Normally I approach the notion of Dallas and film culture with pretty lowered expectations. We may be the second largest city in Texas, but when it comes to art we’re pretty close to dead last. Austin is usually where it’s at. This year though, it looks like Dallas is going to attempt to make its mark on the film world. The lineup for this year’s AFI Film Festival has just been announced, and while it still can’t compete with SXSW it’s by far the best lineup for any Dallas film festival I’ve seen in the seven years I’ve lived here.

Beginning on March 27 and ending on April 9, the eleve-day festival will feature 210 movies and shorts in over 290 screenings all around the city of Dallas. Winners of the Target Ten Narrative and Documentary Competitions will be awarded a cool $25,000 in cash. And for Dallas, this year’s AFI is rather star-studded. Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron, and even Mickey Rooney will at some point, probably be in town. In fact Hunt’s directorial debut, a movie called Then She Found Me will be AFI’s opening night presentation.

Other high-profile movies being screened include Battle in Seattle, Snow Angels, and What Just Happened. Making their world premieres at AFI Dallas will be the movies Bowling for Soup – Live and Very Attractive, Fat Man Walking, Fissure, Frag, The Last Lullaby, Split: A Divided America, Stop the Presses: the American Newspaper in Peril, and Tracing Cowboys. Making their U.S. premiere are the films Battle for Haditha, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, Iron Ladies of Liberia, and Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake.

Below is the full list of movies being screened at this year’s AFI Dallas:

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TARGET TEN NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

BAD HABITS (MALOS HÁBITOS) – DIR: Simón Bross (Mexico)
Starring: Ximena Ayala, Elena de Haro, Marco Antonio Treviño

THE BEST OF ME (LO MEJOR DE MI’) – DIR: Roser Aguilar (Spain)
Starring: Marián Álvarez, Juan Sanz, Lluís Homar

CAPTAIN ABU RAED – DIR: Amin Matalqa (Jordan)
Starring: Nadim Sawalha, Hussine Al-Souse, Udey Al-Qadise

DISFIGURED – DIR: Glenn Gers (USA)
Starring: Deidra Edwards, Staci Lawrence, Ryan C. Benson

THE GUITAR – DIR: Amy Redford (USA)
Starring: Janeane Garofalo, Saffron Burrows, Isaach De Bankole, Paz de la Huerta, Ashlie Atkinson

THE CLASS (KLASS) – DIR: Ilmar Raag (Estonia)
Starring: Vallo Kirs, Pärt Uusberg, Lauri Pedaja

THE LAST LULLABY – DIR: Jeffrey Goodman (USA)
Starring: Tom Sizemore, Sasha Alexander

THE LITTLE TRAITOR – DIR: Lynn Roth (Israel)
Starring: Alfred Molina, Ido Port, Theodore Bikel

MERMAID – DIR: Anna Melikyan (Russia)
Starring: Mariya Shalayeva, Yevgeni Tsyganov, Mariya Sokova

TRACING COWBOYS – DIR: Jason Wulfsohn (USA)
Starring: Eileen Dietz, Megan Edwads, Sacha Grunpeter

TARGET TEN DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

CIRCUS ROSAIRE – DIR: Robyn Bliley (USA)

CRAWFORD – DIR: David Modigliani (USA)

DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A NATION’S JOURNEY – DIR: Sabiha Sumar & Sachithanandam Sathananthan (Pakistan)

I.O.U.S.A. – DIR: Patrick Creadon (USA)

INTIMIDAD – DIR: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin (Mexico)

IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA – DIR: Daniel Junge (USA)

MORE SHOES – DIR: Lee Kazimir (USA)

SPLIT: A DIVIDED AMERICA – DIR: Kelly Nykes (USA)

STOP THE PRESSES: THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN PERIL – DIR: Manny Mendoza & Mark Birnbaum (USA)

STRANDED: I COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE MOUNTAINS – DIR: Gonzalo Arijon (France)

DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASE

THE BLACK LIST – DIR: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (USA)
Featuring: Chris Rock, Lou Gossett Jr., Vernon Jordan, Thelma Golden

DEREK – DIR: Isaac Julien (UK)
Narrated by Tilda Swinton

FRAG – DIR: Mike Pasley (USA)

HECKLER – DIR: Michael Addis (USA)
Featuring: Jamie Kennedy, Patton Oswalt, Rob Zombie

THE LINGUIST – DIR: Seth Kramer, Daniel Miller, Jeremy Newberger (USA)

PAGEANT – DIR: Ron Davis & Stewart Halpern (USA)

RESOLVED – DIR: Greg Whiteley (USA)

DEEP ELLUM SOUNDS

BOWLING FOR SOUP: LIVE AND VERY ATTRACTIVE – DIR: King Hollis (USA)
Featuring: Bowling for Soup

DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS: 80 YEARS YOUNG – DIR: Jeff Scheftel (USA)
Featuring: The Dixie Hummingbirds

FROM THE MOUTHPIECE ON BACK – DIR: Jason DaSilva, Colleen O'Halloran (USA)

GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS – DIR: Scott Hicks (Australia)
Featuring: Philip Glass

JOY DIVISION – DIR: Grant Gee (UK/USA)
Featuring: Joy Division

LOU REED’S BERLIN – DIR: Julian Schnabel (USA)

NERDCORE RISING – DIR: Negin Farsad (USA)

PUBLIC ENEMY’S WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME – DIR: Robert Patton-Spruill (USA)
Featuring: Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Beastie Boys, Tom Morello, Henry Rawlins, Talib Kweli, Jonathan Davis (Korn)

SLINGSHOT HIP HOP – DIR: Jackie Reem Salloum (USA)

SONIC YOUTH: SLEEPING NIGHTS AWAKE – DIR: Michael Albright (USA)
Featuring: Sonic Youth

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

AKEELAH AND THE BEE (2006) – DIR: Doug Atchison

AUNTIE MAME (1958) – DIR: Morton DaCosta

BOYS TOWN (1938) – DIR: Norman Taurog

CERTIFIABLY JONATHAN – DIR: Jim Pasternak (USA)
Starring: Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, Howie Mandel, Sarah Silverman, Nora Dunn, Tim Conway, Jefferey Tambor, Jimmy Kimmel, Rob Reiner, David Arquette

FAT MAN WALKING – DIR: PJ Bagley (Documentary)

ICE AGE (2002) – DIR: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha

MISSIONARY MAN – DIR: Dolph Lundgren (USA)
Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Kateri Walker, Chelsea Ricketts

THE SEARCHERS (1956) – DIR: John Ford

SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) – DIR: Billy Wilder

DALLAS PREMIERE SERIES

ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT – DIR: Brett Simon (USA)
Starring: Mischa Barton, Zachary Booth, Gabrielle Brennan

AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR – DIR: Steve James & Peter Gilbert (USA)
(Documentary)

BAGHEAD – DIR: Mark Duplass & Jay Duplass (USA)
Starring: Ross Partridge, Steve Zissis, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller

BEFORE THE RAINS – DIR: Santosh Sivan (USA)
Starring: Leopold Benedict, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle, Linus Roache

BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER* – DIR: Christopher Bell (USA)
(Documentary)

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ (ENDLESS) – DIR: Cristian Nemescu (Romania)
Starring: Armand Assante, Jamie Elman, Maria Dinulescu

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM – DIR: Rob Minkoff (USA)
Starring: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL – DIR: Nicholas Stoller (USA)
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader

GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON – DIR: Alex Gibney (USA) (Documentary)

THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES – DIR: Vadim Perelman (USA)
Starring: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, and Eva Amurri

MONGOL – DIR: Sergei Bodrov (Germany/Kazakhstan/Russia)
Starring: Aliya, Tegen Ao, Tadanobu Asano

NOISE – DIR: Henry Bean (USA)
Starring: Tim Robbins, William Hurt, William Baldwin, Bridgette Moynahan, Gabrielle Brennan

PRICELESS – DIR: Pierre Salvadori (France)
Starring: Audrey Tatou, Gad Elmaleh

SAVAGE GRACE – DIR: Tom Kalin (USA)
Starring: Julianne Moore, Hugh Dancy, Stephen Dillane, Elena Anaya

THE VISITOR – DIR: Tom McCarthy (USA)
Starring: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Jekesai Gurira

WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? – DIR: Anand Tucker
Starring: Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent (UK/Ireland)

TEXAS COMPETITION sponsored by MPS Studios

CIAO – DIR: Yen Tan (USA)
Starring: Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Ethel Lung

COOK COUNTY – DIR: David Pomes
Starring: Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole

FISSURE – DIR: Russ Pond
Starring: James MacDonald, Scarlett McAlister, Jim Blumetti

GOLIATH – DIR: David Zellner & Nathan Zellner
Starring: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Caroline O'Connor

NORTH STARR – DIR: Matthew Stanton
Starring: Jerome Hawkins, Matthew Stanton, Chris Sullivan

SIX MAN, TEXAS – DIR: Alan Barber
(Documentary)

TULIA, TX – DIR: Kelly Whalen & Cassandra Herman
(Documentary)

ENVIRONMENTAL VISIONS COMPETITION sponsored by Current Energy

BURNING THE FUTURE: COAL IN AMERICA – DIR: David Novack

FIELDS OF FUEL – DIR: Josh Tickell

FLOW: FOR THE LOVE OF WATER – DIR: Irena Salina

UP THE YANGTZE – DIR: Yung Chang

WORLD CINEMA

AFTER THE NIGHT… DAWN (NISHIJAPON) – DIR: Sandip Ray (India)
Starring: Rituparna Sengupta

AMAL – DIR: Richie Mehta (Canada)
Starring: Rupinder Nagra, Naseeruddin Shah, Seema Biswas, Koel Purie

BATTLE FOR HADITHA – DIR: Nick Broomfield (UK)
Starring: Elliot Ruiz, Yasmine Hanani, Andrew McLaren

BLIND – DIR: Tamar van den Dop (The Netherlands/Belgium/Bulgaria)
Starring: Joren Seldeslachts, Halina Reijn, Katelijne Verbeke

BLOOD BROTHERS (TIAN TANG KOU) – DIR: Alexi Tan (Taiwan/Hong Kong)
Starring: Daniel Wu, Ye Liu, Qi Shu

FARO, GODDESS OF WATER (FARO – LA REINE DES EAUX) – DIR: Salif Traore (France/Canada/Mali)
Starring: Sotigui Kouyaté, Balla Habib Dembélé, Maimouna Hélène Diarra

FUGITIVE PIECES – DIR: Jeremy Podeswa (Canada)
Starring: Rachelle Lefevre, Larissa Laskin, Devon Bostick, Rosamund Pike

THE HOME SONG STORIES – DIR: Tony Ayres (Australia)
Starring: Joan Chen, Yuwu Qi, Joel Lok

JC CHAVEZ – DIR: Diego Luna (Mexico)
(Documentary) Featuring: Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Don King, Diego Luna, Mike Tyson

THE MONSTER AMONG US – Cynthia Mondell & Alan Mondell (USA)
(Documentary)

MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD – DIR: Daniele Luchetti (Italy)
Starring: Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Angela Finocchiaro

NOT BY CHANCE – DIR: Philippe Barcinski (Brazil)
Starring: Rodrigo Santoro, Leonardo Medeiros, Letícia Sabatella

THE REST IS SILENCE (RESTUL E TACERE) – DIR: Nae Caranfil (Romania)
Starring: Marius Florea Vizante

SILENT RESIDENT (WEISSE LILIEN) – DIR: Christian Frosch (Austra/Germany/Luxembourg/Hungary)
Starring: Brigitte Hobmeier, Johanna Wokalek, Martin Wuttke

SUMMERHOOD – DIR: Jacob Medjuck (Canada)
Starring: John Cusack, Christopher McDonald, Raquel Alessi, Lucian Maisel

TRIANGLE – DIR: Ringo Lam, Johnny To, Hark Tsui (Germany/Hong Kong)
Starring: Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin

AFI FEST/SILVERDOCS SHOWCASE

AFGHAN MUSCLES – DIR: Andreas Dalsgaard (Denmark)
(Documentary)

MUNYRANGABO – DIR: Lee Isaac Chung (Rwanda/USA)
Starring: Jeff Rutagengwa, Eric Ndorunkundiye, Jean Pierre Harerimana

OPERATION FILMMAKER – DIR: Nina Davenport (USA)
(Documentary) Featuring: Liev Schreiber, Dwayne Johnson

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME – DIR: Weijun Chen (China)
(Documentary)

SPINE TINGLER: THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY – DIR: Jeffrey Schwarz (USA)
(Documentary) Featuring: John Waters, John Landis

MAVERICKS

CHRYSALIS – DIR: Julien Leclercq (France)
Starring: Albert Dupontel, Marie Guillard, Patrick Bauchau

FLASHPOINT (DAO HUO XIAN) – DIR: Wilson Yip (Hong Kong/China)
Starring: Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou

STUCK – DIR: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea

TIME CRIMES (LOS CRONOCRIMENES) – DIR: Nacho Vigalondo (Spain)
Starring: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández

THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS – DIR: Bruce McDonald (Canada)
Starring: Ellen Page, Ryan Cooley

VEXILLE – DIR: Fumihiko Sori (Japan)
(Animated)

FAMILY FRIENDLY

DIAMOND DOG CAPER – DIR: Mark Stouffer (USA)
Starring: French Stewart, Luke Benward, Kevin Farley, John Farley

JUMP! – DIR: Helen Hood Scheer (USA)
(Documentary)

NIM’S ISLAND – DIR: Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin (USA)
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler

SON OF RAMBOW – DIR: Garth Jennings (UK/France)
Starring: Zofia Brooks, Neil Dudgeon, Tallulah Evans

FAMILY FRIENDLY SHORTS BLOCK, including:

ASTON’S STONES (ASTONS STENAR) – DIR: Lotta Geffenblad & Uzi Geffenblad (Sweden)
(Animated)

OBARA & THE MERCHANTS – DIR: Manauvaskar Kublall (USA)
Narrated by: Alonzo Boden

RACCOON AND CRAWFISH – DIR: Calvert J. Waller III, Heather Carpini, Karabo Legwaila, Mark Edwards, Peter Hale, Shaun Foster (USA)
(Animated)

PAUL’S GRANDPA (PAUL’S OPA) – DIR: Ove Sander (Germany)
Starring: Julius Hillebrand, Rolf Nagel, Claudia Schmutzler

A SUNNY DAY – DIR: Gil Alkabetz (Germany)
(Animated)

ANIMATION COMPETITION

A-Z – DIR: Sally Arthur (UK)

BARE – DIR: Andy Lyon (USA)

GLITCH – DIR: Peter Ricq (Canada)

JEU – DIR: Georges Schwizgebel (Canada)

KEY LIME PIE – DIR: Trevor Jimenez (Canada)

KID SHOW – DIR: Tom DesLongchamp (USA)

LIL’ ITALY – DIR: Justin Harder (USA) **not in competition

MADAM TUTLI-PUTLI – DIR: Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)

MY BIODEGRADABLE HEART – DIR: Dana Adam Shapiro (USA)

NAKED BRANCHES – DIR: Will Kim (USA)

SHUT EYE HOTEL – DIR: Bill Plympton (USA)

SIMULCRA – DIR: Tatchapon Lertwirojkul (USA)

VOODOO BAYOU – DIR: Javier Gutierrez (Mexico)

COMMUNITY SHOWCASE

DEBAKEY – DIR: Ken Mandel (USA)

FOOD FIGHT! – DIR: Chris Taylor (USA)

KARMA POLICE – DIR: John Venable (USA)

THE LIFE AND TRAGIC DEATH OF JAMES BYRD – DIR: Ricky Jason (USA)

LIFTED – DIR: Randall Dottin (USA)

MIDNIGHT SPECIALS

BLOOD ON THE HIGHWAY – DIR: Barak Epstein & Blair Rowan (USA)
Starring: Tom Towles, Nicholas Brendon

BIG MAN JAPAN – DIR: Hitoshi Matsumoto (Japan)
Starring: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Riki Takeuchi, Ua

MIDNIGHT SHORTS BLOCK, including (and in competition):

DACH – DIR: Robert Glassford & Timo Langer (UK)

FAR OUT – DIR: Phil Mucci (USA)

FILTHY FOOD – DIR: T. Arthur Cottam (USA)

HIRSUTE – DIR: A.J. Bond (Canada)

THE OBJECT – DIR: Leslie Ali (UK)

ONE DAY ACROSS THE VALLEY – DIR: Andrea Giacomini (USA)

RABBIT TROUBLES – DIR: Dimitar Mitovski & Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria)

THE RAMBLER – DIR: Calvin Reeder (USA)

SHARP TEETH – VII – DIR: Limbert Fabian (USA)

VICTORY PLAZA SCREENINGS (ADDITIONAL)

THE GOONIES (1985) – DIR: Richard Donner

GREASE (1978) – DIR: Randal Kleiser

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988) – DIR: Robert Zemeckis

THE WIZ (1978) – DIR: Sidney Lumet

STUDENT COMPETITION

CAPTURE CLAUS – DIR: Chris McInroy (USA)

A DAY’S WORK – DIR: Rajeev Dassani (USA)

DOXOLOGY – DIR: Michael Langan (USA)

THE EXECUTION OF SOLOMON HARRIS – DIR: Wyatt Garfield & Ed Yonaitis (USA)

FINAL JOURNEY – DIR: Lars Zimmermann (USA)

FREE AT LAST – DIR: Wyndll Robertson (USA)

HIGH MAINTENANCE – DIR: Phillip Van (USA/Germany)

KATIE’S JOURNEY – DIR: Samuel Jørgensen (USA)

THE VULNERABLE ONES (LES VULNERABLES) – DIR: Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt (Congo/USA)

THE LINE – DIR: Kent Bassett (USA)

THE LUTHERAN – DIR: Brad Bosley (USA)

NEST OF SPIDERS – DIR: Jesse Pilkes (USA)

SONG OF DAVID – DIR: Oded Turgeman (USA)

WHAT DO WE WANT, WHEN DO WE WANT IT – DIR: Alex Jablonski (USA)

SHORTS COMPETITION

THE BABYSITTER – DIR: David H. Steinberg
Starring: Molly Hagan, Brie Larson, Josh Cooke

BITTER SWEET (Горько ) – DIR: Yurat Safarov (Russia)

BLOOM – DIR: Lance Larson (USA)

BONGO BONG – DIR: Ken Wardrop (Ireland)

A CATALOG OF ANTICIPATIONS – DIR: David Lowery (USA)

COLLECTIBLES – DIR: Miranda Yousef (USA)

CURSING HANLEY – DIR: Kelly Harms (Canada)

DIVA – DIR: Josephine Mackerras (France)

FANTASIE IN BUBBLEWRAP – DIR: Arthur Metcalf (USA)

FAREWELL PACKETS OF TEN – DIR: Ken Wardrop (Ireland)

FOUND – DIR: Bill Sebastian (USA)

FRINGE – DIR: Tate Lown (USA)

THE FROZEN CITY – DIR: Alex Perez (USA)

GALLERIA – DIR: Vivieno Caldinelli (Canada)

HEARTBEATS (HARTSLAGEN) – DIR: Vincent Coen (Belgium)

INTERVENTION – DIR: Casey Gooden (USA)

KIDS + MONEY – DIR: Laura Greenfield (USA)

THE KNIFE GRINDERS TALE – DIR: R.L. Hooker (USA)

L.H.O. – DIR: Jan Zabeil & Kristof Kannegießer (Germany)

LOVE STORY – DIR: Amit (UK)

LUCK OF THE DRAW – DIR: S.J. Main (USA)
Starring: James Duvall

MOVEMENT – DIR: Alex O’Flinn (USA)

MY CARNIVAL – DIR: Michele Nocchi (Italy)

ON THE ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT – DIR: Adam Keker (USA)

PARTS – DIR: Scott Hanson (USA)

ROCK POCKETS – DIR: Trevor Anderson (Canada)

SAFARI – DIR: Catherine Chalmers (USA)

THE SCHOOLYARD – DIR: Chloé Leriche (Canada)

THE SECOND LINE – DIR: John Magary (USA)

SOFT – DIR: Simon Ellis (UK)

SONG OF SLOMON – DIR: Emmanuel Shirinian (Canada)

SPIDER – DIR: Nash Edgerton (Australia)

STOLEN YOUTH – DIR: Leon Chambers (UK)

SUNLIT SHADOWS – DIR: Benjamin M. Piety (USA)

TOKYO JIM – DIR: Jamie Rafn (UK)

TONY ZOREIL – DIR: Valentin Potier (France)

WAVES – DIR: Adrian Sitaru (Romania)

X – DIR: Josh Brolin (USA)
Starring: Eden Brolin

LOCAL STUDENT SHORTS

NORTH TEXAS COLLEGE SHOWCASE

LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS’ BLOCK

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON BLOCK, including:

BENNY THE COCKROACH – DIR: Edgar Benevetes

BLANK TAPE – DIR: Peter Green

BREAD OF LIFE – DIR: Balkin Tanihu

BUSY BEES AT THE BEACH – DIR: Marcie Maute

CONSECUTIVE DREAMS – DIR: Kayla Escobedo

THE LAST FAREWELL – DIR: Chaz Wallace

L’ELEPHANT ROSE – DIR: Ryan Bock

LONGTIME WANTING – DIR: Daniel J. Gross

MIDNIGHT FIGHT – DIR: Marc Edwards

MORNING RITUAL – DIR: Annie Such

PARANOIA – DIR: Alex Halbert

WAKE UP – DIR: Dean Harbour