Annual Film Festival in Garland to Celebrate True Texas Tales This Weekend

Garland Cultural Arts is hosting a weekend-long festival to celebrate Texas films. The It Came From Texas Film Festival will centerpiece true stories and guest speakers for three days of screenings and discussions at the Plaza Theatre.

The third-annual festival will showcase three award-winning films: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Great Debaters (2007), and The Alamo (1960). Other showings on the schedule include Bernie (2011), Viva Max (1969) and a secret screening.

Festivities begin on Friday, Sept. 12, with a screening of Bonnie and Clyde, a biographical crime film about the titular North Texas crime lovers. The day one agenda includes a conversation with Bonnie's niece, Rhea Leen Linder. Film historian Gordon K. Smith will also offer his expertise on the duo's story.

“I'll be giving you the deep backstory of how Bonnie and Clyde, The Alamo and others came to be made, the Oscars they won — or probably should have won — the previous and subsequent versions of both stories, and how they essentially rewrote history, for better or worse,” Smith said in a press release.

While the event mainly focuses on films based on real-life stories, festival director Kelly Kitchens also made a point of bringing some lighter films to the weekend. Later on in the opening day's lineup, a secret screening will feature live comedy from the Dallas trio, Mocky Horror Picture Show.

“Since I love to laugh, I had to throw in some merriment in this festival with a secret screening of a Larry Buchanan film with live riffing from the Mocky Horror Picture Show comedy troupe,” Kitchens says.

On Saturday, the action continues with a screening of the 2011 black comedy thriller Bernie, which stars Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine. The film’s accompanying discussion will feature commentary from screenwriter Skip Hollandsworth, who wrote the Texas Monthly article that the movie is based on. Also set for Saturday is a showing of JFK: Breaking The News, and a panel featuring historians and experts on the day that infamously dubbed Dallas the "City of Hate."

Day two will close with a double feature: The Great Debaters (2007), which chronicles the Wiley College debate team in 1935 Texas, will be followed by the real story that inspired the film via The Real Great Debaters (2008) documentary.

Sunday will close the festival with a showcase of two 1960s gems. The Alamo (1960), a classic John Wayne Western war film, will have Wayne’s granddaughter, Anita La Cava Swift, in attendance. Festivities will close on a comedic note with 1969’s Viva Max!

“This one isn’t based on a true story, but can you imagine a Mexican General coming to retake the Alamo in 1969," Kitchens says. "That premise is just too funny. Come see it with me, and let’s laugh ourselves into the next week."

All-access festival passes are $75, offering admission to the entire weekend lineup of films and events at the Plaza Theatre. The passes include discounts to spots in the downtown Garland square. Single tickets are also available online.