Cinema Heaven

Dallas International Film Festival returns with short but focused run

Elisabeth Moss, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Fisher Stevens and Griffin Dunne in The French Dispatch

The French Dispatch will open the 2021 Dallas International Film Festival, running October 8-10.

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

The Dallas International Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 2021 edition, an in-person event that will take place October 8-10 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Cedars in Dallas.

The three-day event is a truncated version of the festival, which typically lasts around eight days. The festival has also moved from its usual dates in early April to October.

Opening night will feature Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, a love letter to journalists featuring an all-star cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Léa Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Toheeb Jimoh, Willem Dafoe, Elisabeth Moss, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Benicio Del Toro, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and more.

Other notable films will include Puppy Love, directed by Michael Maxxis and starring Hopper Penn and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone; Belfast, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, and Judi Dench; The Humans, starring Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, and more; and Mike Mills' C'mon, C'mon, starring Joaquin Phoenix. The full program can be found at dallasfilm.org.

“This version of the festival will be a little different, but DIFF 2021 is still focused on sharing great stories, creating conversations, and building community through empathy that can only be delivered by the theatrical experience," says James Faust, DIFF artistic director, in a statement. "Although DIFF 2021 is shorter than in the past, the selected films make this one of DIFF’s strongest in history.”

Curation of this year’s program from more than 1,500 submissions was led by Faust and his team, who focused on films with Dallas ties and stories that lean into social justice and empowerment narratives. Many of the filmmakers are scheduled to attend.

Passes and tickets can be purchased online at dallasfilm.org. Individual screenings range from $10-$15.

The festival is following local and CDC public health recommendations and guidelines. Guests will be asked to wear a mask upon arrival at the venue and while watching movies unless enjoying food and beverages. Dallas Film staff and volunteers and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema employees will wear masks at all times.

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Listen up

Underground hi-fi 'listening bar' Shyboy opens in downtown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Shyboy

Shyboy lounge is new on Main Street in downtown Dallas.

A new lounge is turning up the volume beneath the streets of downtown Dallas: Shyboy, billed as Dallas' first "hi fi bar," will debut at 1313 Main St., in the subterranean level of The Drakestone building.

According to a release, opening weekend events will take place March 4-7.

The new nightlife concept comes from The Headington Companies, the folks behind the Joule hotel and other Main Street developments.

"Inspired by hi-fi listening bars around the world, with roots in Tokyo’s post-WWII 'jazz kissas,' Shyboy offers a social and listening experience unlike any other nightlife space, with progressive, genre-bending programming, signature hi-balls and cocktails, and two state-of-the-art OJAS sound systems, designed by Devon Turnbull," says the release. (Turnbull's speakers have been used in projects with Mark Ronson, Public Records in Brooklyn, and more.)

Jazz kissas are cafes that specialize in the playing of and listening to recorded jazz music; here, jazz is played for active listening rather than as background serenade.

Piggybacking on that idea, Shyboy will offer "an immersive environment where design, lighting, and atmosphere are treated as essential elements of the performance, inviting guests into a unique experience that blurs the line between listener and participant," they say.

The 3,000-square-foot underground space, once a bank vault in the historic Davis Building (renovated and rebranded as The Drakestone residential building in 2017), will house one of the most advanced sound systems in the city within its historic concrete "bones." Interiors were designed by acclaimed Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative.

The venue includes two distinct spaces. The main room functions as a social listening environment, where towering speakers double as sculptural focal points beneath curved underground ceilings.

A second chamber, called The Vault, is designed as a more intimate lounge for private events, sound classes, performances, and art exhibitions. The Vault’s entrance features an installation from artist Lachlan Turczan’s Optical Resonance series, which uses water and light to visibly respond to sound waves, the release says. The room also includes a newly commissioned reflective sculpture by Florentine artist Duccio Maria Gambi.

Shyboy’s inaugural month will include a lineup spanning house, deep grooves, soul, and global dance sounds. Opening weekend, March 4-7, will welcome talent like JT Donaldson (Shyboy music director), Dallas legend Red Eye, Sound Advice Vol. 1, Skeme Richards, Patrice Scott + Brandon Epocha, and Wamono Nights.

The calendar later in the year will feature appearances by celebrated DJs and producers such as Theo Parrish, Derrick Carter, Eli Escobar, Kai Alcé, and the Los Angeles-based listening collective In Sheep’s Clothing.

Shyboy’s cocktail menu starts at $13, and the bar will serve soft-serve ice cream.

Throughout March, there will be no cover charge for entry; for more information, visit the venue's website.

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