Festival News

Texas film festival in Garland will spotlight Western-ish classics

The Last Picture Show

Courtesy photo

A film festival dedicated entirely to Texas films is coming this fall: Called "It Came From Texas Film Festival," it'll go down in Garland at the Plaza Theatre, 521 W. State St., celebrating films made either wholly or in part within the Lone Star State.

The fest will run for a weekend, kicking off on Friday, September 13 and continuing through Sunday, September 15. This will be the second edition, and is sponsored by the City of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts.

Festival director Kelly Kitchens says in a statement that the 2024 version will focus on films that lean into the Western genre.

"There’s no better place than Texas to pay homage to one of the foundational genres of cinema, the Western and all the variations of the Western outside Cowboys and Indians," Kitchens says.

They're featuring three Oscar-winning Texas films that she dubs "Western-adjacent": Tender Mercies (1983), The Last Picture Show (1971), and Giant (1956).

Other cornerstones of the festival will include:

Garland High School IB Short Films: Short films made in Texas by students enrolled in Garland High School’s Reel Owl Cinema (ROC) film program, a unique four-year high school narrative International Baccalaureate (IB) film program, which has been producing films at Garland High School since 2005.

The Mocky Horror Picture Show: Interactive comedy troupe will close out the fest with a live skewering of Rock Baby – Rock It, a fun 1957 film showcasing Texas' versions (or the Dollar Store equivalents) of Elvis, the Everly Brothers, and more. Mocky Horror comedians Liz Barksdale, Danny Gallagher, and Albie Robles will riff in the theater for a live audience with jokes, special edits and effects, and sketches. Timed prompts appear on the screen with instructions for the audience to do or say things at the right time so you can mock the movie with them. The comedians also provide props for the audience to use during the screening.

Tickets are now on sale on prekindle. An all-access pass is currently $55, and will go up to $65 on August 1.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, September 13

Horton Foote: The Road to Home. The 2020 documentary starring award-winning Texas writer Horton Foote, through his own eyes and voice at the end of his life. Director Anne Rapp will be in attendance.
Tender Mercies. The 1983 film — directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Horton Foote, and starring Robert Duvall as a middle-aged country singer who gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his life back together — was filmed in Palmer, Waxahachie, and Arlington.

Saturday, September 14

The Last Picture Show. Iconic 1971 film — directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd, about a group of high schoolers coming of age in a dying Texas town — was filmed in Archer City and Holliday, Texas.
Children of Giant. The 2015 documentary directed by Hector Galan and filmed in Marfa, unearths emotions stirred up before, during, and after the month-long production of George Stevens's 1956 feature film, Giant.
Student films from Garland High School’s ‘Reel Owl Cinema.’
Giant. Filmed in Marfa and Valentine, this epic 1956 film about a cattle rancher and his family starred James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson, and was directed by George Stevens, who won an Oscar for Best Director.

Sunday, September 15

Mocky Horror Picture Show, live riffing of Rock Baby - Rock It, a 1957 campy classic that follows Dallas teenagers as they resist attempts by underworld types to take over their rock 'n' roll club, directed by Murray Douglas Sporup and filmed in Dallas.
Student films from Garland High School’s ‘Reel Owl Cinema.’

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Guy Fieri News

Dallas fine-dining restaurant to appear on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives

Rye

Sauerkraut cake at Rye

One of Dallas' most acclaimed new-ish restaurants is getting the Guy treatment: Rye, the seasonal American small-plates restaurant and cocktail bar at 1920 Greenville Ave., will appear on Food Network in March in an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, the series starring irrepressible host Guy Fieri.

The new season begins on February 7, but the episode featuring Rye will air on March 7. It's called “Sauerkraut, Shoyu, and Shank," and if you're wondering which of those three is Rye, it's the sauerkraut.

Here's the description of the episode:

"This trip, Guy Fieri's grabbin' creative flavor combos that pack a punch! In Naples, Fla., a couple from NYC is bringing Greek grub to the Sunshine State, platin' dynamite dolmades and fully loaded lamb shanks over orzo. There's cheffed-up comfort in Dallas with over-the-top pork belly lollipops and an unexpected sauerkraut chocolate cake. Plus, a Triple-G winner is puttin' out next-level ramen at her Chicago joint, infusing expert-crafted umami into a shoyu noodle bowl and the-bomb beef chashu."

Food Network does not divulge the identities of the restaurants that appear on most of its shows in advance; and restaurants that are featured on their shows are not allowed to reveal their participation without approval from Food Network. A representative from Rye declined to comment.

However, Rye was one of up to seven Dallas-area restaurants that Fieri and his DD&D crew visited in early December, when they taped segments for future episodes such as this.

Of all the Dallas restaurants Fieri and his crew visited, Rye is the only one that serves sauerkraut chocolate cake. The recipe's humble origins are said to date back to the 1960s when the USDA requested school cafeterias find ways to use up stockpiled canned sauerkraut.

Rye's rendition features dark chocolate cake, sauerkraut, brandied cherry, salted white chocolate ganache, Swiss meringue, and coffee. "Who knew a savory ingredient could make such a sweet statement?" Rye posits on its Instagram page.

But Rye is equally famous for its whimsical pork belly lollipops. They were the dish touted when the restaurant opened in 2021, and according to co-owner Tanner Agar, were created specifically to set the tone for what Rye was about.

Rye lollipops Rye's signature lollipops. Rye

The combination of those two dishes at one restaurant — not just in Dallas but maybe anywhere in the U.S.? — makes it pretty much (99.9 percent) a sure thing that it's Rye. Let's just say it: It's Rye.

The appearance of an upscale ambitious-chef restaurant like Rye on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives represents a departure from the usual modest joints that the show favors.

Rye has earned much acclaim in its 3-and-a-half-year existence, including a high-profile nod from the first Michelin Guide, which made its Texas debut in November 2024. Rye was one of only four restaurants in Texas to earn a "special award" from Michelin, given to bar manager Julian Schaffer, who won the Guide's "Exceptional Cocktails Award." Rye also made the Guide's "recommended" list, along with 19 other DFW restaurants.

Rye is now the second Dallas-area restaurant with a DDD episode locked in: East Dallas Asian restaurant Hello Dumpling will be featured in a show airing on February 21.

“Triple-D” has been airing on The Food Network since 2006 and has spotlighted at least 1,000 kitchens in all 50 states. Meanwhile, a Guy Fieri restaurant is opening in Dallas on February 6: Called Chicken Guy!, it specializes in chicken tenders, served solo, or in sandwiches and salads, and will open at The Hill at US-75 and Walnut Hill Lane, where it's being brought by a local franchisee.

“Sauerkraut, Shoyu, and Shank” premieres Friday, March 7 at 8 pm.

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