Opening Night Of The Dallas International Film Festival - 2010

Photo Courtesy Of bigfanboy.com

The Dallas International Film Festival starts tonight. The film festival was known as the AFI Dallas film festival for the past few years, this year the Dallas Film Society decided to get rid of the expensive AFI name and create a festival that could stand on its own and bring the same level of stars, films, and classiness the AFI name gave them in the past.

The name change is not the only change there is this one really good idea, Instead of just spotlighting 1 movie on opening night like the prior festivals, this year's opening night will feature many films using the entire beautiful Angelika Theater and all its eight screens. Here is the opening night (April 8, 2010) film lineup:

Bill Cunningham New York

Bill Cunningham New York (representing documentaries)
Directed by Richard Press, the documentary chronicles the life of the legendary, yet enigmatic New York Times photographer. Obsessively interested in one thing – the pictures he takes that document the way people dress – Cunningham lives a monk-like existence, yet has managed to not only chronicle the intersection of fashion and society in New York over fifty years, but has long been held in the highest regard by the upper crust of New York.

Multiple Sarcasms

Multiple Sarcasms (representing narrative)
Directed by Brooks Branch, the film is a quirky relationship drama about an architect (played by Timothy Hutton), successful and in his 40s, who begins questioning his life choices and starts writing a play based on his life. As the play begins to take shape, his real life begins to unravel. The cast includes Stockard Channing, Dana Delany, Chris Sarandon, Mira Sorvino, and Mario Van Peebles.

Nosotros Los Pobres (We the Poor)

Nosotros Los Pobres (We The Poor) (representing Mexican cinema)

As part of a nod to the celebration of the Mexican Bicentennial, The Dallas International Film Festival will screen this classic from 1948. Directed by Ismael Rodriguez and starring Pedro Infante, the film is widely considered to be one of the best known and beloved films from Mexico. The film attempts to depict and dignify the lives of the working-class poor in Mexico City with a slice-of-life story involving several characters that live within the same neighborhood.

Skateland

Skateland (representing Texas made cinema)
Directed by Anthony Burns, Skateland is a coming-of-age film set in 1983 centering on ‘Ritchie’, a worker at Skateland, the roller rink and local hangout of a small town. With Skateland due to close, the party scene getting stale and his romantic life as cloudy as his future; Ritchie struggles to make sense of it all. When tragedy strikes his friends and family, Ritchie must face the music—and make the biggest decision of his life.

Opening Night Shorts Selections
Another first for the film festival will be a special screening of short films as a salute to the films and filmmakers that will have their films shown at The Dallas International Film Festival. Representing each of the short programs and various styles that will play over the course of the film festival, the films include recent Academy Award winner The New Tenants, Seeds Of The Fall (International), Charlie And The Rabbit (Student), The S From Hell (Midnight), Voice On The Line (Experimental), Dig Deep (Texas), and Dock Ellis & The LSD No No (Animation).

This year’s 11-day run brings over 155 films to the Dallas, Texas area. As I have covered this festival for 3 years now, I will say this is one of the best and well put together film festivals. I will be covering all the red carpets, galas, premieres, and spotlight some of these films daily on QBliss. If you are in the Dallas, Texas area check out this incredible film festival for more details visit: www.dallasfilm.org