Austin Film Festival

Evan McNary’s RAGGED HEART is a rust-toned, back-woods musical journey toward a father’s redemption — Austin Film Festival review

By Daphne Street 4 years ago

experiences of the dad. The writing and dialogue uniquely embody each character created, and the performances could not have been more authentically executed. The pace might be a little sauntering for some moviegoers who have become more accustomed to the traditional Hollywood fast-paced, action-driven tempo. But for those willing to dive into the spirit of indie character-driven art film dramas, you won’t be disappointed.

Lane Michael Stanley’s ADDICT NAMED HAL probes beneath the banality of addiction — Austin Film Festival review

By Luke Y. Thompson 4 years ago

Stanley’s script remains agnostic over treatment efficacy. At its most optimistic, it suggest that having someone else to live for is the key to surviving the rest. At the other end, it implicitly criticizes the zero-tolerance mindset which says that even a sip of booze is such a failure that, well, shit, a person might as well fail in a blaze of glory and do heroin at the same time.

Anna Baumgarten’s DISFLUENCY has more to say than just the words that come out — Austin Film Festival review

By Luke Y. Thompson 4 years ago

In the film festival program blurb, one of the film’s topics is described as “the never-ending process of healing.” That’s true of trauma, addiction, what-have-you…but it’s a phrase that can also apply to life. We can – and must – always heal, always figure out what ails us and rebound better. Even the most educated of intellectuals sometimes utter a disfluency, as even the best of us encounter their metaphorical equivalent in life.

John Donvan and Caren Zucker’s IN A DIFFERENT KEY brings their autism research to the screen — Austin Film Festival review

By Luke Y. Thompson 4 years ago

Like so much else that simplistic forces in society try to force into a binary, autism is a spectrum. And while we may have heard the phrase “on the spectrum,” internalizing what it means is another thing. Donvan and Zucker take pains to show both ends, emphasizing that while it’s unfair and prejudicial to assume high-functioning autistic people can’t function just fine, it’s equally misguided to neglect just how much help those on the other end need, in some cases to keep from physically damaging themselves regularly.