Material from ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary “Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot,” which premieres during the Dallas International Film Festival. (Photo via Dallas International Film Festival/Dude Perfect/Texas A&M Today)
Film festival season continues today with the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), held at the Violet Crown Cinema in Dallas’ West Village from April 25 to May 2.
The DIFF, established in 2006, is a focal point for film in north Texas, offering a wide variety of screenings, Q&As, networking opportunities and entertainment for guests. Of interest to SZNS is the Texas Feature Competition, which judges this year’s most overall accomplished film projects made by Texans and/or within Texas state borders.
“An Army of Women,” “Racing Mister Fahrenheit” and “Water Wars” are three documentaries included as part of the Texas Feature Competition’s five entries. Narrative films included are “Harsh Treatment,” which follows two outlaws as they chase after treasure and away from a dangerous tracker, and “Holly by Nightfall,” the story of friends learning to navigate their adult lives.
Several narrative short films will be making their world premieres, including “Daughters of Evil,” a horror short set in 1960s small-town Texas, “Jackpot,” which shows a dystopian family dinner in a world of televised population control, and “Pocket Boyfriend” which poses the question, “If your ex-partner was the size of a doll, what are the ethics for turning them off?” Each short film will screen in collected showings throughout the festival’s run.
The North Texas High School Showcase allows young Texan filmmakers a chance to screen their early work, giving the opportunity for honest feedback from audiences and filmmakers alike. Each film will be combined and featured in a handful of High School Shorts screenings, similar to the narrative short features.
The Narrative Feature Competition represents films from across the U.S. and will showcase “Electra,” “Ghostlight,” “Stakes is High,” “Sujo” and “We Strangers.”
DIFF will also feature two Gala projects, or headliners, for the festival. The first is “Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot,” an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary by directors Oliver Lucian Anderson and Louis Burgdorf. The film explores the Dude Perfect social media and sports entertainment brand and features the six founding members who each attended Texas A&M University. The film premieres tonight at the Majestic Theater in Downtown Dallas.
“Sing Sing” will also headline as another Gala project, featuring Coleman Domingo as Divine G, a wrongfully convicted inmate at Sing Sing Correctional facility who finds solace in stage acting with other inmates. The film had its U.S. premiere at SXSW last month. “Sing Sing” will screen on May 2 at the Violet Crown.
For more information on screening times and locations, visit the DIFF 2024 schedule at https://diff2024.eventive.org/schedule.
What are you looking forward to seeing? For more Texas film news, keep reading SZNSMAG.com.
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