All Posts Tagged With: "texas film hall of fame"

$400,000

March 8th, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • 2 comments • Related Posts • Tags

… is how much we raised for the Austin Film Society at last night’s Film Hall of Fame Awards. I’m in awe and I almost can’t believe I was a part of it, except the aching feet and exhaustion I’m feeling this morning as reminders. It was a beautiful show and there were no major event hiccups, so far as I can tell. And best of all, wealthy folks who believe that cultivating film culture in their town is important, put their money where their mouth is and gave us $400,000 to keep doing what we do.

People ask me what the does, so I’ll tell you. We exhibit film, from modern foreign films to recovered gems to documentaries to experimental works to gala premieres to sneak previews, each week we have one or more screenings all year round. We give money to filmmakers to make their projects. Last year, AFS gave away $150,000 directly to filmmakers, and the call for submissions for this year’s grants is forthcoming soon. We also help filmmakers by holding works-in-progress screenings and industry panel discussions throughout the year, all of which are free for AFS Filmmaker members. We have a youth media education program, run by Christan Raymond, who was nominated for ’s Dewey Winburne Community Service Award. He and a team of teachers hold movie-making clubs in 7 local under-served schools, as well as spring break and summer film camps and other panels and speaking engagements. And on top of all that we run , a five-hanger production facility that has seen the like of Stop-Loss, premiering at SXSW on Thursday, and many other well-known projects, but also small projects, commercials, music videos and photo shoots. The Studios operate on a sliding scale depending on your budget, so it is open to all comers.

We have an open house this morning at . Few traces of the Film Hall of Fame will remain, but the influx of cash we got last night makes it possible for us to do all of the above. I’m grateful to be part of the team, and can’t wait to share it with my friends in town for the fest. Drop by 1901 E. 51st Street between 11 and 1 PM and enjoy great bluegrass, snacks, a gorgeous day and see our fabulous grounds. You Know You Want to Shoot in Austin! (I couldn’t resist using our tag line…)

Texas Film Hall of Fame

March 7th, 2008 • Agnes Varnum • Comments Off • Related Posts • Tags

URBAN COWBOY
I’ve deliberately not posted about the event I am helping to put on tonight, Austin Film Society’s Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards. It’s a celebrity party for a good cause, but largely outside of what I usually blog about, and certainly, since I’m one of the organizers, well, the whole conflict of interest thing… But I just read Melanie Haupt’s wonderful write-up about this year’s honorees, Mike Judge, Jayne Mansfield, ZZ Top, Morgan Fairchild and URBAN COWBOY, in The Chronicle and I’m inspired.

This year’s honorees cohere precisely in that they all represent, in one way or another, various iterations of class mobility in , from the ambitious young woman who juggled motherhood and college in the Fifties to the white-collar death of hope in the age of the cubicle farm. They are stories as big as but still only hint at the diversity of experiences contained within the Lone Star. Read the article>>

It is hard work putting on a party for 800 people, and it’s easy to lose the forest for the trees, as they say. It might be a Texan thing to pat the back of film stars from the state, but it is also a show of appreciation for her sons and daughters who go out and do great things or those who bring the movie industry to and help her out economically and culturally. I never thought I’d ever say, “I live in ” and I’m pretty sure I won’t ever say, “I’m from ” but I’m happy and excited to be a part of celebrating film tonight.

Thanks Melanie for the insight and last jolt I needed to get me through the big event!