
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Filmed in Archer City and Holliday, TX
In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically. (IMDb) Two-time Oscar winner; stars Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd.
CHILDREN OF GIANT (2015)
Director: Hector Galan
Filmed in Marfa, TX
A documentary that unearths deeply wrought emotions in the small West Texas town of Marfa, before, during and after the month-long production of George Stevens’s 1956 feature film, GIANT. (Galan Productions)
This block includes student films from Garland High School’s ‘Reel Owl Cinema.’
GIANT (1956)
Director: George Stevens (Best Director Oscar winner)
Filmed in Marfa and Valentine, TX; Charlottesville, VA; and Los Angeles, CA
This sprawling epic covers the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates. (IMDb) Stars James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson.
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
Mocky Horror Picture Show live riffing of ROCK BABY – ROCK IT (1957)
Director: Murray Douglas Sporup
Filmed in Dallas, TX
A live-riffing movie comedy show! Mocked by Liz Barksdale, Danny Gallagher and Albie Robles, this campy classic follows local Dallas teenagers as they resist attempts by shady underworld types to take over their beloved rock ‘n’ roll club. (IMDb)
This block includes student films from Garland High School’s ‘Reel Owl Cinema.’
