Houston Film Festival Resource

A few film festivals will commence in Houston starting this week. In a sense film festival attract different movie goers than general release studio films. In some cases there are the genre and agitprop issues. Several North American cities host a Gay/Lesbian FF or a Polish FF or a Jewish FF all programming the same film traveling films.
In April the Worldfest Houston, the Houston Palestine Film Festival and the Latin New Wave at the MFA will offer audiences diverse points of view and unforgettable cinematic excursions into mostly unseen territory.
Worldfest Houston spins at the AMC Studio 30 and features appearances by Patricia Neal as well as new films from Harrod Blank (art car documentary) and cartoonist Bill Plympton. The festival unwinds from April 17 - 26 and frankly this is one of the best lineups Hunter Todd (festival head honcho) has offered in years. Pat Neal is a screen legend and will always be remembered as the stoic femme from the original The Day the Earth Stood Still.
The Houston Palestine Film Festival shows current feature films and shorts from the Middle East over the next two weekends at the Rice Media Center with an opening Thursday, April 16 at the El Dorado Ballroom at 2310 Elgin. Free Press Houston will host the closing night feature Pomegranates and Myrrh with director Mahdi Fleifel in attendance at the RMC (April 25, 7 pm.).
The Latin Wave showcases important films unspooling nine Latin American features over the April 30 - May 3 weekend (Thursday through Sunday). Screenings take place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In many cases the director will be present. These films cover many riveting releases from various countries in the Americas that otherwise would be missed.