Austin filmmaker Miguel Alvarez caught the attention of local audiences with his short films in 2010: the science-fiction themed Mnemosyne Rising, which premiered at SXSW, and the biographical Veterans at Austin Film Festival -- check out my Aff 2010 review of Veterans. This year, Alvarez contributed to a segment of Slacker 2011 -- read Elizabeth Stoddard's interview with Alvarez and producer and former Aff Film Program Director Kelly Williams here. Alvarez is now undertaking his first feature film with La Perdida (pictured above), a re-imagining of the traditional Mexican folktale of La Llorona combined with the Greek myth of Cassandra, but set in the middle of the 21st century. Described by Alvarez as a "lo-fi sci-fi drama," this movie will explore the universal themes of loss and redemption combined with time travel.
Alvarez is currently seeking funding for pre-production expenses of La Perdida through the crowdfunding site United States Artists here.
Alvarez is currently seeking funding for pre-production expenses of La Perdida through the crowdfunding site United States Artists here.
- 10/12/2011
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund. The trailer is now available. As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the Austinites participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project.
Today's interview is with director Miguel Alvarez (SXSW 2010 short Mnemosyne Rising, Aff 2010 short Veterans) and producer Kelly Williams (Hellion, A Splice of Life), former Film Program Director for Austin Film Festival, who have been working together on one of the shorts.
Slackerwood: Which scene from the film are you reshooting?
Kelly Williams: We remade the "pixel-visionary" scene -- a party scene involving the PXL2000, a toy camera Fisher-Price made in the 80s.
Miguel Alvarez: A party scene best remembered because it was partially shot in Pixel-vision while two characters ranted about the Freemasons.
Today's interview is with director Miguel Alvarez (SXSW 2010 short Mnemosyne Rising, Aff 2010 short Veterans) and producer Kelly Williams (Hellion, A Splice of Life), former Film Program Director for Austin Film Festival, who have been working together on one of the shorts.
Slackerwood: Which scene from the film are you reshooting?
Kelly Williams: We remade the "pixel-visionary" scene -- a party scene involving the PXL2000, a toy camera Fisher-Price made in the 80s.
Miguel Alvarez: A party scene best remembered because it was partially shot in Pixel-vision while two characters ranted about the Freemasons.
- 6/28/2011
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
I've been planning on wrapping up my Austin Film Festival content with capsule reviews for some of the short films I saw at this year's festival. However, after reflecting on Veteran's Day I thought it only fitting to give special attention to one short film in particular that I'd not covered in the Aff 2010 Preview: Selected Shorts: Veterans, directed by Miguel Alvarez (Mnemosyne Rising) and funded by a 2006 Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund grant. With so many great short films at Aff this year, Veterans hadn't originally made it to the top of my list. However, after subsequent viewings I have to admit that this poignant and somber short film is a "must see." It's a touching story of sacrifices not just made for our country, but for loved ones.
Shot on Super 8 by cinematographer Bear Guerra, Veterans has a home movie film feel but with higher production value and striking visual imagery.
Shot on Super 8 by cinematographer Bear Guerra, Veterans has a home movie film feel but with higher production value and striking visual imagery.
- 11/12/2010
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
Dragon Con SymbolThe Dragon Con Independent Film Festival has announced a full list of short and features films for the event. One of the largest film festivals in America, Dragon Con takes place in Atlanta, Georgia beginning September 3rd. This years feature highlights involve a zombie apocalypse taking place at a prom in As Good As Dead, two students trying to save the world from terrorists in Horrible Turn, and a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's story The Lord of the Rings in Born of Hope. This is only a brief intro' and fans of independent film and creativity can check out the schedule for the film festival below, or at the Dragon Con website.
The full synopsis for Born of Hope:
"A scattered people, the descendants of storied sea kings of the ancient West, struggle to survive in a lonely wilderness as a dark force relentlessly bends its will toward their destruction.
The full synopsis for Born of Hope:
"A scattered people, the descendants of storied sea kings of the ancient West, struggle to survive in a lonely wilderness as a dark force relentlessly bends its will toward their destruction.
- 7/29/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Ross Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Date/Time: Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm Host: Austin Film Festival, Houston Film Commission Location: Alamo Drafthouse -- Lake Creek More info: Visit external web page.
The Houston Film Commission annually presents a collection of recent Texas-made short films that they feel are truly excellent and frankly, want to show off to Texas as well as the rest of the world. Tonight, the commission's most recent collection screens here in Austin, thanks to Austin Film Festival, which selected it for the monthly Austin Film Festival Presents series.
Three Austin films are included in the lineup: Mnemosyne Rising, the science-fiction short from Miguel Alvarez that played SXSW this year; Love Bug, Kat Candler's film about young love that won an audience award at Aff 2009; and Never Do This, a series of shorts from Scott Rice about, well, things you should never do. You might remember Rice's very...
The Houston Film Commission annually presents a collection of recent Texas-made short films that they feel are truly excellent and frankly, want to show off to Texas as well as the rest of the world. Tonight, the commission's most recent collection screens here in Austin, thanks to Austin Film Festival, which selected it for the monthly Austin Film Festival Presents series.
Three Austin films are included in the lineup: Mnemosyne Rising, the science-fiction short from Miguel Alvarez that played SXSW this year; Love Bug, Kat Candler's film about young love that won an audience award at Aff 2009; and Never Do This, a series of shorts from Scott Rice about, well, things you should never do. You might remember Rice's very...
- 7/29/2010
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
I'm feeling the post-fest blues already. Another Cine Las Americas is over. But it's less than a year til the next one. Chamaco (The Kid), the closing-night film played to a near capacity crowd, with a special introduction thanking festival staff for their hard efforts and announcing the winners of the competitions. I think I wrote them down correctly, but if not I'll correct it when the official announcement comes out:
Best Narrative Feature: Mal día para pescar (Bad Day to Go Fishing).
Honorable Mention: Memorias del desarrollo (Memories of Overdevelopment) Best Documentary Feature: La tierra sin mal (The Land of No Evil).
Honorable Mention: Which Way Home Best Narrative Short: Fantastic Fest selection Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5
Honorable Mention: Austin-made short by Miguel Alvarez, Mnemosyne Rising Best Documentary Short: Olhos de Ressaca (Undertow Eyes).
Honorable Mention: Point of Entry Best Hecho en Tejas: Austinite Sharon Arteaga's When...
Best Narrative Feature: Mal día para pescar (Bad Day to Go Fishing).
Honorable Mention: Memorias del desarrollo (Memories of Overdevelopment) Best Documentary Feature: La tierra sin mal (The Land of No Evil).
Honorable Mention: Which Way Home Best Narrative Short: Fantastic Fest selection Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5
Honorable Mention: Austin-made short by Miguel Alvarez, Mnemosyne Rising Best Documentary Short: Olhos de Ressaca (Undertow Eyes).
Honorable Mention: Point of Entry Best Hecho en Tejas: Austinite Sharon Arteaga's When...
- 4/30/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Sunday ended up being a very short one at Cine Las Americas for me, but not for lack of good films to watch. I did catch Looking for Palladin, starring Ben Gazzara as a former actor working as a cook in small-town Guatemala when a slick Hollywood agent Josh (David Moscow) comes to town to sign him on to a new film. A "locals vs city slicker" premise is just the backdrop for complex relationships and backstories. Moscow deserves recognition for playing to a bluetooth prop for the first half of the film, while usually in crowded scenes. Yeah, he plays That Guy.
I stuck around to re-watch some of the great shorts in the narrative competition. I said it on Twitter and I'll say it again; that's a reel worthy of a Fantastic Fest program, with provocative and genre stories, including Austinite Miguel Alvarez's Mnemosyne Rising and Joaquin Baldwin's short,...
I stuck around to re-watch some of the great shorts in the narrative competition. I said it on Twitter and I'll say it again; that's a reel worthy of a Fantastic Fest program, with provocative and genre stories, including Austinite Miguel Alvarez's Mnemosyne Rising and Joaquin Baldwin's short,...
- 4/26/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
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