@torchedguitar is a big movie fan and opened my eyes to the wonderful world of film festivals many years ago. Austin Film Festival is one of our favorites, not only because it’s often got great films, but also because it’s one of the most affordable ones to get a badge for (
Lonestar badges are usually on sale for about $125 around the holidays!). It’s also possible to get into things by just purchasing an individual movie ticket. We like to get our money’s worth out of the badges, so during the 8 day festival we squeezed in 26 showings (98 movies if you count shorts individually; technically 25 and 90 for me because I had to miss one 
). Shockingly, almost everything we saw was really quite good and several seemed like ones people here would appreciate, so I wanted to share a few of my top favorites.
- We’re Fine — documentary short about a Ukrainian art group that did an incredibly moving installation at Burning Man 2024. The installation — “I’M FINE :)” inspired in part by the infamous “this is fine” meme — was an incredible structural feat at 10 tons (22k lbs), 7 meters high (~23 ft), 32 meters long (~105 ft). I know we’ve got burners in the community, so I’m curious if anyone went last year and was able to experience this installation in person. I think it will continue moving me everytime I think about it. I really hope this short becomes available somewhere people can watch it. It was just incredible.
- For those into electronic music and DJ sets, I’ve been really digging this set that was part of the installation.
- Stitch & Time — documentary short about a crotchet group started by two men serving life sentences in prison. Really well put together film that gives a glimpse into these lives. Also really hoping this one will end up getting distribution so others can see it.
- Dogs of Bishkek — this one is actually available to watch on Vimeo here! It’s a very short animation (although it was in a different section than the animated shorts, haha). The storyline was good, but the animation itself was mesmerizing to me - 3D but with a hand painted look. I got to chat briefly with the film maker animator (he funded it very modestly through Kickstarter!) and turns out it was all 3D modeled then handpainted using Adobe Substance. Very curious if anyone here has ever played with that tool.
- If/When — stop motion animation with a surreal time traveling character (in an unexpected way). The animation on this was just wild. The artistry and work that goes into a production like this blows my mind. There’s a little behind the scenes here.
We also had a fun surprise end to the festival at the final movie we went to see. We ran into @YellowEng! It was super fun to watch the final movie of the week with a maker friend and learn about Flamin Finger!
Did anyone else go to AFF this year? See any other films that deserve a maker community call out?
It’ll be released in theaters across the country in late November, so be on the lookout for it. (Believe or not, rental family service is a real thing in Japan!)
Watching this film brought back the nostalgia I felt as a teenager exploring love and faith, and I couldn’t help but feel quite solemn when I realized how vastly different my biggest concerns in life were back then, especially in a way that differs from other coming-of-age films I’ve seen. 
The film’s final climax can be summed up as 
! Watch it yourself to see what happens to the family in the end. 