THE 2009 AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL AND CONFERENCE
CONFERENCE: OCTOBER 22ND – 25TH
FESTIVAL: OCTOBER 22ND – 29TH
For 16 years the Austin Film Festival has been dedicated to celebrating the art of storytelling through film. The AFF features a four-day conference, eight days of films and parties with one-of-a kind networking opportunities for filmmakers, screenwriters and film lovers.
The conference component of the festival provides more than 80 inspiring and interactive panels, roundtables and meet-and-greets with established screenwriters and filmmakers. Workshops are held on the core elements of screenwriting and filmmaking, including dialogue, story structure and character development. Some popular panels focus on writing scripts that producers want to develop, overcoming writers block, producing a film on an indie budget, marketing the project and more.
The festival boasts an outstanding program of narrative, animated and documentary features and shorts, including premieres, advanced screenings, and independent films. Film screenings are complemented by lively and informative Q&A sessions with cast members and filmmakers.
Awards Luncheon: Ron Howard
This year Ron Howard will be presented with the festival’s extraordinary Contribution to filmmaking award. Howard will receive the honor during the awards luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Austin Club. He will also be a featured speaker during the festival’s four-day conference.
Mitchell Hurwitz the creator of Arrested Development will accept the 2009 Outstanding Television Writer Award during the awards luncheon, as well. In addition to the honor, Hurwitz will speak on panels during the Screenwriters Conference.
LA MISSION
Set in the colorful, seedy streets of the San Francisco district that bears its name, La Mission is a story of redemption imbued with the curative power of Aztec tradition. Feared, yet respected, as the baddest Chicano on the block, Che (Benjamin Bratt), a reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, resorts to violence and intimidation to get what he wants. A bus driver by day, Che lives for his beloved son, Jesse, his lifelong friends, and his passion for lowrider cars. Che and the “Mission Boyz” salvage junked cars, transforming them into classics. Che’s macho world is crushed when he discovers that Jesse’s been living a secret life.
