Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As April gives way to May, there are quite a few eclectic events on tap. Among them are a farewell to a legend; the return of an iconic humorist; three big events celebrating great art, music, and movies; and a living legend performing perhaps his best work.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, April 28

Purple Rain Tribute Screenings
The death of Prince on April 21 left a hole in many of his fans' lives, one that can only be filled honor the amazing artist he was. All Studio Movie Grill locations in Dallas-Fort Worth will help in the grieving process by showing Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain, a film that spawned monster hits like "Let's Go Crazy" and the title song, on Thursday. In addition, both Alamo Drafthouse locations will screen the film on Saturday night.

Theatre Three presents Memphis
The latest from Theatre Three is its production of the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical Memphis. It’s the 1950s and an up-and-coming DJ at a white radio station starts to play records coming out of the black underground music scene in Memphis, Tennessee. The joyously raucous musical is about breaking down barriers and singing the song of your soul. It will run through May 22.

Arts & Letters Live: David Sedaris
It's never a bad time to welcome back the renowned humorist David Sedaris, who slays whether you're reading his many books, listening to him on NPR, or seeing him live. For this Arts & Letters Live event, he appears at Dallas City Performance Hall for three straight nights (starting on April 27), reading new and unpublished material.

Diana Sheehan Sings: The Jerome Kern Songbook
Singer Diana Sheehan is a local treasure who usually only gets to showcase her voice in small venues around the area. That will change on Thursday when she takes the stage at Winspear Opera House to sing songs by Jerome Kern, who helped write classics like "All the Things You Are," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "A Fine Romance," and "The Way You Look Tonight."

Friday, April 29

2016 Denton Arts & Jazz Festival
The annual Denton Arts & Jazz Festival is a three-day event celebrating the arts, with more than 3,000 professional and amateur performers on seven stages showcasing the best in jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and full orchestra music. Taking place at Quakertown Park, it also features a wide variety of dance, choral, storytelling, and theater performances, as well as visual artists.

2016 Texas Frightmare Weekend
If you're a horror movie fan, there's no better event to attend than Texas Frightmare Weekend, the Southwest’s premier horror convention. Featuring celebrity appearances, autograph signings, screenings, exclusive parties, and horror memorabilia vendors, this year's event, primarily taking place at Hyatt Regency DFW Airport, will include Robert Englund, George A. Romero, Rose McGowan, Peter Criss, James Remar, John Carroll Lynch, Lance Henriksen, and many others. The event will go through Sunday.

Saturday, April 30

Edgefest 2016
Toyota Stadium in Frisco seems to be the new go-to place for music festivals, as it hosted the Off the Rails Country Music Fest last weekend and now Edgefest on Saturday. This year's Edgefest will feature performances from Cage The Elephant, The 1975, Bastille, Silversun Pickups, Chrvches, Foals, The Struts, The Joy Formidable, Good Charlotte, Blue October, XAmbassadors, JR JR, Nothing But Thieves, and The Strumbellas.

Taco Libre Dallas 2016
The second annual Taco Libre will include an expanded event site at Main Street Garden and food from 21 taquerias around the state, but this event is about much more than just tacos. The music lineup will feature Mariachi El Bronx, Grupo Fantasma, Larry G(ee), and Mayta. And all of that will be competing with the unique sight of a ring full of lucha libre wrestlers.

Sunday, May 1

Brian Wilson in concert
Just as we lament the loss of one music legend gone too soon, you can also celebrate the seminal work of another musician who's still with us. Brian Wilson will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' iconic 1966 album, Pet Sounds, by playing it in its entirety for the very last time. He'll be joined by special guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Taco Libre Dallas will take over Main Street Garden on April 30.

Photo courtesy of Taco Libre Dallas

Taco Libre Dallas will take over Main Street Garden on April 30.

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Movie Review

Iranian film It Was Just an Accident is a thriller with deep meaning

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, Majid Panahi, and Hadis Pakbaten in It Was Just an Accident.

American filmmakers, for the most part, enjoy luxury and freedoms when making movies in the United States that filmmakers in other countries could only dream of. Not only does Iranian writer/director Jafar Panahi not have millions of dollars with which to make his films, he also has to deal with a government that has previously arrested him for being critical of their policies.

And yet he persists, returning to the screen with the taut It Was Just An Accident. The film begins with a kind of misdirect, showing Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) and his family driving home at night, during which they strike and kill a dog. That accident sends Eghbal into the orbit of Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), who works at a business that helps repair Eghbal’s car.

Recognizing the distinctive sound of Eghbal’s prosthetic leg, Vahid believes him to be the same man who kidnapped and tortured him and others in a recent government arrest spree. Desperate to confirm his suspicions, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and takes him to a series of people who were also imprisoned under the man they named “Peg Leg,” including Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a wedding photographer; Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten), the bride being photographed; and more.

Most filmmakers have the ability to use sets and take as much time as they need - within reason - to get the shot they need. Panahi employs a type of guerrilla filmmaking rarely seen these days, stealing shots in broad daylight while trying not to gain the notice of Iranian authorities. The daring nature of the making of the movie infuses the story with an extra tension that elevates what is otherwise a relatively simple story.

The film puts the audience directly in the shoes of the various characters as each of them wrestles with the complicated feelings arising from their actions. As they were all blindfolded while imprisoned, they can’t be 100 percent sure they have the right man, and debates/arguments between the characters keep viewers guessing as to who he is and what they will do with him. Even if he is who they think he is, will enacting some kind of revenge on him soothe their consciences?

Through it all, the idea that a former political prisoner is making a film about former political prisoners who are engaging in conduct that could get them arrested again - just as Panahi is doing with his film - makes this meta filmmaking on another level. The simplicity of the story belies the complexity underscoring the entire film, and it delivers one of the most impactful endings of any recent movie.

While a few of the actors have acted before, including in previous Panahi films, most of them are making their first appearance in a movie. Despite this lack of experience, each of them does well, especially Mobasseri and Afshari, who share a number of heated scenes that bring out the best in both of them.

It Was Just an Accident is the type of film that constantly keeps the audience on their collective toes, never knowing where it will head next. And that’s even if you didn’t know the details of how and why it was made; once that is discovered, it becomes something much deeper and more important than most other movies that will be released in 2025.

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It Was Just an Accident is now playing in select theaters.

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