Bayou City Film News

WorldFest-Houston, the third longest-running International Film Festival in North America, celebrated the conclusion of its 10-day run of film, fun and fanfare in its 45th annual independent film showcase with a 17% increase in box-office! With two engaging luminaries receiving the WorldFest Remi Lifetime Achievement Award this year, Louis Gossett, Jr. on opening weekend and the inimitable Sally Kirkland on closing, WorldFest bookended this year's 45th edition and wrapped on a high note of Puerto Rican Sonia Fritz's poignant film América to a full house of delighted Houston film buffs. During the 10-day event, John Savage (Caporale's The Black Dove)and Erin Gray (Jerry Deal's Dreams Awake)flew in to lend their support for the world premiere screenings of their respective Indie-produced films. The WorldFest 2012 Grand Remi Statuette Awards went to: BEST THEATRICAL FEATURE ~ CHINESE TAKE AWAY (Un Cuento Chino) Argentina, Sebastián Borensztein, represented by ...

Deputy Director of the Houston Film Commission, Alfred Cervantes be moderating the Q&A for the 6:30PM Screening @ AMC 30 on Friday 4/27 of this Spirit Award nominated, self distributed indie IN THE FAMILY by Houston native Patrick Wang. This "remarkably fresh and unpredictable drama" and "one of the most accomplished and undersold directorial debuts" was rejected by 30 film festivals until it's premiere at Hawaii Film Festival in Oct. 2011 and is now on a scheduled self release run around the country. Official Website: http://inthefamilythemovie.com/

The 45th annual Worldfest Houston International Film Festival is in the books. Hunter Todd and crew had another successful run at the AMC Dunvale. Unfortunately for me and my crazy schedule I could only got the chance to see three of the features films screen this year. First up was Shawn Wellings feature film "The Messenger." The documentary follows the lives of a few of Bolivar Penensula colorful charachters leading up to the brutal devastation of hurricane Ike. Welling also screened a trailer for for his upcoming feature "The Legends of Darkhouse County" and another project AXI (Avengers of Xtreme Illusions) Next we got a chance to screen Brandon Stephens feature film "Enemy of the Mind." Stephens feature follows police detectives as they try to solve a string of murders happening to close to home. The trailer for "Emeny of the Mind" is posted below. The picture posted is of Stephens (r) with co-writer and star of the film Manny Rey. A...

Houston-based filmmaker Mike Akel (Chalk) returns to the MFAH with his latest feature. An Ordinary Family is a humorous drama about one family, two brothers, and a really big problem. The Biedermans’ annual family reunion gets rocky when Seth arrives with his new boyfriend. No one bats an eye except his brother Thomas, a married man of the cloth. Despite a well-meaning attempt to surprise everyone, things do not go as planned, throwing Thomas and the family into an awkward, week-long vacation where everyone has problems and no one wants to talk about them. “If Chalk was a playfully funny film, then An Ordinary Family is a bittersweet one, with Akel again emphasizing an easy rapport between his characters that seems remarkably akin to real life.” —Los Angeles Film Festival "An Ordinary Family" screens on April 21, 2012 @ 7:00 PM

Special Thanks to crew at Who's Hou for this video. Deputy Director of the Houston Film Commission Alfred Cervantes talks about the benefits of filmming in Houston, TX.

Houston showed up last Thursday night to catch the world premiere screening of MIchelle Mower's first feature film "The Preacher's Daughter." Mower's film screened to a capacity crowd at the River Oaks Theater. Movie goers also got the chance to see Houston filmmaker Nick Mann's teaser trailer for his short film "Write Your Way Out"  "The Preacher's Daughter" stars Andrea Bowen, Julie from "Desparate Housewives," where she plays the title role. Her character has to move back home after running afoul of the law with her boyfriend. Check out the film clip I posted a while back from a scene in the movie. Nick's film, "Write Your Way Out" was about a school teacher played by Houston actor Patrick Sane   trying to motivate his students. The screening served another purpose as well as it was also a fundraiser for SWAMP. Southwest Alternate Media Project. Michelle worked for the organization for years befo...

 A hardened cop chases the shadow of a killer whose deadly trail he believes started with the murder of his wife Abby. With each new victim, Detective Frank del Toro must find a way to stop him, even at the cost of his job, his reputation and his sanity. Enemy of the Mind is written and independently produced by Manny Rey & Brandon Stephens and directed by Brandon Stephens with a score by David Bateman. The feature film has it's world premiere at this years Worldfest Houston Film Festival April 18 @ 7:00. You can also check out http://www.enemyofthemind.com/