With more than 25 films and 20 film industry speakers on its schedule, the upcoming 7th Annual Spindletop/Lamar University Film Festival (Nov. 10-12) is bursting at the seams with hours of entertainment and educational opportunities for filmmakers and filmgoers alike. From world-famous Hollywood screenwriter Bill Wittliff (of Lonesome Dove and The Perfect Storm fame) to cutting edge independent filmmaker Jacob Young
(Dancing Outlaw) to controversial documentarian Mark Birnbaum (The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress), the speakers at this year’s festival also offer insight into an unprecedented variety of genres for the festival. Five of the films to be screened are world premieres and several more are being shown in Texas for the first time.
The three-day festival will begin at 6 p.m. the Lamar University Theatre on Friday, November 10 with opening ceremonies including Bill Wittliff and Keith Carter. This will be followed by the premiere of A Certain Alchemy, a documentary by John Spellos about Carter, a Lamar professor and world renowned photographer.
“Wittliff and Carter have been friends and colleagues for many, many years,” explained Festival Director Jason Miller. “We are excited to be able to kick off the festival with two such esteemed artists in their respective media. It is an embarrassment of riches to have them both together on the same stage.”
The festival’s Friday night events (Nov. 10) will then take a turn towards the avant garde as the celebrations move to The Art Studio, Inc. The Spindletop Film Festival opening party has gained a reputation over the years as one of the liveliest and off-beat parties in the Golden Triangle. Guests will mingle and enjoy food, drinks and networking while movie lovers can catch back-to-back screenings in the outdoor theatre set up in the courtyard. The Art Studio, Inc. is located at 720 Franklin in Beaumont.
Saturday’s events (Nov. 11) start bright and early at 9 a.m. with additional screenings and workshops covering such topics as shooting on HD film, minority filmmakers, and social issues in cinema. For the aspiring filmmakers, the festival will also provide limited seating to scriptwriting workshops with Bill Wittliff and small-group round table discussions with industry professionals.
Saturday evening will start at 6 p.m. with the awards ceremony for the Spindletop/Lamar University Film Festival Contest. Then Greg Carter will be honored with the Independent Spirit Award and Wittliff and Tom Copeland, former president of the Texas Film Commission, will be inducted into the Southeast Texas Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
At 7 p.m., Spinfest will screen Wittliff’s Red Headed Stranger and Greg Carter’s Hurricane Katrina: The Project Named Desire in two separate theatres. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the original release of Red Headed Stranger.
Forgiving the Franklins will follow at 8:45 p.m. The film features Southeast Texan Mari Blackwell in the starring role. Blackwell will host a Q&A session after the screening.
“The primary focus of the festival has always been to offer an intimate forum for the young and aspiring filmmaker,” said Miller. “It is an experience unlike any other festival I have been to in that the emphasis is on nurturing and education in a nearly one-on-one setting. Of course, a great number of our attendees just come for the movies, too! If you’ve never been to Spinfest before, I encourage you to try it. There’s nothing like watching an award-winning film and then getting to ask the filmmaker questions right afterwards.”
Sunday’s screenings (Nov. 12) begin at 11:30 a.m. with light-hearted fare including Bubba Ho Tep, a whimsical feature involving a dead/not dead Elvis Presley (cult film icon Bruce Campbell) fighting an Egyptian mummy in a nursing home. Elvis is ably assisted in his struggle by a delusional patient who believes he is John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis, in one of his final film roles).
With a nod towards the hardships faced by the Gulf Coast region this past year, the festival will also screen two notable documentaries: one about Hurricane Katrina by Greg Carter and Surviving Rita: Looking Forward produced by Lamar University’s own Gordon Williams.
A complete schedule information for the Spindletop/Lamar University Film Festival can be found at the festival website: spinfest.org. Advance sale tickets to the festival are available online for $35 each and $25 for students with ID. At the box office, festival tickets will be sold for $50 each and $30 for students with ID. Rush tickets for Friday night’s opening ceremony and screening of A Certain Alchemy will be $5 at the door. Screenings at The Art Studio, Inc. are free of charge, with donations accepted at the door.
