(Clip from Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best) The Dallas Film Society announced the first 15 entries to be officially accepted into this year's Dallas International Film Festival, which occurs from April 12 to the 22.While many so far are documentaries, a few feel-goods have weaseled their way in, and so has one Japanese horror flick about an enlivened stuffed toy rabbit.
Two world premiers and nine Texas firsts load up the bunch where all are competing for big cash; there are three different $10,000 prizes up for grabs. Sneak a peek at the first 15 after the jump.
AMERICA'S PARKING LOT (USA) Director: Jonny Mars Two die-hard fans and leaders of the legendary 'Gate 6' tailgate party, spend their last season with the Dallas Cowboys at historic Texas Stadium. When the Cowboys move 20 miles west to Arlington, the shifting politics and economics of major league sports threaten to dissolve the friendships and traditions they have built over 20 years and they scramble to preserve their place in AMERICA'S PARKING LOT. Category: Texas Competition
ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR (USA) - Texas Premiere Director: Xan Aranda Filmed during culminating months of the acclaimed singer-songwriter's most rigorous year of touring, Andrew Bird crosses the December finish line in his hometown of Chicago - feverish and on crutches from an onstage injury. FEVER YEAR is the first to capture Bird's precarious multi-instrumental looping technique and features live performances at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater with collaborators Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Michael Lewis and Annie Clark of St. Vincent. Category: Deep Ellum Sounds
ATOMIC STATES OF AMERICA, THE (USA) - Texas Premiere Directors: Dan Argott, Sheena Joyce Following the 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake which hit Japan and caused chaos at the Fukushima Power Plant, the fierce debate over the safety and viability of nuclear power was back in the public consciousness. ATOMIC STATES OF AMERICA takes the viewer on a journey to reactor communities around the country, exposes the truths and myths of nuclear power, and poses the question of whether or not man can responsibly split the atom. Category: Environmental Visions
BIBA! ONE ISLAND, 879 VOTES (USA) - World Premiere Director: Benjamin Bloodwell BIBA! follows the rallies and debates of Trenton Conner and Henry San Nicolas in their battle for control over the Pacific island, Tinian. Along the way we learn about Tinian's historic and geopolitical significance, being the launch point for the Enola Gay in World War II and presently the home of the Voice of America broadcasting towers, sending pro-democracy propaganda into China and North Korea. Category: Documentary Feature Competition
BINDLESTIFFS (USA) - Texas Premiere Director: Andrew Edison Three high school virgins, suspended from school on a bogus graffiti charge, flee to the inner city in an attempt to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye - a book they neither have read nor understand. Starring John Karma, Luke Loftin, Andrew Edison and Will Fordyce. Category: Midnight
BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST, THE (USA) - Texas Premiere Director: Ryan O'Nan A singer-songwriter hits the road with a self-appointed music revolutionary. Cast includes Ryan O' Nan, Michael Weston, Arielle Kebbel, Andrew McCarthy, Jason Ritter, Wilmer Valderrama, Christoper McDonald and Melissa Leo Category: Premiere
CINEMA SIX (USA) - World Premiere Director: Mark Potts Three small-town friends have to decide whether to keep their easy jobs at a movie theater or actually try to do something meaningful with their lives. Cast includes John Merriman, Mark Potts, Brand Rackley, Byron Brown, Lindsey Newell, Heather Wallis, Madi Goff, Chris Doubek, Cole Selix, Kevin M. Brennan, Maggie Carey, and Barry Corbin Category: Texas Competition
DARLING COMPANION (USA) - Texas Premiere Director: Lawrence Kasdan A story of a woman who loves her dog more than her husband and then her husband loses the dog. Cast includes Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss and Ayelet Zurer Category: Premiere
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL (USA) - Texas Premiere Directors: Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Frédéric Tcheng A look at the life and work of the influential fashion editor of Harpers Bazaar, Diana Vreeland Category: Premiere
ESCAPE FIRE: THE FIGHT TO RESCUE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE (USA) Directors: Matthew Heineman, Susan Froemke ESCAPE FIRE exposes the perverse nature of American healthcare, contrasting the powerful forces opposing change with the compelling stories of pioneering leaders and the patients they seek to help. The film is about finding a way out, about saving the health of a nation. Category: Documentary Feature Competition
GIRL MODEL (USA) Directors: David Redmon, A.Sabin GIRL MODEL follows a complex supply chain between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S. within the modeling industry. The story is told through the eyes of the scouts, agencies and a 13 year-old model. Category: Documentary Showcase
LUV (USA) - Texas Premiere Director: Sheldon Candis Over the course of one day, a shy 13-year-old forms a bond with his troubled uncle as he shows the boy what it takes to be a man in Baltimore. Starring newcomer Michael Rainey, Jr., Common, Michael K. Williams, Danny Glover, Meagan Good and Charles S. Dutton Category: Narrative Feature Competition
SIRONIA (USA) Director: Branda Dickerson A singer-songwriter beat up by the L.A. music machine who moves with his wife to Sironia, Texas. Starring Wes Cunningham, Amy Acker, Tony Hale, Jeremy Sisto, Courtney Ford, Carrie Preston and Robyn Lively Category: Texas Competition
TORMENTED (JAPAN/NETHERLANDS) - Texas Premiere Director: Takashi Shimizu TORMENTED centers on a young boy whose family seems to be unraveling around him. His sister is grappling with the reality of life or death, while his father walks a line with insanity. The situation intensifies when the boy manifests a dangerous friendship with a stuffed toy rabbit that comes to life. Starring Teruyuli Kagawa, Hikari Mitsushima, Nao Ohmori Category: Midnight
WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (FRANCE, LEBANON, EGYPT, ITALY) - Texas Premiere Director: Nadine Labaki A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village. Starring Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Layla Hakim, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf Category: World Cinema
