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Give us the basics about the Austin Indie Flix Showcase
first: When and where will it be held?
It'll be held this September 25-27, in Austin Texas. We've got
some great venues lined up, including the Alamo Drafthouse and the
Blue Starlite Drive-in. We're looking forward to another great year
as the festival continues to grow.
As the name of your film festival might already suggest, you put
your focus firmly on indie films - so do talk about your appreciation for
independent cinema, and connected to this, what can you tell us about the
philosphy of your festival?
Well, we ARE indie filmmakers. Twitchy Dolphin Flix has been
making indie movies in Austin since 2007. But the main festivals in
Austin are all top 10 fests and don't program that many
"true" indie films. So, we're on the circuit and we're
doing our thing, seeing great films that are never getting programmed
in Austin. One of the key towns in this country for indie film, and
indies are rarely screened. So we started our own thing and have
worked to grow it steady over time. As far as I know, the
Austin Indie Flix Showcase is still open for submissions - so how
does one submit to your festival, and what qualities are you looking for
in the films to be showcased? The best way is Film
Freeway.
I love the site. We use it both as our host for the fest, but
also for our own submissions.
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/AustinIndieFlixShowcase
Any films you're going to
screen you can tell us about yet? Yeah, a few of our early
announcements. And man, what a slate! We've got I Owe You from
Hands Off Productions from Ohio. Their last short, 'Till Death,
has been dominating film festivals and we're thrilled to be one of the
first fest to show their new one. Army of Frankensteins (Ryan
Bellgardt) and Pete Winning (Mike Donis) will headline our drive-in night.
We can't think of a better lineup. Army of Frankensteins features
the famous monster stuck in the middle of the America Civil War. Pete
Winning takes us into the far future where pirates with lasers rule the
flooded lands of Canada. We'll also be showing two of our films in weird
slots to help fill the seats. We'll be hosting the world premiere of Werebitches
4 and... well... the other one is a surprise. You are also handing
out awards, right? So what can you tell us about your award categories,
your judges and the like? Were covering the gamut: International,
National and Texas awards. We're rewarding actors, directors writers
and the films themselves. And they're belt buckles! How rodeo/Texas
can you get? Our judges are all professionals in the
industry doing their thing. From what I've heard, you have
also some planned events around the screenings - so do talk about those,
and the schedule of your fest as a whole for a bit! Networking
is a big part of it, for sure. We'll have an after party, some panels and lunch
at the world famous BBQ The Salt Lick. We'll also focus on some
practical panels such as use of social media in indie film, so that
filmmakers will really get something out of the event. How
did the Austin Indie Flix Showcase get off the ground in the first
place? We just "willed" it into existence.
We decided that Austin needed an indie voice and there are filmmakers the
world over that want to screen here. So we just made it happen.
As far as I know, the Austin Indie Flix
Showcase is by now in its third year. What can you tell us about
highlights from previous years? It's just a
great time. We pick great films, but also make sure that they are films
with filmmakers engaged in the event. So we get a nice opportunity
to have filmmakers the world over get their film shown, network and
build collaborative relationships that pay off. The Austin Indie Flix
Showcase's website, Facebook, whatever else? Film Freeway:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/AustinIndieFlixShowcase
Website:
www.austinindieflix.com
Twitter:
@austinindieflix Anything
else you are dying to tell us and I have merely forgotten to ask? Get your
film submitted! It's a great fest, great vibe in a great city. Thanks
for the interview!
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