REMEMBRANCES
In a special pre-festival kickoff 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 29 at the Angelika, Dallas VideoFest will take an emotional look back to significant people and moments in Dallas film history. With the screening of the 1929 silent film MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA event, Dallas VideoFest will pay homage to late Dallas Composer Jack Waldenmaier.
Waldenmaier, who had a dual career in both music composition and music production, hosted the world premiere of his new score to the 1929 silent film at VideoFest 25.
“This was one of those moments during the festival that was very magical,” said Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director for Dallas VideoFest during its 34-year run. “Everyone who was there felt they had seen something very special.”
Held on National Silent Movie Day, the event will honor Waldenmaier and provide an opportunity for festival-goers to celebrate other friends and film industry vets lost during the pandemic.
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Dallas VideoFest34 presents DocuFest+ showcases dozens of documentary features – several premieres – along with shorts Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at Angelika Film Center – Dallas (5321 E Mockingbird Ln., Dallas).
VideoFest.org
Documentaries explore nonfiction investigations of topics or events deemed worthy of further insight. Its specific storytelling techniques are flourishing like never before – encompassing reportage, memoir, history, and humor. Documentaries have always been an integral part of the Dallas VideoFest experience for 34 years.
TEXAS PREMIERE DOCS
The event features Texas premieres of several films made in Dallas, including Festival-opener PIECES OF US, a film that looks at the personal journeys of LGBTQ+ hate-crime survivors. PIECES OF US screens at 7 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 30 following a Red Carpet for the filmmaker and others at the Festival – a first for Dallas VideoFest.
IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS
Dallas VideoFest Founder and Artistic Director Bart Weiss said PIECES OF US and other films featured at the Festival deliver on common DocuFest themes of representation, politics and “the quirky.”
“We’re looking forward to a celebration for the community that gathers each year to experience something different,” said Weiss.
QUIRKY CONTENT CONTINUES
In the quirky category are features of innovative films and filmmakers for which VideoFest has become known – including “Big D,” an annual look at films shot around the world on mobile devices and Tik Toc “Docs,” showcasing documentaries presented in the 30- to 60-second format.
“Tik Tok Docs are an important part of how we point to how things were done in film in the past and how they will be done in the future,” said Weiss. “For years, the festival has screened lots of great shorts, which are so important to the legacy of the Video Fest.” “Big D” screens noon Sat., Oct. 2, and Tik Toc Docs screen 6 p.m. Sun., Oct. 3.
MORE LGBTQ+
Other LGBTQ+ films include BOULEVARD! A HOLLYWOOD STORY about two young songwriters and romantic partners, who find themselves caught in movie star Gloria Swanson’s web when she hires them to write a musical version of SUNSET BOULEVARD.
MORE POLITICAL
Political-themed documentaries focus on timely issues, including the last abortion clinic in Texas (ON THE DIVIDE, 4 p.m. Sat., Oct. 2) and the Hong Kong protests (FACELESS, noon, Sat., Oct. 2).
FILMS ABOUT FILM, ART
Films about Film remains a recurring theme of documentaries that play at VideoFest. This year that includes the final installment of editor Allan Holzman’s series: ART OF DIRECTING, the Israeli documentary IN THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR SITS A WOMAN, and VJ DIARIES.
Films about Art include JOHN WILCOX-THE RELINQUISHMENT OF TIME, CRUTCH, and JAMES SURLS: THIS PLACE EVERYWHERE about the Texas artist, James Surls’ sculpture at the Dallas Holocaust Museum.
TRULY SPECIAL EVENTS
On Sat. evening, Oct. 2, VideoFest will welcome Houston Filmmaker and Chef Adan Medrano, for a screening of TRULY TEXAS MEXICAN, a documentary focusing on the delicious “Comida Casera” (home cooking) of Texas Mexican-American families. This style of cooking was created by indigenous businesswomen, “Chili Queens,” who rose to fame in the late 1800s.
Following the 7 p.m. screening, patrons will gather at Trompo in Oak Cliff (407 W 10th St #140, Dallas, TX) for a party and meal prepared by Chef Medrano and the Trompo team.
CELEBRATORY OVERTURES
Ending its 34-year run on a celebratory note, the festival will also screen the film FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK Sun. Oct. 3 at Carbaret Drive-in in Richardson (at the lot on the top level in the back of the Shops at Promenade and The Forum Social Club at 300 N. Coit Rd). The after-party celebrating the film and influential all-female band from the 1970s will pick up at The Forum Bar in Richardson.
For Weiss, who conceived and has led the festival ever since its inception in 1987, the end of VideoFest feels bittersweet. “Personally, it’s sad, and in some ways, it’s somewhat of a relief,” he said. “It has been a great ride, but all rides end. I’m looking forward to us all getting together one more time.”
DALLAS VIDEOFEST 34
Fact Sheet
WHAT:
Dallas VideoFest 34 presents DocuFest+ – the last Dallas VideoFest
WHEN and WHERE:
Sept. 29, 7 pm — Dallas VideoFest Tribute and Special Screening of MAN WITH THE MOVIE CAMERA
A special pre-festival kickoff and in honor of National Silent Movie Day, Dallas VideoFest showcases a special screening of MAN WITH THE MOVIE CAMERA as well as tributes to friends and community members who have passed during this time of COVID
Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 — 2 screens
Angelika Film Center – Dallas
Mockingbird Station
5321 E Mockingbird Ln #230
Dallas, TX 75206
Oct. 3, 7:45 pm — FANNY documentary and Closing Night Celebration
Carbaret Drive-In
In the Parking Lot of The Forum Social Club
300 North Coit Road Suite 260
Richardson, Texas 75080
PASSES and TICKETS:
Available online at https://videofest.org/tickets/
Individual Tickets: $10-$15
All-Access Passes: $60
Weekend Passes: $50
Day Passes: $20-$30
Themed Spotlight Passes: $20 (Spotlight Passes include all films in the categories of LGBTQ+, Women, Music and Short Film Blocks)
Connect with VideoFest: (#DVF34)
https://videofest.org/
Sign up for the Video Association Newsletter:
http://tinyurl.com/DVFNewsletter
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Videofest
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/videofest
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/videofest
About Dallas VideoFest:
VideoFest (https://videofest.org/) is now the oldest and largest video festival in the United States and continues to garner critical and popular acclaim. VideoFest prides itself on bringing films to the theater that are rarely available to be seen anywhere else. Films like Experimental/Art Films, Animation, Narrative and Documentary Shorts as well as Documentary and Narrative Features and some hard-to-find Classic TV episodes and Classic Films are often in the mix.
History of VideoFest: Cutting-Edge Art
Merging art and technology since 1987, VideoFest has specialized in independent, alternative, and non-commercial media, presenting hard-to-find works rarely seen on television, in movie theaters, or elsewhere, despite their artistic excellence and cultural and social relevance. Even in a Web 4.0 environment where everything is seemingly available on the Internet, the VideoFest provides curatorial guidance, a critical voice in the wilderness navigating the vast and diverse landscape of media, helping to interpret its cultural and artistic significance. The event provides a communal environment for real-time, face-to-face dialogue between makers and audiences.
ABOUT VIDEO ASSOCIATION OF DALLAS
The mission of the Video Association is to promote an understanding of video as a creative medium and cultural force in our society and to support and advance the work of Texas artists working in video and the electronic arts. The Video Association of Dallas (VAD) is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated on April 25, 1989. It began in 1986 as a weekend event, Video As A Creative Medium, presented at the Dallas Museum of Art by independent curators Barton Weiss and John Held. That first event, which included two nights of video by selected local and national video artists, was a great popular success, which led to the founding of the Dallas Video Festival (DVF) in 1987. Video Association of Dallas also presents the 24 Hour Video Race, the Texas Show Tour, North Texas College Film Festival, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund workshops, Three Star Cinema, and other programs throughout the year.
VIDEO ASSOCIATION OF DALLAS – 1405 Woodlawn Dallas, TX 75208
