Blaze Foley

Previously Unknown: The Legend of Blaze Foley

On May 5th, The University of Texas Documentary Center and Screen Door Film will present a special sneak-preview screening of the documentary PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN: THE LEGEND OF BLAZE FOLEY, directed by Austin filmmaker Kevin Triplett. The film will screen at Studio 4D in the CMB Building on the campus of UT at 7 PM.

Larry Monroe (KUT Radio Legend) will host our post-screening panel discussion, which will include:
Kevin Triplett - director of Previously Unknown
Mandy Mercier – Songwriter, friend of Blaze
Gurf Morlix – Producer, friend of Blaze

Wednesday, May 5th
7:00 P.M.
FREE
Studio 4D, CMB Building, 4th floor
(big black building at the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton)
UT Campus
2504 Whitis
Austin, TX 78705

About the film
Born in a tree house, killed in a friend's living room and 86'ed from his own funeral, Blaze Foley is now a bona fide country music legend. His heartfelt songs are covered by Merle Haggard, John Prine, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett. Incorporating rare recordings, original artwork and archival material, BLAZE FOLEY weaves a tale of caution and inspiration for all artists, demonstrating how easily an everyday man can fail in the business world and yet succeed as a legend.

This is the first documentary by Kevin Triplett, who also is the owner of Mopac Media in Austin, TX.

Marathon Kids along with Screen Door Film is hosting a screening of the HAPPINESS IS… by award-winning writer/director Andrew Shapter on Tuesday, April 27, at the George Washington Carver Boyd Vance Theatre. Marathon Kids’ goal is to raise money for Austin Marathon Kids via ticket sales, and to build active community. There will be a thoughtful and provocative viewing and discussion afterwards regarding “what happiness really is”.

Screening Info

Tues Apr 27, 6 PM
The Carver Museum (1165 Angelina St)

$20 Reception Only
$25 Reception & Screening
$50 Reception, Screening & DVD of the film
$25 Help a Student Attend!

Purchase Tickets:
https://www.marathonkids.org/events/happiness-is/purchase


About the movie
Award winning filmmaker Andrew Shapter explores myths and truths of the "pursuit of Happiness" in America. The film provides an unequaled view into the hearts and minds of spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama, philanthropists, scholars, and everyday people, along with artists like John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. So please join us as we explore common ground and navigate the road to happiness! Enjoy a relaxing evening: pre-movie reception, film and provocative panel discussion. Help keep Marathon Kids free for 72,000+ area children!

After the screening, Shapter will moderate a panel with Kristin Armstrong, Author and Runner’s World Magazine columnist & Marathon Kids Mom, ABC News Political Analyst Matthew Dowd, Latinworks Media President Sergio Alcocer.


About Marathon Kids
The fundraiser and “friend raiser” evening benefits Austin area Marathon Kids’ six month, running/walking, nutrition and schoolyard gardening program for 72,000 area K-5th graders. Marathon Kids® is a 14 year old grassroots initiative that began in Austin in 1996. There is an 86% average completion rate of the free program. The target market is children most vulnerable to type 2 diabetes and sedentary lifestyles. The majority of Austin area Marathon Kids are low inome.

Sunshine

Join us for our next event on Wednesday, April 21st:

Sunshine
By Karen Skloss

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Film begins at 7:00 pm, panel to follow
Free to the public
Location: Studio 4D in the CMB Building, UT Campus, 2501 Whitis Ave.

About the film
In this compelling documentary, Austin filmmaker Karen Skloss explores the meaning of family through a personal journey to understand both the legacy of her birth and the non-traditional family she created by co-parenting with her ex-boyfriend. As an unwed teenager, Skloss's mother gave her up for adoption in 1975. Now Skloss reconnects with her biological mother as she contemplates her relationship with her own daughter, Jasmine.

Young, pregnant, single and unprepared, the daughter/director struggles with the incredible ironies of the family — that history somehow repeated itself, and that the most strenuous efforts to protect the idea of family can actually do the most to pull families apart.

Woven together from over 10 years of super 8 and video home movies, intimate family interviews, shimmering dance sequences and stylized reenactments, SUNSHINE offers a refreshingly rare glimpse on the current day transformations taking place within our most sacred of institutions, the family.

A panel following the film will discuss Sunshine with:

Karen Skloss – Director, Sunshine
Megan Gilbride – Producer, Sunshine
Anne Kay – Marywood Children and Family Services
Sarah Wheat – Planned Parenthood Texas Capitol Region
Moderated by Janet Staiger –William P. Hobby Centennial Professor of Communication, University of Texas

Playing with the short film “Conversations” by Marianela Vega.

Location:
Studio 4D – 4th floor of the CMB Building on the UT Campus,
corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton.

Join us for our next event on March 31st:

Quest for Honor
By Mary Ann Smothers Bruni

Playing with “Women Under Siege” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, posthumously honored University of Texas professor emeritus of Middle Eastern Studies and comparative literature.

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Film begins at 7:00 pm, panel to follow
Free to the public

About the film
The alarming rise in “honor killing,” the heinous act of men killing daughters, sisters, and wives who threaten “family honor,” endangers tens of thousands of women in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and adjoining countries.

Global communication through satellite television, Internet, and cell phones has raised the expectations of young Middle Eastern women, who now are not content to marry a much older relative their father might chooses and live a life of servitude. While young women respond to new ideas from cyber pals in Los Angeles or episodes of popular Western sit-coms, their fathers and brothers demand strict tribal justice for their acts. Particularly in rural areas women have been killed simply for having unfamiliar phone numbers on their cell phones or speaking to men who are not relatives.

Activist women, journalists, and lawmen of the Kurdistan Regional Government (the KRG) join forces to eradicate honor killing and redefine “honor.”

A panel following the film will discuss Quest for Honor with:

Mary Ann Smothers Bruni – director, Quest for Honor
Tarek Elariss – Asst. Prof of Middle Easter Studies, University of Texas
Hina Azam – Asst. Prof of Middle Easter Studies, University of Texas
Moderated by Khotan Harmon – host of the KOOP 91.7 radio show "Idea Lounge"

Location:
Studio 4D – 4th floor of the CMB Building on the UT Campus,
corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton.

The Eyes of Me, February 24th 2010

Join us for the next Screen Door Film event:

The Eyes of Me
By Keith Maitland

Playing with the short film FeMC by Chelsea Hernandez.

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Film begins at 7:00 pm, panel to follow

Location:
Studio 4D – 4th floor of the CMB Building on the UT Campus,
corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton.

About the film
4 blind teens.1 dynamic year. How do you see yourself when you can't see at all?

The Eyes of Me presents an extraordinary look at four blind teenagers. The
parallel stories of two freshmen and two seniors unfold over the course of one dynamic year at the Texas School for the Blind in Austin.

Distilled from over 250 hours of footage, this experiential documentary
captures a textured portrait of its character’s lives. Director Keith
Maitland worked closely with the film¹s subjects to produce sequences of
stylized rotoscopic animation to complement the film’s observational
aesthetic.

The stories of the film¹s central characters offer a fresh perspective on
growing up, fitting in, and preparing for the future. Forced to confront the
world without sight, they share their thoughts, their perceptions, their
inner-visions of the outer world. Ultimately, you cannot understand their
perceptions without challenging your own.

A panel following the film will discuss The Eyes of Me with:

Keith Maitland – director, The Eyes of Me
Patrick Floyd – producer, The Eyes of Me
Chasmon Dems – former Texas School for the Blind student
Meagan McComic - former Texas School for the Blind student
Moderated by Lisa McWilliams – executive director, The Mobile Film School

Location:
Studio 4D – 4th floor of the CMB Building on the UT Campus,
corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton.


Parking is available in the University’s San Antonio garage on
2420 San Antonio Street.

Along Came Kinky

The next Screen Door Film event is:

Along Came Kinky…Texas Jewboy for Governor
By David Hartstein

With special guest Evan Smith from The Texas Tribune, former editor of Texas Monthly.

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Film begins at 7:00 pm, panel to follow

About the film
“Texans deserve a choice, and that choice should be something other than paper or plastic.” With that, satirist, musician, author and Texas’ most famous Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman announced his Independent candidacy for governor. This documentary follows from beginning to end the election as seen by the candidates, media, campaign staff and volunteers.
Kinky’s was a campaign about political alienation, education, grass roots organizing and hope – plus a candidate who was both colorful and independent in every sense of the word. What made his campaign special was its focus on energizing an electorate that was turned off, cynical, and apathetic to mainstream politics.
Entertaining to the end, Kinky Friedman’s “non-concession” speech is one for the ages. Despite the outcome, the election (and film) reveals much about an Independent candidate taking on the two-party system.

A panel following the film will discuss Along Came Kinky with:

David Hartstein – director, Along Came Kinky
Laura Stromberg – Kinky Friedman campaign press secretary
Jason Stanford – Democratic political strategist, ’06 Chris Bell campaign manager
Moderated by Evan Smith – editor, The Texas Tribune, host of Texas Monthly Talks

Location:
Studio 4D – 4th floor of the CMB Building on the UT Campus,
corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton.


Parking is available in the University’s San Antonio garage on
2420 San Antonio Street.

Screen Door Film moves to the University of Texas!

Screen Door Film is pleased to announce a collaboration with The University of Texas Documentary Center to host our 2010 Texas Cinema Series.

Beginning on February 3rd, 2010, Screen Door Film events will take place on the UT campus in the state-of-the-art screening room, Studio 4D, located inside the CMB building at the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keaton (26th Street.) This is the same "black box" building that currently houses the Austin City Limits studio, as well as KLRU TV and KUT 90.5 FM.

Much like our successful film series held at St. Edward's in 2009, the 2010 program will feature a diverse feature film, followed by an analysis of the film through a panel discussion with filmmakers, scholars and other notable experts. As always, all screenings and panels are open and free to the public.

Our first film on Wednesday, February 3rd will be David Hartstein's documentary Along Came Kinky...Texas Jewboy for Governor. Along Came Kinky chronicles singing Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman’s 2006 independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas. See the outspoken Kinky and his army of grassroots volunteers combat voter apathy in the Lone Star State while his campaign staff strategizes for an unprecedented four-way race, raising awareness and money for their unlikely but incredibly sharp candidate.


And we're following that up on February 24th with Keith Maitland's documentary about the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, The Eyes of Me.

Screen Door Film would like to thank Sharon Strover, Nancy Schiesari and Ellen Spiro with the University of Texas for making this collaboration possible.