MOVIES

Three film festivals liven local theaters

A trio of Austin film festivals offer a bounty of world cinema

By Chris Garcia
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILM WRITER
Friday, November 06, 2009

Just when you thought the local film festival season was over, three more movie bashes, each with a unique flavor, unspool tonight through next week. With the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and the Austin Film Festival wrapped, it's time for the smaller-scaled Austin Polish Film Festival, Cinema Touching Disability and Austin Asian American Film Festival to roll in with a wealth of hard-to-find films from around the world.

Austin Polish Film Festival

Celebrating one of the most exciting and prolific producers of world cinema, the fourth annual Austin Polish Film Festival kicked off Thursday and continues through Sunday at the Texas Spirit Theater at the Bullock Museum (1800 N. Congress Ave.) with an array of contemporary Polish movies. Films include:

"Time to Die" ("Pora Umierac") at 6:30 tonight and "Before Twilight" ("Jeszcze nie weiczor") at 8:45 tonight.

"Preserve" ("Rezerwat") at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and "Drowsiness" ("Seenosc") at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

"Tomorrow We Are Going to the Movies" ("Jutro idziemy do kina") at 6:30 p.m. Sunday and "The Glass Trap" ("Szklana pulapka") at 8:35 p.m. Sunday.

The festival loops back on Nov. 14 with a program of Polish shorts, documentaries and animation at the University of Texas, Communication Building, Studio 4D. Sponsored by the Austin Polish Society. Details, passes and tickets at www.austinpolishsociety.org/austinpff2009.

Cinema Touching Disability

The sixth annual Cinema Touching Disability happens today and Saturday at the Alamo South (1120 S. Lamar Blvd.). The film festival, focusing on movies that depict disabilities in a positive, thoughtful and edifying light, features student film competitions, shorts and the feature documentaries "A Possible Dream: The Andrea Friedman Story" — a portrait of actress Andrea Friedman, who has Down syndrome — and "The Eyes of Me," a profile of four students at the Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired.

"A Possible Dream" shows at 8:40 tonight. "The Eyes of Me" plays at 8 p.m. Saturday and will be followed by a discussion with director Keith Maitland, producer Patrick Floyd and the film's subjects.

For the complete schedule and tickets: www.ctdfilmfest.org.

Austin Asian American Film Festival

Forty films from India, Pakistain, Lebanon, China, South Korea and the United States and several themed parties headline this sixth annual festival, running Thursday through Nov. 15 at the Alamo South and the Texas Union Theatre at the University of Texas.

Director Ed Radtke, an Austin resident, will screen his award-winning drama "Speed of Life" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alamo South to open the festival. Other highlights include: Mehreen Jabbar's "Ramchand Pakistani," Dave Boyle's "White on Rice," H.P. Mendoza's award-winning "Fruit Fly," the Bollywood Blowout Party, a concert with hip hop artist Jenro, short films and a free outdoor screening of the Oscar-nominated animated feature "Persepolis."

Schedule, details and tickets: www.aaaff.org.

cgarcia@statesman.com; 445-3649