After a few years of being known as the AFI Dallas film festival, the Dallas Film Society dropped the expensive AFI name and has continued the well-programmed festival this April 8-18.
We'd been curious if this year's fest could bring the same level of film, stars, and attendees to since they dropped the AFI portion, but, luckily it seems like only a name change.
With films including stars like David Duchovny, Demi Moore (both in "The Joneses," one of the event's signature screenings), Michael Douglas ("Solitary Man"), and "Up" director Pete Doctor (who's receiving an award) the festival has retained the same Hollywood-caliber as in previous years.
Ready to fest? Head to the Film Society's official pages -- there you'll find interactive schedules, summaries of the films, and times for special events like special screenings and panel discussions.
To give you a leg up on the planning process, here's some of our picks for the fest:
- "The Joneses" stars David Duchovny and Demi Moore in a comedy about a affluent suburban family that seems perfects...until you realize what they're selling. April 10, 7p or April 11, 2:45p.
- "Solitary Man" stars Michael Douglas as a "lion in winter" (think of a male "Cougar") who's life has hit bottom because of business and romantic scandals. April 15, 7:30p or April 16, 10p.
- Don't forget to bring the kids to the Dallas Museum of Art's special showcase of "Monsters, Inc." and "The Iron Giant" on April 11 starting at 1p. We love this because; 1. It's free. 2. They're showing "The Iron Giant." 3. Everyone needs to see The Iron Giant.
- Maybe it's the Orson Welles fan in us talking, but we couldn't be happier to get the chance to see "Touch of Evil" on a big screen, either on April 15 at 7p or on April 17 at noon.
- Support your local young film-makers on April 12's North Texas College Showcase. This all-short-film screening features films from UTA, SMU, and others at the 10:15 screening.
- For a thought-provoking discussion, we're most interested in the Web and Film-making panel on April 10 at 3p. The subtitle, "Is film-making and creativity wasted on the web?" is definitely a conversation starter...but we're on the side of the 'net, so be ready to see our protest signs like "Keep the You in YouTube" or maybe "LOLCats Forever."
- Keep your schedule open on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18. These are the dates that the festival's award-winning shorts and features will be highlighted. The winner's screenings are always a great way to catch the best of the best, but lots of other causal fest-ers have the same idea...they usually sell out.
