As in past years, DIFF will treat Dallas audiences to their first opportunities to see some of the top films out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, as well as a chance to catch the films they possibly missed in Austin at SXSW. The Dallas Film Society recently announced the initial ten official selections for the 10th edition of the Dallas International Film Festival.

According to the Dallas Film Society’s Artistic Director, James Faust, these ten films serve as a perfect sampling of the balance they have always tried to achieve for the film audiences at DIFF – entertaining, challenging, with big stars and newcomers, international, local, and independent.

So without further adieu, here are the first ten films you can expect at this year’s festival:

Chris Kelly’s feature directing debut, OTHER PEOPLE will be the Centerpiece Gala selection, screening at the Angelica Film Center (5321 E. Mockingbird Lane at Mockingbird Station) on Thursday, April 21. The film is about a struggling New York City comedy writer, fresh from breaking up with his boyfriend, who moves to the West Coast to help his sick mother (played by Molly Shannon). Living with his conservative father and younger sisters, David (played by Jesse Plemons) feels like a stranger in his childhood home. As his mother worsens, he tries to convince everyone (including himself) he’s “doing okay.”

Johnathan Brownlee’s THREE DAYS IN AUGUST was the result of the Sionna Project Screenwriting Competition, which was co-sponsored and supported by the Dallas Film Society and Studio Movie Grill, and won by Chad Berry and David Langlinais. The film stars Barry Bostwick, Meg Foster, and Mariette Hartley, in a drama about an Irish American artist who is forced to confront her past when both sets of parents come together over a weekend for her to paint a family portrait.

Willliam Kaufman’s DAYLIGHT’S END is the rare action/horror thriller that makes it into a non-genre competition at a film festival, as it screens in the Texas Competition. It stars Johnny Strong, Lance Henriksen, and Louis Mandylor in a hard-driving action-horror-thriller about a rogue drifter who agrees to put aside his mission of vengeance to help rescue a desperate band of survivors in an abandoned police station, as they struggle to defend themselves against blood-hungry creatures that used to be human.

Asiel Norton’s ORION will make its U.S. Premiere at DIFF. Starring David Arquette and Lily Cole, the post-apocalyptic tale takes place in a desolate, future world, where a wanderer fights to save a virgin mother from a powerful magician and, with her, searches for a mythical city containing the world’s last survivors.

Additional films out of Sundance include: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami’s SONITA, the winner of the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards, about a teen Afghani rapper facing the possibility she may be sold into marriage; Natalie Portman’s take on Amos Oz’s autobiographical tale, A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS; Werner Herzog’s exploration on how we are faring in the digital landscape and online world – LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD;  and WEINER, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s documentary on embattled former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s campaign to be mayor of New York.

Keith Maitland’s TOWER will head north following its screening in Austin this month. Through archival footage and animation, the film recounts the mass shooting at the University of Texas in 1966. Rounding out the initial list of ten selections is Johnnie To’s OFFICE, as DIFF demonstrates its continuing commitment to showcase great Asian cinema and filmmakers with the legendary director’s first musical, based on star Sylva Chang’s hot stage play set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial collapse.

When:
April 14-24, 2016

Tickets:
Screening tickets are only $12. Festival passes start at $100. Online ticket sales are currently available at DallasFilm.org and the physical Prekindle Box Office at Mockingbird Station will open on Thursday, March 31.

Other Info:
Once again, the Dallas Film Society has teamed up with DART for their successful partnership called DART to DIFF. Many DIFF activities and events take place in the heart of Dallas and the partnership with DART will provide quick and convenient transportation for all festival attendees.