The USA Film Festival is a Dallas-based, 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of excellence in the film and video arts through the presentation of diverse cultural and educational programs.
Schedule
4:00pm - Film Is Dead. Long Live Film!
Film is Dead. Long Live Film! explores the vanishing world of private film collecting -- an obsessive, secretive, often illicit world of basement film vaults piled-high with forgotten reels and inhabited by passionate cinephiles devoted to the rescue and preservation of photochemical film. Condemned as pirates and hounded by the FBI, film collectors have long lurked in the shadows. Yet their efforts have resulted in the survival of countless films that would otherwise have been lost to history. Archives and studios now look to private hands for missing titles, and many collectors have begun
restoring and releasing films themselves. As analog film fades from memory, the basement-dwellers and bootleggers of old are
finally getting the recognition they deserve. Shot over a period of six years, filmmaker Peter Flynn’s insightful documentary is a lively
and loving tribute to the private film collector, a celebration of the fetishistic subculture of pre-video movie-love, and a reminder of the glories of analog film. 103mins.
3:00pm - High School Short Films
Join us for a collection of short films from Garland High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) film program’s students. The Reel Owl Cinema four-year program teaches students the art of filmmaking with an emphasis on narrative storytelling. 60mins.
4:00pm - Narrative Ii Short Films
This collection of dramatic short films portrays the impact of life choices while highlighting the indomitable human spirit. In Rachel Walden’s LEMON TREE a young boy is tasked with getting himself, his father and new pet rabbit home safe; in Lewis Rose’s KEEP a former lighthouse keeper and an Afghan refugee develop a friendship while confronting their respective cultures and pasts; in Kelly Pike’s PICTURE DAY an Asian-American tomboy who is coming of age on Army bases must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to fit in; in Mike Clarke’s SQUEEZE a student with autism must overcome his biggest fear when he is recruited to be on the wrestling team (inspired by a true story); and in Nadine Wilson’s WUSS a young boy’s cherished cat goes missing. 90mins.
4:30pm - Lucha: A Wrestling Tale
Taft High School in the South Bronx was the first school in the country to have metal detectors, and crack vials were routinely found in the cafeteria. But on a cold winter day, in that very same cafeteria, a much different scene played out. Tables were pushed to the side, worn wrestling mats were placed on the floor, a whistle blew and twenty girls in mismatched sweats and hand-me-down sneakers began running wind sprints -- thus kicking off the Taft High School Girl’s Wrestling season. This is the story of that team and their journey from the high hopes of inaugural season through the uncertainty of graduation. Marco Ricci’s empowering documentary is not just a film about wrestling -- but a film about breaking barriers as it portrays the stories of four pioneering young women who view wrestling as a way to transform their lives. Shot over the course of over two years, in a gritty verité style, the film
weaves together practices, matches, and “at home” footage to create an intimate portrait of four young women -- and a team -- struggling to overcome the daily challenges around them. 97mins.
7:00pm - Texas Short Films
Join us for an eclectic program of new short films from Texas filmmakers including -- Cullen Blanchfield’s GROW A BETTER DALLAS highlights South Dallas’ Restorative Farms, a nonprofit that offers rehabilitation and therapeutic solutions to individuals with criminal backgrounds; in John Benjamin Terrell’s ALMOST PERFECT: THE 99TH PITCH former MLB pitcher Brian Holman revisits a performance that still stands as one of the rarest events in MLB history; in Tim Yager & Alyssa Udovitsch’s DOUBLES a woman goes about her daily routine after realizing she’s committed a violent act; in Hannah
Abu-eideh’s GEORGIA a young couple who have decided to breakup agree to one last night together; in Vered Rodriguez’s INTROVERT CLUB a shy writer’s path collides with an extroverted actress at a film festival mixer; in Sue Perrotto’s THE MAYFLY (written and voiced by Betty Buckley) a young city Mayfly goes against cultural norms to dedicate her short life to music and dance; in Joe Scott’s STRANGERS a married couple (Scott and Lena Hall) on a dinner date realize that their relationship is over; and in THEY DON’T MAKE ‘EM LIKE WILLIE ANYMORE Blacksmith Rose performs a musical love letter for iconic Texas singer/songwriter Willie Nelson.
88mins.
7:00pm - Possum Trot
Inspired by the incredible true story, Possum Trot follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a movement of compassion in their East Texas church to adopt some of the most difficult-toplace kids in the foster system. After 22 families adopt 77 children, the Martins lead the charge to prove that faith, community, and perseverance have the power to change the lives of children everywhere. Joshua Weigel’s moving debut feature is co-written by Rebekah Weigel and stars Nika King (in her feature debut), Demetrius Grosse, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Diaana Babnicova. The film will be released by Angel Studios on July 4th. 119mins.
7:30pm - Jamie Wyeth And The Unflinching Eye
As the heir to an unparalleled three-generation dynasty in American art, Jamie Wyeth struggles to find his own voice during the colorful turmoil of pop culture and politics from the 1960s to the present. This first feature-length documentary of the artist from filmmaker Glenn Holsten follows Wyeth’s journey capturing iconic figures like John F. Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudolf Nureyev, as well as his unique, sometimes unsettling, views of domestic life, the islands of Maine and his own personal ghosts. The film will be released by Juno Films on April 26th at the Quad
Cinema. 80mins.
