With about three weeks to go until opening night, the 2013 Dallas International Festival has finally announced its full slate of films. It's sure to please both cinephiles and casual movie fans.
The most high-profile film of the festival will be 42, the biopic of baseball great Jackie Robinson. Starring Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey and dead-ringer Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, the film will screen at Cinemark West Plano on April 11, three days before it opens across the country.
Eleven feature films will have their world premieres over the course of the festival, including Java Heat, a thriller set in Indonesia starring Kellan Lutz and Mickey Rourke, which will first screen on opening night at Look Cinemas. Three other premieres — Cry, Rushlights and Tomlinson Hill — will face off in the Texas Competition, a series that highlights some the best filmmakers from the Lone Star State.
Documentaries will not get short shrift at the festival, as they are being highlighted in and out of competition. In fact, some of the ones that sound the most interesting won't even be eligible for the Grand Jury Prize.
Good Ol' Freda, which premiered at SXSW, is about Freda Kelly, a secretary who had an inside look into the rise and fall of The Beatles. Venus & Serena also takes us behind the scenes with some other famous people, namely sisters Venus and Serena Williams, who have combined to dominate women's professional tennis since 2000.
DIFF is putting a special spotlight on Italian films this time around, including a 50th anniversary screening of Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2 on opening night. Other featured films include the Oscar-winning Life is Beautiful and Me and You, the new film from renowned director Bernardo Bertolucci.
DIFF will also celebrate milestone anniversaries for two other films. The horror touchstone The Exorcist turns 40 this year; it will screen on the penultimate day of the festival at Texas Theatre. Children of the '90s likely fondly remember The Sandlot, which marks its 20th anniversary in 2013. It'll have a special outdoor screening at Klyde Warren Park on April 6.
See the full list of films on the DIFF site. Festival passes are now on sale, and individual tickets can be purchased starting March 14.
42 will screen as part of the Dallas International Film Festival three days before it opens wide across the country.
Cowboys fans were out in full force.Photo by Ashley Gongora
Tailgating is all about the food.Photo by Ashley Gongora
An array of beverages ensured guests had fun all night.Photo by Ashley Gongora
Buffalo shrimp and blue cheese grits from McRae's American Bistro & Cocktails won the best dish of the night.Photo by Ashley Gongora
The silent auction inspired competitive bidding.Photo by Ashley Gongora