Lone Star Film Festival announces initial line-up

September 15,2015

BY CARY DARLING
cdarling@dfw.com

This year’s schedule for the ninth Lone Star Film Festival includes a thriller featuring Mark Wahlberg and Oscar Isaac, a drama starring Theo James, Dakota Fanning, and Richard Gere, a documentary about legendary Texas musician Doug Sahm, and a keynote speech from David Edelstein, the film critic for New York Magazine, NPR’s Fresh Air, and CBS-TV’s Sunday Morning. The festival runs Nov. 5-8 at the AMC Palace, Four Day Weekend Theater and Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth.

The titles of five films were released Tuesday with the remainder of the schedule to be announced Oct. 1. This edition of the event is the first since Lone Star Film Society director Chad Mathews, formerly of the Fredericksburg’s Hill Country Film Festival, took over programming in July.

Here’s a thumbnail sketch of the movies:

Mojave: Writer William Monahan (The Departed, Body of Lies, The Gambler) turns director for this thriller with Wahlberg, Isaac, Walton Goggins and Garrett Hedlund about an artist who finds out his doppelganger is a murderous drifter.

Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove: The late San Antonio singer-songwriter Doug Sahm is one of the most intriguing musicians Texas has ever produced. Mixing rock, blues, country and Tejano, he crafted a unique style with the Sir Douglas Quintet in the ‘60s through the Texas Tornados in the ‘90s. Now, Texas historian/writer Joe Nick Patoski documents Sahm’s colorful life in a documentary that was well appreciated at this year’s South by Southwest.

The Benefactor: Nominated for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival, this drama starring Gere, Fanning, and James that’s about a philanthropist with a not-so-good side, is the feature debut from Andrew Renzi. His documentary (Fishtail) and shorts (The Fort, Karaoke!) have earned some notice on the festival circuit.

When I Live My Life Over Again: This story of a crooner attempting a comeback has an intriguing cast that includes Christopher Walken, Amber Heard, Oliver Platt, Ann Magnuson, and Kelli Garner.

Bright Shadow: This will be the world premiere for this music documentary about cult favorite folk singer-songwriter Ana Egge who is trying to balance career with family issues. (Unrelated to the festival, Egge makes a North Texas appearance Oct. 13 with Ani DiFranco at the Granada Theater.)

Earlier this month, Fort Worth singer/actress Betty Buckley was named as the recipient of the festival’s Stephen Bruton Award. The honor, being handed to her by singer/composer T Bone Burnett, is given to a Texan musician who has contributed to both music and film. Also being honored is Sundance Square for the festival’s Visionary Award. Edward P. Bass and Johnny K. Campbell will be accepting the award.

All access badges are currently available for $150. Single tickets will go on sale next month.

For more information, go to www.lonestarfilmfestival.com.