The second annual “It Came From Texas” film festival is coming to Garland next month, presented by the city’s Garland Cultural Arts. And this time it will have a distinctly Western flair with Oscar-winning classic films—along with an intriguing mix of Texas-focused documentaries, cartoons, and student films from Garland High School’s “Reel Owl Cinema” program.
The festival will hit the screen September 13-15 at the Plaza Theater in Garland, celebrating films made in Texas that “illustrate the independent Texas spirit.”
Academy Award-winning classics will include “Giant,” the 1956 film starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean; “The Last Picture Show,” the 1971 feature based on Larry McMurtry’s novel; and “Tender Mercies,” the 1983 film starring Robert Duvall as a broken-down, middle-aged country singer trying to get a new lease on life.
A more obscure, rediscovered feature will be 1941’s “The Blood of Jesus,” filmed in Dallas by director Spencer Williams. The story of an atheist who accidentally shoots his wife, it follows her journey after death where she encounters the crossroads of hell or Zion, battling wits with the devil himself. It was the first Texas-made film entered into the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 1991, the festival notes.
From docs to cartoons
There are also documenaries about Texas movies, including “Children of Giant,” a doc filmed in Marfa about the emotions in the small West Texas town before, during, and after the month-long production of George Stevens’s “Giant.”
And the 2020 doc “Horton Foote: The Road Home” examines the life of the noted Texas writer who won Oscars for his screenplays for “Tender Mercies” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Also being screened: Everything from a Roy Rogers movie about the Dust Bowl to a cartoon by Texas animator Tex Avery to a documentary about the State Fair of Texas called “A Fair to Remember.”
Plus, one big treat will be a Mocky Horror Picture Show live riffing of the 1956 not-so-classic “Rock Baby, Rock It,” featuring deliciously snarky commentary by comedians Danny Gallagher, Liz Barksdale, and Albie Robles.
For a detailed rundown of the festival’s films and events, check out the festival’s all-access pass page. Individual screening tickets can be purchased here.
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