CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL HOUSTON ANNOUNCES
STELLAR LINEUP OF FILMS AND GUEST ARTISTS
Houston Cinema Arts Society produces nearly forty programs including feature films,
documentaries, live music, outdoor projections, video installations & celebrity guest appearances
 Houston Cinema Arts Festival organizers announced today a stellar lineup of actors, directors, and other artists participating in the jam-packed event scheduled from November 11-15, 2009. Guests presenting new and classic films include actors Tommy Lee Jones and Tilda Swinton, Texas filmmaker and director Richard Linklater and Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. The arts-oriented festival will also host photographer Susan Meiselas, rock band Dengue Fever, and members of The Yes Men and Ant Farm media collective, among many other notable presenters.
The only U.S. festival devoted to films by and about artists of all stripes, the 2009 Cinema Arts Festival Houston runs November 11-15 at various cultural locales throughout Houston’s Downtown and Museum District areas. It is more than just a film festival; it is a vibrant multimedia arts event breaking out of the confines of the movie theater through live music and film performances, outdoor projections, interactive video installations and more.
The Festival program involves collaboration among many of Houston’s extraordinary film and arts institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Menil Collection; the Houston Ballet; FotoFest; Aurora Picture Show; and many others. Many of their representatives serve on the board and task force of the Houston Cinema Arts Society, the nonprofit organization responsible for devising the Festival’s unique identity.
“How appropriate for a city with so many first-class arts institutions to host a festival devoted to films by and about visual, performing and literary artists,” said Houston Mayor Bill White. “I am especially pleased to see that director Tommy Lee Jones and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga will be here to explore the elements that combined to produce a masterwork from our own state, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Emerging filmmakers will, I expect, be inspired and future Texas-filmed classics may grow out of this inspiration.”
In November 2008, Houston Cinema Arts Society presented a preview festival with just five programs honoring artists Lynn Hershman Leeson and Alex Rivera. This year's Festival has expanded to include nearly forty programs including special series, performances, installations and discussion panels that focus on various multi-faceted topics surrounding cinema and the arts. |
