Austin Film Festival is one of the most world-renowned film festivals local to the area, especially for burgeoning writers and filmmakers. However, like many film festivals, they tend to be overwhelmingly white in the movies chosen to premiere. For people of color looking to diversify their film-viewing palette, ORANGE has compiled a list of seven films to watch this festival season.
Story by Namrata Prakash
Marquee Feature Films
Waves
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
With the majority of its soundtrack set to Frank Ocean, the highly-anticipated film follows a Black family (headed by Sterling K. Brown) in South Florida as they wrestle with grief, heartbreak and empathy in the wake of a loss.
Screening: Paramount Theatre on Oct. 28 from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m.
Yellow Rose
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
This feature, co-written and directed by Diana Paragas, follows an undocumented Filipina (Eva Noblezada) with aspirations of becoming a country music star. Her world is turned upside down by the forced deportation of her mother by U.S. Immigration.
Screening: State Theatre on Oct. 28 from 7:40 to 9:10 p.m.
Harriet
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
Co-written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, this biopic of the renowned abolitionist Harriet Tubman stars Cynthia Erivo, and retells the countless journeys as she led hundreds of slaves to freedom under the watchful eye of the oppressive American government.
Screening: Galaxy Highland – Screen 5 on Oct. 25 from 6:30 to 8:35 p.m.
Clemency
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
Written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, this movie features Alfre Woodward as a death row executioner who’s work life begins to bleed into her personal life. She must grapple with the nature of her work and the humanity of the people whom she condemns.
Screening: Galaxy Highland – Screen 6 on Oct. 27 from 4:30 to 6:23 p.m.
Rattlesnake
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
During a cross-country roadtrip, Katrina (Carmen Ejogo) must make a deal with the devil when her daughter (Apollina Pratt) is bitten by a venomous rattlesnake and can only survive at the expense of another life, forcing Katrina to make a decision that blurs the lines between morality and duty.
Screening: State Theatre on Oct. 24 from 10:10 to 11:35 p.m.
Narrative Features
The Illegal
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
Created by Danish Renzu, this drama starring Suraj Sharma portrays the life of a young undocumented Indian filmmaker who must forgo his dreams in order to provide for his family back in India.
Screenings: Rollins Theatre on Oct. 26 from 1:15 to 2:40 p.m., Galaxy Highland – Screen 5 on Oct. 29 from 3:15 to 4:40 p.m.
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
Photo Courtesy of Austin Film Festival
Based on the 2011 crime, this film chronicles the despicable murder of a bipolar Black man (Frankie Faison) at the hands of the New York Police Department.
Screenings: St. David’s Episcopal Church, Bethel Hall on Oct. 27 from 4:00 to 5:23 p.m., Galaxy Highland – Screen 6 on Oct. 28 from 7:00 to 8:23 p.m.
