THURSDAY OCT. 17
Price Center
222 W. San Antonio St.
$10 for a Day Pass (enables viewing of every film on Thursday), or
$25 for a four-day Festival Badge (enables viewing of every film in the fest)
10 AM - AROUND-THE-WORLD NARRATIVE SHORTS
RETALIATION (4 min, Poland)
Official music video for STEFSKI & HUTCH. Director Karolina Fender Noińska.
HOUSE PHONE (3 min, Ireland)
A drama about estrangement, House Phone tells the story of Anne, a young woman making a call she's put off for a long time. Director James McGlade.
SIMON (5 min, UK)
When Simon knocks on a couple’s door, he brings news that will turn their world upside down. Director Ed Willey.
MUG (7 min, Ukraine)
Deep disappointment about what has happened. Director Yegor Bugayenko.
JENNY’S ABSINTHE (12 min, Slovenia)
A catfishing troll finds himself on the wrong side of the hook. Director Gregor Gašperin.
HELP YOURSELF (15 min, UK)
Andie, a desperate writer, abandons her family to finish a script in a flat she borrows from her colleague Diane. But Andie keeps getting interrupted by bizarre and hostile strangers who all have unfinished business with Diane. Director Hedvig Andersson.
THE NIGHT FRIEND (14 min, France)
Right before entering middle school, a lonely kid befriends a strange visitor. Director Damien Kazan.
WHEN THE MONSTERS COME OUT (15 min, Nigeria)
A night at sea leaves pregnant Tangelo traumatized, after being raided by pirates. She retreats to a remote island to protect her only child - but 18 years later, she is forced to confront the monsters that tore her world apart. Director James Amuta.
MUTE, DEAF & BLIND (19 min, Spain/Germany)
A homeless man witnesses the disposal of a dead woman's body and gets caught up in her twin sister’s ruthless revenge. Directors Tom Block & Raúl Piñero. World premiere!
Followed by Q&A with Director Tom Block (MUTE, DEAF & BLIND)
Total runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
NOON - COWBOYS & NATIVE AMERICANS BLOC
WHITE BUFFALO PRESENTS: VOICES OF THE WEST (49 min, Tennessee)
Set against the majestic landscapes of Montana and Wyoming, we celebrate the contributions of Native Americans to the origins of American cowboy culture. Long viewed as the domain of folks of European descent, modern Native Americans continue to work their land and livestock, participate in regional rodeo events, and reflect on the rich history of the “Indian Cowboy.” Director Cam Mackey.
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Preceded by:
A COWBOY IN THE SUBURBS (4 min, ATX)
Nobody understands the stranger's pain. Director Michael Scott Payton.
ANOTHER EIGHT SECONDS (17 min, California)
Grit and determination: nine-time PBR world finals qualifier, Stetson Lawrence, climbed to the top of global rankings despite personal tragedies and major injuries, fortitude that made him a bull-riding legend and the injury that changed his life forever. Director Keith Malloy.
Followed by Q&A with Michael Payton (A COWBOY IN THE SUBURBS)
Total runtime: 1hr 10 min
2 PM - SORRY, WE’RE DEAD (1 hr 26 min, California)
Cinema and reality blur with comic deconstruction when Lana’s movie falls through the ceiling into her life. Director Alex Zajicek.
Preceded by:
LET ME TAKE YOU TO THE MOON (5 min, Los Angeles)
Visual representation of a song about the digital worlds of the Blockchain and cryptocurrency, hope and greed, also referencing a cosmic Chinese myth about the Goddess of the Moon and her husband who lived in the sun. Director Richard E.
Total runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
4 PM - U.S. NARRATIVE SHORTS - BLOC 1
LET ME KNOW WHEN IT’S YES (5 min, Ohio)
An homage to Richard Linklater's 1991 film Slacker, in the form of a music video by the Ohio band Smug Brothers, for their 2023 single "Let Me Know When It's Yes".
PARALLEL LINES (4 min, Iowa)
A couple, living identical lives, are ships dispassionately passing in the night – until not. Director Hannah Rosalie Wright.
CALLER NUMBER NINE (5 min, Tennessee)
Animated comedy about the next U.S. president being selected in a non-traditional manner: a radio call-in contest. Starring Dicky Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Directed by Mike Salva.
CRYSTAL GALAXY ENFORCERS (5 min, New Jersey)
Flying through space in a crystal ship, Modnar encounters an annoying nemesis. Directed by Kirk Howle.
THE CURMUDGEON FACTORY (17 min, California)
An old-timer asks himself if he has anything left to give. He finds the answer…in The Curmudgeon Factory. Director Joshua M Thomas.
HIGHER KNOWLEDGE (20 min, Oklahoma)
Three graduate students race against the clock to solve their professor's final equation, before they meet the same grisly fate as him. Director Elijah Bigler. Texas Premiere!
THROUGH THE LENS OF MOURNING (14 min, California)
Seasoned wedding photographer Glen grew tired of the over-saturated wedding photography market, and found a new niche in "the moments that truly matter...the last." Director Sarah Gaudoin.
Followed by Q&A with Director Elijah Bigler (HIGHER KNOWLEDGE)
Total runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes
7 PM - OPENING NIGHT: BOYHOOD (2hr 45 min, Texas)
Special 10th Anniversary Screening
Filmed yearly from 2002 to 2013, a depiction of the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr. from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas – including in San Marcos – with divorced parents. Nominated for an Oscar, BOYHOOD earned dozens of honors & awards, including top prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, & Broadcast Film Critics Association, as well as the Golden Globe Award.