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Dallas International Film Festival has completed its selections for this year’s star-soaked offerings and posted the final list. While early documentary picks and features have been slowly filling out the two-week cinematic meal plan, DIFF has seasoned it with finishing touches, like the selected short films and two World Premiers. Here’s a sampling of what’s heading your way.
Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) puts a sloppy kiss on the world of sci-fi in Comic-Con Episode 4: A Fan’s Hope. Robert Byington, the writer and filmmaker who just launched the world premier of his new work Somebody Up There Likes Me at SXSW, is bringing the story of a magical suitcase and string of miraculous events to the April festival. We’ll have our post-Sundance shake at seeing Under African Skies, the Joe Berlinger (Crude) project that celebrates the 25 year anniversary of Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
It isn’t a festival without a couple of world premiers, so we’ll be the first to grapple with the sexually and alcoholically charged Satellite of Love, by Will Moore, which features True Blood and The League actress Janina Gavankar. Another first for Dallas will be the family-friendly tale Cowgirls ‘n’ Angels, Timothy Armstrong’s story about a young gal (Bailee Madison) who begins on a quest to find her father but gets derailed when she discovers another love: the youth rodeo circuit.
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Texas-proud writer and musician Wes Cunningham and SMU alum actress Amy Acker (Catch Me If You Can) will return to their old stomping grounds to support their new project, Sirionia. The film looks at an out-of-luck singer/songwriter (Cunningham) who backs away from the rat race in order to build a more peaceful life for his family in a sleepy, rural Texas town. But lusting after fame is not reserved for Hollywood and a simple life cannot be rented, so problems continue to mount despite the arid climate.
Famouses Bill Pullman, Danny Glover, Zac Efron and Dianne West are among the many high-profile celebrities featured in DIFF films this year, so don’t be surprised if Dallas gets the glitteratti treatment from April 12 to the 22.
Texas filmmakers will compete for an exceptionally lucrative prize this year, with Panavision putting up a $30,000 camera rental package to the category’s winner. Passes to this year’s DIFF are available here.
