DALLAS – Dallas VideoFest 30 presents DocuFest, featuring dozens of documentary features and also shorts, during four days, Oct. 5-8, on one screen at one theater, Studio Movie Grill on Northwest Highway in Dallas.

 

 

Documentaries explore nonfiction investigations of topics or events deemed worthy of further insight. They encompass reportage, memoir, history and humor. 

 

“Sophisticated technology that lives in the palm of our hand has made shooting high-quality documentaries easier so filmmakers can follow people, movements and injustices in a dynamic, powerful and poetic manner,” stated Bart Weiss, founder and artistic director of Dallas VideoFest, in a press release.

Over the course of four days, DocuFest showcases several themes with different approaches and shows how we experience real life in new ways.There are several threads running through many of the films in the festival:

“This has been a very challenging year in programming. Since we are going from nearly 150 films over a week at VideoFest down to a couple of dozens, I have had to say no to a lot of really great films – films I would normally say a resounding ‘Yes!’ to,” Weiss stated. “As a result, this is going to be one of the highest-quality years in films that VideoFest has presented.”

 

 

 

EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY PEOPLE, a sweeping celebration of the cultures of the world living and thriving in the United States.

At a time when the existence of the National Endowment for the Arts has never been more threatened, Govenar’s documentary focuses on one of its least-known and most-enduring programs: the National Heritage Fellowship, awarded annually since 1982. Featuring a breathtaking array of men and women who have been awarded the fellowship, including musicians, dancers, quilters, woodcarvers and more, the film demonstrates the importance of the folk and traditional arts in shaping the fabric of America. From Bill Monroe and B.B. King to Passamaquoddy basket weavers and Peking Opera singers; from Appalachia and the mountains of New Mexico to the inner city neighborhoods of New York, the suburbs of Dallas, and the isolated Native American reservations of Northern California – each of the artists shares exceptional talent, ingenuity and perseverance.

 

Dallas-based filmmaker in attendance.

Website and trailer:

You know the bands: U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, The Cure. You may never have heard of them if not for a small suburban radio station on Long Island, N.Y.: WLIR. In August, 1982, a small group of radio visionaries knew they couldn’t compete with the mega-stations in New York City. With one brave decision, they changed the sound of radio forever. Program Director Denis McNamara, the ‘LIR crew and the biggest artists of the era tell the story of how they battled the FCC, the record labels, mega-radio and all the conventional rules to create a musical movement that brought the New Wave to America.

 

Filmmaker in attendance.

Website:

Trailer:

FESTIVAL BADGES and TICKETS:

Tickets are available for each film. All-Festival badges are $100.