Despite a surprising and last-minute administrative turnover, the Lone Star Film Festival appears to be on pace for its November event. No announcement has been made about which movies will be shown, but that’s coming in early October.
“We’re really busy this week trying to finalize our feature lineup,” Lone Star Film Society Director Chad Mathews said. “It’s been a ton of work but everything is shaping up to be really good.”
Mathews took over for former executive director Alec Jhangiani and managing director Ramtin Nikzad, both of whom resigned three months ago. The multi-day festival is the signature event of the Lone Star Film Society. Audiences get a chance to see obscure films and interact with the filmmakers and actors. Last year’s festival drew more than 60 filmmakers and screened about 40 films that might not have appeared locally otherwise.
Mathews said this year’s festival will be concentrated solely in Sundance Square without satellite venues around the city.
“Keeping all the films this year in Sundance Square is really important to us,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to have all the venues within walking distance and have our out-of-town guests enjoy Sundance Square and downtown Fort Worth.”
Four months isn’t much time to plan and prepare for a large film festival but Mathews said he’s had plenty of help and encouragement.
“I’m very happy with the support that has come through the community,” he said. “It’s been a really great few months just meeting people and getting the lay of the land. It’s encouraging. It’s going to be a great festival. We’ve got some great movies lined up so far.”
Mathews isn’t ready to reveal many details at this point, but did say he’d lined up prominent New York film critic David Edelstein as a guest speaker. Edelstein writes for New York Magazine and other publications, appears on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, and is a regular commentator for CBS Sunday Morning.
