What movies and panels to see at the 2023 Austin Film Festival and how to attend

It feels fitting that the Austin Film Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary just weeks after the end of the Writers Guild of America strike that lasted throughout the summer.

Barabra Morgan co-founded the festival in 1993 as a way to highlight the work of the folks behind the scenes who craft the stories and characters audiences come to love. There will undoubtedly be a lot to unpack at the festival about the protracted negotiations, and with members of the Screen Actors Guild still striking and streaming operators fighting for content, the future remains unclear.

But the annual festival this year should feel as vital and celebratory as ever — a place for community to form around the art and craft of writing, and a deserved spotlight for the human beings who make it happen.

“We are thrilled to be able to be hosting so many WGA members here and are looking forward to sharing the sigh of relief and a margarita with them,” Morgan told the American-Statesman this week. “I’m sure the conversations will be fascinating.”

We reached out to Morgan to get her thoughts on the festival’s enduring success, the writers' strike and the brilliance of storytelling, and got a few recommendations for navigating the dozens of screenings and panels at the event that takes place Thursday through November 2. We’ve also listed a few movies and panels we think you should seek out.

Creating a writers-first festival and the draw of Austin

American-Statesman: Can you believe you made it this far? To what do you credit the festival's success?

Morgan: I’ve been thinking about both these questions a lot lately – I’m getting up there, so spending a lot of time analyzing such things. After the first festival, I absolutely did not want to do it again, but we did get a lot of folks after the event who encouraged us to continue. One of those folks was Barry Josephson, who was at the time president of Columbia Pictures. He is still actively involved and his company underwrites a writing fellowship at the festival for new writers.

It’s a bit harder to narrow down “what” was ultimately the key to the festival’s success. It’s more an olio, and the ingredients which seem to have bonded are writers. They are (in my opinion) the coolest people in the room. I still do not understand why it took so long for a film festival to focus on them. After all, film wouldn’t be much of an audience medium without the stories. It’s been an utter joy to spend 30 years talking to them.

Austin was a critical ingredient in our early years, as well. No one in Los Angeles really knew much about the town at that point, so there was a lot of interest in people coming here to check it out. The last critical ingredient was the incredible talent and creative culture which seeded this town. So many wonderful artists have worked at the festival over the years and their drive and ideas and commitment to what we do has been invaluable. And then the industry started to change and allowed us so many years ago to start highlighting television writing.

WGA strike and the future of film and television

Y'all have always been a writers festival and conference. It's what has always set you apart. What were your feelings as you watched so many of your friends and peers battle with the studios during the strike? 

I certainly fall in the camp that this was a strike that needed to happen.  The ways streaming has changed the industry is extraordinary, and, frankly, the media world was unprepared for the future. There is a disconnect in the world of technology regarding the importance of humans to creativity in general.  Seeing so many writers concerned about their future as creators was definitely disconcerting, and, sadly I have talked to many who have already decided it’s not worth keeping at it any longer. On a personal and more selfish level, I love a great storyteller and it seems pretty obvious that much will be lost if AI becomes the storyteller of the future.

Given the strikes and the streaming chaos, are you optimistic about the future of cinema?

In the 30 years of running the festival, I have heard the drum announcing the death of film many times. First, the age of digital cameras was ready to kill it off, but it did the opposite really. Next up was the emergence of streaming, and though that definitely hurt distribution options for independent filmmakers, it did not kill the drive for people to watch films and shows together. COVID definitely changed how people consume content, but it certainly did not end the want for a collective viewing experience. The market seems to adjust to these factors and it seems clear to me that people still enjoy the communal experience of gathering to watch films.  I think my bigger concern is how an emerging artist in this sphere gets attention.

Festivals are still a very strong way to garner some attention for new filmmakers, but there are few other opportunities anymore, as the competitors in the streaming wars are more interested in producing libraries than they are in finding new voices. The obsession with IP has also made it tough for original stories to emerge, but I feel lately that more original content is bubbling up. So, very hopeful about that. The films I have seen this year make me excited for the future of the medium as a whole.

Celebrating diverse voices

What is some programming that you think audiences will be most excited about?

We created a program this year which I am very excited about. It’s called AFF in Six Square, Austin’s historically Black cultural district; the program is free to the local community and offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with pioneering industry executives of color and learn from their experiences and expertise in sustaining a creative career in an industry that is notoriously difficult to navigate. (This is part of AFF's year-round programming.)

AFF film and panel recommendations from Barbara Morgan

Speaking for myself, I am so excited to have the showrunner and some of the writing team here from “The Bear.”  I’m starving during and after every episode. Also, watching that show is like riding a roller coaster. What a blast. “Warrior” is one of my favorite films, and we have the writer/director Gavin O’Connor here to do a script-to-screen dissection of that film – one of the best sports films out there, I think.

Our movie crop is crazy great. The marquee films, which should all be on track for award nominations are very exciting this year, “American Fiction," “All of Us Strangers,” “The Holdovers,” “The Bikeriders” … all great.  We are excited Jeff Nichols ("Mud," "Midnight Special," "Take Shelter") will be here with “The Bikeriders” on November 1 at the Paramount.  Paul Reiser and Lena Headey are each here with world premieres which they wrote and in Lena’s case, directed, “The Problem with People” and “The Trap.”

Let's play matchmaker or Apple Genius ... If someone likes the following, what film would you advise they check out? So, for fans of ...

Martin Scorsese films … “Day of the Fight”

Horror or genre fans … “Last Straw”

True crime lovers … “The Hidden Web”

Dialogue obsessives … “Grapefruit”

Documentary buffs … “This is Not Financial Advice”

Nora Ephron … “Midnight at the Paradise”

Rising talent

Who do you think might be a breakout star or filmmaker with a movie at the fest?

If I could predict, I’d move to Reno, but … one of my favorite films is an Irish production called “The Highest Brasil.” This filmmaker, Jeremy Curl’s writing reminds me a lot of the Coen brothers. “All the Wrong Ingredients” filmmaker Nicholas Livanos is a real talent and another film which inspires real hunger as the main character is a dessert chef.  A local filmmaker and Westlake High School alum, who I think should be garnering a lot of recognition for both storytelling chops and a sharp sense of humor, is Sarah Kambe Holland with her film “Egghead & Twinkie.”

AFF recommendations from the American-Statesman

Retrospectives. These screenings are always good for some nostalgia and provide good insight into the people who choose the screenings. This year includes Oscar-winner Kevin Willmott (“BlacKkKlansman”) screening 1971 blaxploitation hit “Shaft;” AFF regular (Morgan calls him the festival’s “mascot”) Shane Black screening “Iron Man 3,” which he wrote and directed; and Austin-tied Noah Hawley’s Halloween screening of “Aliens,”; Hawley is working on a prequel television series based on the story.

A Conversation with Nic Pizzolatto. Whether you’re keen on building a career as a writer or are a “True Detective” stan (or both), you’re going to want to hear what the brilliant Nic Pizzolatto has to say about writing. Few people build tension and create fascinating characters as well as the author and screenwriter who brought his book “Galveston” to the big screen. (Full disclosure: I am moderating the conversation.) 1 p.m. Thursday at Stephen F. Austin ballroom.

A conversation with Damon Lindelof. The creator of “Lost” is the kind of artist for which the festival’s Outstanding Television writer was created. This year’s awardee has created wholly original worlds, having brought the critically lauded  “The Leftovers” and “Watchmen” to HBO. 2:45 p.m. Thursday at Stephen F. Austin ballroom.

“Saltburn." The latest from writer and director Emerald Fennell, who won an Academy Award in 2020 for best original screenplay (“Promising Young Woman”) is the fest’s opening night film. You should go into this film spoiler-free, so we won’t say too much. Know that it’s a sexy psychological thriller with twists you won’t see coming. Everyone in the cast – Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe – is up for the challenge of Fennell’s commentary on class and relationships. You’ve never seen supporting actress Carey Mulligan, Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” star, in a role like this. 7 p.m. Thursday at the Paramount Theatre, and Fennell will be there for a Q&A afterward.

"The Bikerider." We're in on anything that has Jeff Nichols name on it (if you haven't seen "Mud," "Take Shelter": et al, do so). So, period biker crime film with his muse Michael Shannon? In. 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Paramount Theatre.

Films with Texas ties: “I’ll be There,” written and directed by University of Texas professors, Cindy McCreery (writer)and Andrew Shea (director), the tender family drama about a family reckoning with its traumatic past is the throwback type of original storytelling that AFF was created to showcase. The film’s launch was aided by AFF, which hosted a staged reading of the screenplay in 2018 (7:30 p.m. Thursday at the State Theatre and 9:15 p.m. November 1 at the Galaxy Theater)

Other films and shows with Texas ties include “Home Free,” “ImPossible,” “Stars at Night,” “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” “Egghead & Twinkie,” “Summer of Violence,” “Don’t Tell Larry” and “Grapefruit.”

How to attend Austin Film Festival

Film passes start at $80 and get you into all eight days of screenings ahead of single ticket-holders.

There are various conference badge options, which get you into the screenings and the conference sessions. Those start at $375 for a weekend-only badge.

For any credential, entrance is based on capacity. Most screenings include a Q&A with members of the production afterward.

A limited number of single tickets, such as for opening film "Saltburn," are available for $20.

See the full schedule and buy passes: austinfilmfestival.com

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 2023 Austin Film Festival: What movies and panels to see this week