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DIFF: Weekend Recommendations


by Stephen Becker 12 Apr 2013 1:09 PM

You’ve still got three days to take in the festival. Consider these options when planning your viewing.

CTA TBD

The Dallas International Film Festival calls it a wrap this weekend. But there’s still time to catch some films highly worth your time. Among those that look good on paper:

Friday

I’ll be attending the Dallas Film Society Honors, where William Friedkin, Sherry Lansing and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will each receive awards. The winners of the various competitions will also be announced. But a little of me wishes I could catch Twenty Feet from Stardom (7 p.m., Angelika). It’s a documentary about people who’ve sung backup for superstars like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and others. I missed it at SXSW and it looks like I’ll be missing it again. Also looking promising – Chasing Shakespeare, directed by UT-Arlington grad Norry Niven.

Saturday

The Big Shootout (3:30 p.m., Texas Theatre) looks like a must-see for college football fans. It retraces the December 1969 meeting between undefeated Arkansas and Texas. How big was the game? President Nixon even flew to Fayetteville to see it (where a young Bill Clinton was also in the stands). Of course, UT grads like yours truly know this one was the lynchpin in a run of consecutive national championships. But who’s counting. Not a sports fan? The aforementioned Ms. Winstead will be in attendance for a screening of Smashed (12:30 p.m., Angelika) while Mr. Friedkin will show The Exorcist (3:30 p.m., Angelika) before taking part in a conversation with my podcasting partner.

Sunday

The pick here looks like Renoir (Angelika, 3:30 p.m.) about the Impressionist painter. Earlier this week, I linked to a good read from The New York Times about how the filmmakers hired a convicted art forger to serve as the artist’s hands during closeups. And at 7:15, the winner of the festival’s narrative competition will be shown, also at the Angelika. You’d think that would be good, right?

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