47th Annual USA Film Festival

Meet the Filmmakers at the 47th Annual USA Film Festival -- one of the oldest, most respected film festivals in the world. The 5-day festival event open to the public and features filmmakers in attendance including master artists, mid-career filmmakers, and emerging talents. Several programs are free admission.

Programs will be held at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas. Advance tickets are available exclusively through Ticketmaster beginning April 12, 2017.

This year's program highlights (in-person guests) include:

Texan Del Shores returns to the Festival to present several "early Opening Night" screenings of the seventeen-years-later very Southern sequel A Very Sordid Wedding on April 21, 23 & 25 (This program only will be held at the Texas Theatre)
Salute to actor Rene Auberjonois in conjunction with the Short Film Showcase program (The evening will include a film clip compilation salute to Mr. Auberjonois)
An all-star Shorts Showcase program featuring works from actress Karen Allen presenting her directorial debut A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.; actress Sharon Lawrence presents Russell Simpson's short work Home; actress Brenda Strong and writer/director John Farmanesh-Bocca present their short film (shot in North Texas) I Did Not Forget You; and Finnegan Haid presents his short work The Parrot featuring Rene Auberjonois. Actor Charles Haid will host the on-stage Q&A with Rene Auberjonois following the film clip Tribute.
Special repertory screening of The Best of Everything (1959) with star Diane Baker in attendance (The evening will include a film clip compilation salute to Ms. Baker)
The Festival also honors actress and voice artist extraordinaire Nancy Cartwright (she is the voice of Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons") with her screenwriting debut feature In Search of Fellini (also in attendance producers Monica Gil, Kevin Burke and Peter Kjenaas (also co-writer) and actress Mary Lynn Rajskub)
Dallas-raised writers Evan Daughtery (Snow White and The Huntsman) and Philip Schaeffer return to the Festival to present Schaeffer's directing debut Witch-Hunt, produced by Daughtery
Also from Dallas - Producer Chris Donahue returns to the Festival to present his fascinating documentary The Dating Project.- Also from Dallas - Producer Mickey Liddell returns to present his new film Megan Leavey, based on the true story of a Marine veteran and her combat dog
Former Dallasite Margaret Galbraith returns home to present the uplifting documentary Stickman: The Roosevelt Wilkerson Story about the life of the formerly homeless local artist popularly known as Stickman for his singularly carved walking sticks
Actor/director Charles Haid returns to the Festival (as producer) with the excellent comedy/drama Sensitivity Training which marks the feature film debut of writer/director Melissa Finell (also in attendance)
Writer/director Finn Taylor returns to the Festival to present the winning romantic comedy Unleashed
Writer/director Eric Howell returns to the Festival to present his haunting thriller Voice From the Stone starring Emilia Clarke; producer Dean Zanuck also in attendance
Writer/director Jake Goldberger returns to the Festival to present his charming coming-of-age drama Holding Patterns starring Freddie Highmore
Awards program for the 39th Annual International Short Film Competition; The 2017 National Jury includes writer/director John Putch, actor/writer/director Christina Beck, actor DeVaughn Nixon, painter and filmmaker Rosson Crow, and writer/director/producer/ animator Jorge Gutierrez.
Special screening of the new documentary film about the life of influential jazz pianist Bill Evans entitled Time/Remembered; In attendance filmmaker Bruce Spiegel; Presented in partnership with Sammons Jazz and the Sammons Center for the Arts.
Special screening of the new film The Father and the Bear presented by filmmaker John Putch; Presented in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association Greater Dallas Chapter and the City of Dallas Office of Senior Affairs.
Other highlights include several compilation programs of short films (Narrative, Nonfiction, Student, Animation), several Texas-made shorts and feature films, two films from 30-year Festival alumnus Bill Plympton (the irreverent animated feature Revengeance created with Jim Lujan along with the hilarious short Cop Dog), and a special repertory screening of the contemporary all-ages classic Whale Rider (screened at USAFF in 2002) as we prepare for its Blu-ray debut. [A full schedule of films is listed in the attached program flyer. An additional 60+ filmmaker guests will be in attendance.)

DEDICATION - USAFF47 is dedicated to these friends and filmmakers that we lost this past year: Bill Paxton was a great friend to USAFF attending our program many times over several decades, with films in which he performed, produced and directed. Lupita Tovar was the most charming of guests when we presented the Spanish-language Dracula with her thirty years ago. Actress Charmian Carr was such a doll attending our KidFilm program to present a sing-a-long version of The Sound of Music -- all the kids wanted "Liesl's" autograph. Producer Dan Ireland joined us to present his directing debut The Whole Wide World in 1996, which he shot in Texas. Filmmaker and film professor Andy Anderson screened his locally made feature Positive ID with us in 1986. Film historian, TCM ambassador and world-class host Robert Osborne was a wonderful colleague to all of us who love and support classic films.