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BY JUAN LOYA
The Battalion
liort films htrgely go unseen by the
mainstream community. The few public
forums available for viewing short
films usually reside on Websites and
occasionally precede larger releases, such as
the film Geri’s Gann’, which preceded
Disney’s A Bug's Life last year. The only
alternative the population has to see short
! films is film festivals.
The Seventh Annual Texas Film Festival
has three “Night of Shorts” programs in its
schedule, each offering a collection of films
ranging from two minutes to 40 minutes in
length. These films represent the most cre
ative and oddball visions of the independent
film industry.
Featured twice in the festival’s schedule is
George Lucas In Love. Joe Nussbaum's paro
dy of last year's Oscar-winning film
ceeds in a droll fashion. It follows one man’s
strange morning after being questioned by
police officers about bis collection of “naked
girl pictures,” and ends with a left-field con
clusion that only the question mark at the end
of the film’s title can adequately describe.
On the dramatic side, Dreamcateher is a
poignant look at childhood fantasies and
escapism.
The main character, a 10-year-old-boy
named Jesse, escapes from the reality of an
abusive home by dreaming of a Native
American protector named Lone Wolf. The
film captures a wonderful blend of reality
and imagination, and touches on themes of
childhood and family in a subtle and effec
tive way.
Producer Charles Leon will be at the
screening of the film and will participate in a
question-and-answer session after the film.
From Australia, the short thriller Freezer
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i chocking and absurdly funny.
1 ciime vein, the film Who, Me.' pro
ing, offering quick doses of comedy and
drama to be enjoyed by any loyal movie fan.
The length of the films may be short, but the
level of creativity and imagination are
without limit.
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\Y, FMUAil FEBRUARY 18
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iqht of Sho
; AT RUDDER THgT
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Last Late N
ING AT CINEMA
Guys Sleep Alone
Bob’s Video
AT RUDDER THEATER
JURDAY, FEBRUARY 191
10:00 a.m. Mie Waiters
3:00 p.m. Direcfor’ $ Reception
5:00 p.m. Night of Shorts Ilf
7:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony
8:00 p.m. An Evening with
Robert Rodriguez
-Presentation of Outtakes
-Cl Mariachi |
-Q & A: Robert Rodriguez
SHOWING AT RUDDER AUDITORIUM!
An evening with
obert Rodriguez
BY KYLE WHITACRE
The Battalion
jnew names in independant film are
as respected as Robert Rodriguez.
A Texas native and University of
Texas graduate, Rodriguez is a pio
neer in low-budget filmmaking and
|as written books and made videos on his
techniques to make films cheaper and better.
His debut feature, El Mariachi. was shot
fin two weeks in Mexico and had a budget
of only $7,000. Rodriguez earned the pro
duction money by checking himself into a
drug testing clinic for one month, where he
spent his time writing the script for the
film and was used as a guinea pig for
experimental drugs.
fhe cast of El Mariachi consisted of
mainly friends and family of Rodriguez.
Most of the shots used in the film were
done in one take and innovative editing
techniques kept cost to a minimum.
El Mariachi went to international film
festivals including those in Telluride,
Toronto, Sundance, Berlin, Munich,
Edinburg, Deauville and the Yubari film
festival in Japan. The film won the
Audience Award for best dramatic film at
Sundance and was released by Columbia
Pictures in 1993.
After El Mariachi, Rodriguez went on
to write, direct and edit Roadracers,
Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn, and a
segment of Four Rooms. He also directed
The Faculty in 1998. He is currently writ
ing, producing, directing and editing an
adventure film titled Spy Kids. Other
future projects of Rodriguez include a fea
ture version of Bedhead. Rodriguez’s
award-winning short film, a Stevie Ray
Vaughn biopic and a film adaption of the
comic Madman.
“For the past three years we’ve tried to
book Rodriguez for festival, but never got
a response about it,” said Casey Starr,
director of the Texas Film Festival and a
senior industrial distrobution major. “We
finally called his lecture agency-contract
agent instead of his publicity agent and got
him booked this year. He’s in Europe right
now and will be heading into the states
later this week for our festival.”
Rodriguez will be participating in the
“War Stories” panel Saturday afternoon,
then will speak at “An Evening with
Robert Rodriguez,” where he will present
out-takes from his films, show El
Mariachi, then hold a question-and-answer
segment afterwards. When asked about
the presentation of film out-takes, Starr
said it was something special Rodriguez
was doing on his own.
“An Evening with Robert Rodriguez”
will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. in Rudder
Auditorium. Tickets are $10 and are avail
able at MSC Box Office.
Graphics by Robert Hynececk, Jeff Smith and IP Beato
This is an abridged schedule for the festival. For a full schedule,
program guides are available from MSC Film Society.