The Texas Tribune Festival and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema announced a partnership today that will bring four documentaries to the 10th annual Festival taking place virtually via Alamo On Demand, Alamo Drafthouse’s VOD platform, throughout the month of September. The films, Boys State, A Thousand Cuts, Stockton on My Mind and John Lewis: Good Trouble, will be screened each Saturday in September during the Festival and will be available to Festival ticket holders as part of their Festival experience.
“There is no better, smarter or more innovative partner in film programming — none, zip — than Alamo Drafthouse,” said Evan Smith, CEO of The Texas Tribune. “Our virtual festival will benefit enormously from Alamo’s efforts to secure these four great documentaries. Our attendees are sure to love our weekly night at the movies.”
This year’s Texas Tribune Festival will bring together more than 250 speakers from the worlds of politics, policy and the media for 100-plus panels and programming throughout September. Attendees can look forward to a mix of live and on-demand programming offered daily throughout the month.
“At Alamo, we love to celebrate documentaries,” says Tim League, founder and executive chairman of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. “All four of these films showcase amazing human beings and will inspire everyone who watches them. And post-film conversations with the stars, creators and experts is a magic touch that only The Texas Tribune can deliver. If I were a gambling man, I’d lay money that one of these films will take home the Oscar for best documentary this year.”
The documentaries being screened will first be made available one at a time each Saturday of the festival at 7p.m. Most of the films will also be made available to the general public for on-demand viewing during the course of the week (NOTE BOYS STATE IS ONLY THE 7p.m. show). Festival badge holders will also get exclusive access to a post-screening conversation with creators and stars of the films hosted by The Texas Tribune and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema team.
The documentaries being shown as part of The Texas Tribune Festival are:
Boys State — Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. Central: Boys State is a political coming-of-age story that examines the health of American democracy through an unusual experiment: A thousand 17-year-old boys from across Texas gather together to build a representative government from the ground up. Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss. Post-movie conversation with co-directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine and stars René Otero and Steven Garza
A Thousand Cuts — Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Central: Nowhere is the worldwide erosion of democracy, fueled by social media disinformation campaigns, more evident than in the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Journalist Maria Ressa places the tools of the free press — and her freedom — on the line in defense of truth and democracy. Directed and written by Ramona S. Diaz. Post-movie conversation with Ramona S. Diaz and Maria Ressa.
Stockton on My Mind — Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. Central: At age 26, on the same day Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Michael Tubbs became the first African American mayor of his beleaguered hometown of Stockton, California, as well as the youngest mayor of a major American city. Stockton on My Mind, from filmmaker Marc Levin follows Tubbs’ personal and political journey, exploring how growing up amid poverty and violence shaped his vision for innovative change. Directed by Marc Levin and written by James Lester and Marc Levin. Post-movie conversation with mayor Michael Tubbs
John Lewis: Good Trouble — Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Central: An intimate account of legendary U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ life, legacy and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism — from the bold teenager on the front lines of the civil rights movement to the legislative powerhouse he was throughout his career. Directed by Dawn Porter. Post-movie conversation with Jon Meacham, author of His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
The screenings of all of the documentaries will take place on the Alamo Drafthouse’s on-demand platform: https://ondemand.drafthouse.com/. All Texas Tribune Festival badge holders will receive access to the platform in order to watch the documentaries and the bonus content. Information on how to access the screenings will be sent to Festival attendees directly.
Members of the media: Media credentials for the festival can be obtained online. For questions about media access, email [email protected]
Support for The Texas Tribune Festival comes from AARP, Arnold Ventures, AT&T, Austin Community College, Bank of America, The Beer Alliance of Texas, bigBANG! 2020 presented by SVP Dallas and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Burnt Nopal, Capital Metro, Catena Foundation, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, Comcast, The Commit Partnership, Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, DHR Health, DoorDash, Educate Texas, Energy Foundation, Entergy Texas, Environmental Defense Fund, H-E-B, Hobby School of Public Affairs, IBC Bank, Jackson Walker, JPMorgan Chase, LBJ School of Public Affairs, Lone Star College, Lyft, Meadows Foundation, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and The Hackett Center, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, The Nature Conservancy in Texas, Neste, Oncor, Panacea Collective, Pastors for Texas Children, PepsiCo, Pescador Public Strategies, LLC, Raise Your Hand Texas, Reissa Foundation, Slack, St. David’s Foundation, St. David’s HealthCare, The Sumners Foundation, TEXAS 2036, Texas A&M University, Texas Association of Community Colleges, Texas Cultural Trust, Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium, Texas Exes, Texas Realtors, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Trellis Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas Press.
Media support is provided by CBS News, Dallas Morning News, the Financial Times, KXAN, MSNBC, POLITICO, San Antonio Report, The Washington Post and Washington Examiner.
