The Lone Star Film Festival (LSFF) is back for the 13th year with a lineup of more than 140 films that will be shown at Fort Worth’s Sundance Square. Hosted over five days, the festival will showcase award-winning films from over 19 different countries. The interactive film experience plans to host industry panel discussions, parties, celebrity appearances, and a diverse lineup of independent films. 

LSFF is called a premier destination for filmmakers, producers, industry professionals, and film enthusiasts. It has the honor of being ranked as a “Top 50 Film Festival” by Movie Maker Magazine.  

Each fall, LSFF strives to provide the best in independent movies mixed with big budget films, which host a wide variety of film styles including narrative, documentary, and Cine-Más, plus a variety of stylized short-films. 

LSFF has partnered with Telemundo 39 to present the second edition of Cine-Más, a specialty film festival within LSFF. This year’s line-up of Cine-Más films includes feature films and shorts from Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, and the U.S. 

LSFF will be held from Nov. 13 to 17 in Fort Worth. For ticket information, go here.

A spotlight on Texas filmmakers

Lone Star Film Festival says it will continue to support Texas-based filmmakers, with this year’s festival including an extensive lineup of films from Texas-based directors and producers such as:

A Hidden Life

Austin native Terrence Malick is the writer and director of A Hidden Life. The film depicts the story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian man who refuses to fight for the Nazis during the war. 

COWBOYS: A Documentary Portrait

From Texas-based producer Jeffery Brown, the feature-length film told in narrative form integrates viewers into the world of modern working cowboys. On some of America’s largest and most remote cattle ranches, the movie explores the rewards and hardships of the misunderstood life of cowboys. 

Grand Isle

Written and produced by DFW native Iver Jallah, Grand Isle tells the story of a young father named Walter who has been charged for murder and must provide proof of his innocence. Starring Nicolas Cage as Walter, he is forced to recall the dark and twisted night of the event. 

JUMP SHOT

Directed by Texas-based Jacob Hamilton, JUMP SHOT uncovers the true story of Kenny Sailor, the developer of the modern-day jump shot in basketball. Hamilton and executive producer and professional NBA player Stephen Curry depict Sailor’s life as the leader of his Wyoming Cowboys, his role in the emerging NBA, and Sailor’s disappearance into the Alaskan wilderness.

The film will feature Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Jay Bilas, Clark Kellogg, Bob Knight, Lou Carneseca, Kiki Vandeweghe, Nancy Lieberman, Chip Engelland, Tim Legler, Fennis Dembo, David Goldberg, Jud Heathcote, Jerry Krause, Jim Brandenburg,  and a slew of other basketball legends.

Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story

From Texas filmmaker Chris Hanna, Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story represents the true story of the prolific Dallas Cowboys quarterback. The story follows Romo’s life through family, friends, teammates, and coaches who tell the transformative story of the underdog becoming captain of “America’s Team.”

Sleeping in Plastic

Fort Worth-based media company, Red Productions, presents the story of a Texas high school wrestler who becomes entangled with a drifter and a psychotic lover in Sleeping in Plastic.

A still image from Sleeping in Plastic. [Image: Courtesy Lone Star Film Festival]

Trans Youth

Filmed in Austin, Trans Youth is a documentary that follows the life of seven young adults over the most formative years of their lives. Over the span of four years, the young adults face family judgment, join punk bands, navigate through hormone therapy, and move through the transition of top surgery. 

What Doesn’t Kill Us

Produced by Stephen F. Austin alumni and filmed in Texas, the mockumentary shares the struggles of rehabilitated zombies facing the adversities of living in a time of social inequality when they aren’t yet considered to be socially equal to human beings. 

Major events happening at LSFF 2019

Groove Jones’s American Horror Story Virtual Reality Experience makes its way to LSFF

Dallas-based Groove Jones, a creative technology company, has partnered with LSFF to bring FX Networks’ American Horror Story VR experience to Fort Worth. 

First launched in San Diego, the VR experience places participants in the frightening world of AHS for one night only during the annual film festival. 

An exclusive panel featuring Dale Carman, partner and executive creative director at Groove Jones, and Andrew Dickerson, Samsung Electronics America’s Sr. director of software engineering will be held during the festival.

Award-winning actor Tim Blake Nelson joins the festivities

Best known for his roles in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Watchmen on HBO, Nelson plans to visit Sundance Square to talk movies, winning the Bill Paxton Achievement Award, and his upcoming role in “Just Mercy.”

“Just Mercy,” starring Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Foxx, portrays the story of a prominent civil rights defense attorney and is set to be released early next year. The film will be screened in Fort Worth before its release across the country. 

Netflix vs. the World, a transformation of the movie and entertainment industry

The film festival will include the world premiere of the documentary film Netflix vs. the World. LSFF will also host a discussion featuring Netflix and Blockbuster execs sharing their experiences founding and managing companies that transformed the film and television industries. 

Some of the panelists include Marc Randolph, Netflix co-founder; Nick Sheperd, Former Blockbuster COO; and Shawn Cauthen, director of Netflix vs The World. 

Panel on marketing and PR for the film industry

Visit Fort Worth and LSFF plan to bring top PR and marketing industry experts in to talk movie strategies for film promotions. A concentrated effort has been made to build up the Fort Worth film community and the panel will give insight on how to promote films once created, according to a statement.

“The Birdcatcher,” the story of a woman attempting to flee the Nazi round-up in Norway

Fort Worth is going to host the award-winning European film, The Birdcatcher. Producer Lisa Black and co-executive producer Aku Louhimies will attend the festival and may speak on their experiences producing the film and what it’s like to share the international film with LSFF attendees.  

A spotlight on mental health

This year’s festival will shine a light on mental health through a film created by Fort Worth photographer and filmmaker, Rambo Elliot. The festival will also include a talk between Elliot and Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, the founding director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care at UT Southwestern. 

First screened at SXSW, the short film was shot in Fort Worth and Granbury and is about a girl who struggles with repression, anxiety, and depression. The panelists will discuss the use of film as a catalyst for social change and awareness. 

The full film lineup can be found here. 

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