Blessedly, the USA Film Festival is far shorter than its marathon counterpart, the Dallas International Film Festival, which wrapped Sunday after a 10-day run. Dallas's first major film festival, which was co-founded in 1970 by L.M. Kit Carson and introduced local audiences to the likes of M*A*S*H and The Last Movie, starts April 27, concludes four days later and features around two dozen offerings, including short-film collections. There are also, in keeping with the fest's long-running tradition, several tributes scheduled to actors scheduled to attend: Malcolm McDowell (who will be there for a screening of Pound of Flesh), William
Fichtner (with, of all things, Drive Angry) and Texas icon Barry Corbin (who's promoting something called NoNAMES).
The fest, which takes place entirely at the Mockingbird Station Angelika, kicks off with two opening-night meet-n-greet movies: Jennifer Grant will talk about her father Cary before a 55th-anniversary screening of To Catch a Thief, while David Hyde Pierce will chat up audiences following the local premiere of The Perfect Host. Also coming is one of my favorite actors ever: Peter Riegert, star of National Lampoon's Animal House, Crossing Delancey and Local Hero, who will accompany White Irish Drinkers.
You'll find the whole USA Film Festival flier on the other side, where you'll note one local film of profound interest -- the full-length version of Warriors of the Discotheque: The Starck Club Documentary, a shorter version of which premiered at the fest in '09 ... shortly before Dallas International Film Fest co-founder Michael Cain announced he was making two films about the late, great danceteria. Says the advancer, "now the project is a feature film filled with all the material that could not be included in the short work." Now, jump for the whole reel.
