In the meantime, now that I have probably exhausted everyone’s patience by blathering on and ranting like an old man carrying a crumpled paper bag and out of date newspaper outside a deli, here is a quick list of ten people that I work with and for that I would suggest filmmakers, film industry types, and people reading the movie industry tea leaves SHOULD be paying attention to:
WTxFF Founder and Artistic Director Justina Walford added, “We could not be more thrilled to be a part of this wonderful series. Not only does the roster of films and filmmakers include directors we have long admired and films we are fans of, but we are also very excited (in particular) to help shine a light on the horror/thriller selections – and encourage people to come to the theater for an evening of scares courtesy of women behind the camera.”
Here are a couple quick thoughts about Bart Weiss, the head of Dallas Video Fest and all of its film festival parts: He IS the film tastemaker of Dallas and Fort Worth and North Texas. He just is. Bart has his eyes, and ears, and heart, and most importantly – his brain On. The. Screen. Taste-wise, finger on the filmmaking pulse-wise, and eye out for what’s coming down the pike-wise, Bart Weiss is the benevolent leader we all take the lead from. Bottom line.
Dallas’ film festival community did something never before seen anywhere else in the country when 22 film festivals joined forces last weekend to offer up films from each film festival that either were award-winners, major hits from a previous edition of their fest, or simply demonstrated the programming style and taste of the film festival.
The film festival community in Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas has long been an unsung hero for film lovers locally, bringing films to audiences that they likely would never have had an opportunity to see on a big screen or even be aware of, otherwise.
I think BAD THINGS is a movie that needs to find its audience. It’s been really surprising and wonderful to show it to people who love it. After my screening at WTxFF, I was in another theater waiting for another film to start when a group of women sitting in front of me turned around and told me they’d seen BAD THINGS earlier in the day and were still talking about it. They’d been discussing the ending and debating things about the characters — and they wanted to let me know how much they loved the film. After that, winning the Storyteller Award was bonus!
We both were super on-board with throwing our vanity out the window for this one. As women in this industry, we are constantly judged on the way we look. We wanted this film to be relatable and genuine, and we wanted to highlight the mental and emotional focus of this story, so we checked our egos at the door and stayed true to our vision of rawness and honesty.
Making the film, I really tried to put myself into the male character’s POV. In doing so, I had more empathy for men and realized how confusing my own signals can be, even with the best of intentions. I think if both men and women worked harder to step into one another’s shoes more often, then we might have hope of communicating better and truly understanding one another.
Women Texas Film Festival Founder and Artistic Director Justina Walford said, “Our decision to update the naming of our awards came out of the fact that we wanted to honor filmmakers based on why we program these films: for their leadership, storytelling and vision. From the beginning we wanted to not simply screen films envisioned and created by women, but to push forward the risk takers. Taking those risks makes us stronger filmmakers and it should be lauded at every turn.”
The Women Texas Film Festival Presented by Studio Movie Grill announced today that former Wells Fargo executive Kim Cousin has taken the reins as the film festival’s new Executive Director. WTxFF also announced that Stacy Thiele and Erin Prather Stafford have joined the organization’s Board of Directors.
