A poster from one of the films that will be shown at the VideoFest in Dallas. Image courtesy of Selig Polyscope Company.
Screen junkies take note. The nation’s oldest film festival, the Dallas VideoFest will be kicking off on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and running until Sunday, Oct. 23.
Now in its 29th year, the filmmaker-filled event is expected to bring in roughly 125 programs that will encompass screenings of both narrative and documentary features as well as shorts, animation and experimental videos. Many of these presentations will be from local filmmakers.
Local residents should know most of the events take place at Mockingbird Station’s Angelika Film Center. Between Oct. 20-23, you don’t even have to leave the Angelika as several of the films will be showed in the venue. The films will include genres of comedy, like The Last Laugh, which incorporates clips of famous comedians from Sarah Silverman to Louis C.K.
One Dallas-based organization, Women In Film.Dallas, has partnered with VideoFest for the 15th anniversary of Chick Flicks Festival, which will feature short films in addition to three feature films: “Hardy,” “Left on Pearl” and “Quaker Oaths,” which will all be screened at the Angelika.
Co-creators of Rooster Teeth, a production studio out of Austin, will also be present to speak to audiences about the future of independent film studios.
Other presenters include Kartemquin Films, which will be showing two documentaries, and several journalists who will be discussing the evolution of news reporting. Stephanie Palewski, an editor for the award-winning “60 Minutes,” will be at the festival to talk about her experience working in the  broadcast industry and what goes on behind the scenes of the show.
The VideoFest is put on by the Video Association of Dallas, which first ran the festival as a weekend event at the Dallas Museum of Art. According to a VAD press release, the festival has now become not only the oldest film festival in the U.S. but the largest.
For more information on VideoFest or to buy tickets visit VideoFest.org.
