GTX Film Festival reels in crowd
The September 28 GTX Film Festival was a robust collaboration showcasing quality productions and fostering interaction between film enthusiasts at all levels of interest.
The event was the culmination of a longer process. Filmmakers submitted work, judges decided which films would be screened and a winner was selected in each category. At the festival the films were scheduled for viewing, awards were given and a wrap party was held.
The smartly planned event at the artsy Doug Smith Performance Center included Question and Answer sessions throughout the day. Gifted creators shared inspiration, techniques and views with passion, honesty and candor.
The full day event provided an opportunity to view films from 10 in the morning through early evening. Audience size fluctuated throughout the day with patrons coming and going. A lunch break provided time to try one of the restaurants on the Georgetown square.
Sun City couple Art and Polly Herriot — who are part of a Movie Buff club that discusses the nuances of all varieties of film — stayed for every production.
“We got our money’s worth,” Ms. Herriot quipped.
This is their second year to attend. Mr. Herriot enjoyed seeing local settings in the mockumentary Lone Stars.
Actors, directors and producers from across the globe attended. Director Arman Arian came from Australia. The film Mishkin-Qalam honors his great, great grandfather, a famous calligrapher of 19th-century Persia.
Director Ian Charles Uster came in from Italy to watch the screening of his film Lulu in Turin.
Hollywood actors Rusty Joiner and Ashley Seal, stars of Kielia, a “love story 10,000 years in the making,” attended the Georgetown event.
The City of Austin was a big player all around. The film Kielia featured stunning cinematography of the city in sunlit glory. The young characters in Late Night Talking get better acquainted while venturing around Austin in a beautiful bright night setting.
Where We Went Wrong is a fictional story set in Austin’s music venues. Bloody and Bruised is a documentary of “the most infamous heavy metal club to live and die in Austin, Texas as told by the people who survived it.” Major players from Austin’s 1980s and 1990s heavy metal music scene showed up to honor the rise and fall of a venue that launched well known music groups.
Appreciation with warmth was expressed in the swiftly paced awards ceremony. Executive Director Beth Baker gave special recognition to Carolyn Holloway for her many contributions.
“She has been responsible for the growth of every artistic endeavor that Georgetown has even thought of for 20 years,” Ms. Baker said.
Under the dedicated direction of Ms. Baker and President Charlene Grant, GTX Film has brought the art of cinema to Georgetown. The world expands in the shared experience of watching independently made films. The lights go down, the film comes up and the magic begins. A good showing might change the trajectory of a film’s success. With that in mind, here are the 2024 GTX award winners.
- Student Short Award - Late Night Talking
- Foreign Feature Award - Lulu in Turin
- Narrative Short Award - Where We Went Wrong
- Foreign Documentary - Mishkin-Qalam
- Narrative Feature Award - Kielia
- Documentary Feature - Bloody and Bruised