Marfa fest gets "Blood." The baby-fresh fest will open with Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," unspooling it in the place where it all began - on its set in Marfa, TX. In fact, it'll be screening on an outdoor screen owned by Alamo Drafthouse's Tim League, who preemed the film at the 2007 Fantastic Fest in Austin.
Telluridefest is accepting entries for its 35th event, running August 29 – September 1.Feature and short film submissions completed after July 15, 2007 will be received until July 15.Only feature-length films looking for their North American premiere will be accepted. As always, the program is kept under tight lock-and-key until opening day, after which the fest unspools 25 features and 30-40 shorts. Rules and entry forms can be grabbed here.
The California Independent Film Festival will honor legendary producer John Daly ("Platoon," The Last Emperor") with a Lifetime Achievement award on April 20. Also on tap is a "Actor's Studio-esque" talk with Penny Marshall, with John Madden in the role of James Lipton. Mary Stuart Masterson will get the Diamond Award given to excellent women in film. She'll also screen her film "Cake Eaters." More info here.
The Marfa Film Festival will close on May 5th with Dennis Hopper's 1971 flick "The Last Movie." Hopper will also be in town, the first he's been back to the town since he was 18 in "Giant"
Marfa director Robin Lambaria said the film will be shown outdoors ("at the highest point in Marfa") using the Alamo Drafthouse's 35mm projector and inflatable screen. She hopes to get the nearby McDonald Observatory to come and talk about the stars before the screening.
No word yet on whether Paul Thomas Anderson will bring his Marfa-shot "There Will Be Blood" to town. Lambaria is hopeful. Unlike "Giant" (pictured), the "Blood" set is scheduled to be torn down soon.
A short 9 hours from Marfa (D), the AFI Dallas (B) fest has announced some new awards. The MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Awards will bestow 20 grand in goods and services to the winner of the Best Texas Film. And the Current Energy Earth Friendly Award will give 10 grand cash to the winner of the Environmental Visions Award, a new category.
Completing a Texas fest triangle, and a leisurely five hours south, SXSW (C) has announced that Josh Brolin will bring his directorial debut, "X," to the fest's short film program. It will screen in front of "Tulia, Texas," a doc on the town where 39 African American residents were arrested in a sting by one narcotics officer, who was later named Texas Lawman of the Year.
Some time later, all were pardoned by the governor and the cop convicted of perjury.
But what's "Tulia, Texas" really about? Via the trailer, it's up to debate:
If you still want to go to Tulia, that's another 9 hours north.
You can't get much farther out west than Marfa, Texas. Just off the great state's armpit, the high desert town barely breaks 3000 residents. It's flat, hot, and stunning territory, even before Oscar winners "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" shot there or Donald Judd set up shop.
It's about time someone started up a film festival. While they're in the messy process of festival creation, there's something in that sun-cracked soil that feeds art and mystery.
The inaugural Marfa Film Festival runs May 1-5. Check it out here.
Marfa fest gets "Blood." The baby-fresh fest will open with Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," unspooling it in the place where it all began - on its set in Marfa, TX. In fact, it'll be screening on an outdoor screen owned by Alamo Drafthouse's Tim League, who preemed the film at the 2007 Fantastic Fest in Austin.
Michael Jones is the film festival editor at Variety.com. 
