By Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-574889.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Sam Baker, 90.1's Morning Edition Host: The American Film Institute's Dallas International Film Festival kicks off Thursday night. The inaugural event has drawn attention from the media and sponsors, including KERA. But what's the point?
Tony Adamson, DLP: The purpose of a festival for say you as a film maker is to get an award.
Todd Wagner, 2929: Giving people an outlet to come see movies they wouldn't otherwise get to see.
Bart Weiss, Dallas Video Festival: The other thing the festivals really do is help bring the community together.
Baker: 90.1's Catherine Cuellar discussed AFI Dallas with cinephiles, entertainment insiders, and festival programmers to see what's in it for them.
[sound: movie clips]
Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter: Sitting in a dark auditorium in the old Texas Instruments building in Plano, Tony Adamson shows a montage of movie clips, not on film, but using patented Digital Light Projection technology developed here. Many theatergoers will see movies digitally for the first time during AFI Dallas.
Adamson: We have a DLP Cinema projector at the Magnolia which is one of the sites, so there will be lots of opportunities for people to see DLP Cinema during the festival. And in the future, a majority of festivals will be transitioning from film to digital and DLP Cinema too. So it won't be more than a year or two before almost every major festival will have transitioned to digital cinema.
Cuellar: AFI Dallas will screen more than 190 films. With an initial budget of $2.7 million, it dwarfs institutions like the Dallas Video Festival, the largest of its type in the country, which only costs $75,000 a year to stage. Bart Weiss founded the videofest 20 years ago. He's cautiously optimistic about the new game in town.
Weiss: I don't think it's going to be a problem looking for videos. What we do is more alternative than AFI. It's more a problem for USA Film Festival, which is similar in focus. And I hope USA survives because more film festivals help the city, it helps the film community, it brings more people here, makes them excited.
Cuellar: The 14th annual South by Southwest Film Festival, which concluded earlier this month, has promoted Austin's filmmaking industry and boosted tourism. That's one reason 2929 Entertainment's Todd Wagner lobbied his colleagues on the American Film Institute's national board for a Dallas event.
Wagner: This is to me the very beginning of what could be a very exciting ride for the city of Dallas and for film festivals. Look at what's happened to Austin over the years, and wouldn't it be wonderful if in the years ahead Dallas' festival takes on that prominence as well? And really, there's no reason it can't.
Cuellar: AFI Dallas chair Liener Temerlin hopes to help local business year-round.
Liener Temerlin, Founder and Chair, AFI Dallas: It gives Dallas and the surrounding community the opportunity to interface with an industry that Dallas needs more of. The more attention we can attract to the art of movie making, the more opportunities we have for filmmakers from all over the world and this country to come here and do their work. Texas and Dallas specifically affords wonderful capabilities, many that are here that are being underutilized.
Cuellar: Downtown businesses and institutions hope to benefit immediately. The Majestic Theater, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Meyerson Symphony Center will host AFI screenings. Victory Park, known primarily as a sports venue, anchors the event. Hotels and restaurants will reap benefits too. Temerlin projects AFI Dallas will have a 27 million dollar annual economic impact within three years.
For KERA 90.1, I'm Catherine Cuellar.
More on the web:
AFI Dallas International Film Festival
Dallas Video Festival
2929 Entertainment
DLP