Dallas Movie Festival Makes a Big Move, Brings Major Star Power: New Uptown Haunts and 100,000 Visitors Expected

Local nonprofit Dallas Film Society revealed that its 12th annual film festival will return to Dallas this May with a new format and a new  home base. The Dallas International Film Festival is taking over The Magnolia in Uptown’s West Village from Thursday, May 3 to Thursday, May 10. The festival will include more than 110 feature and short films from 25 different countries, representing cutting-edge cinema from across the globe.

The Dallas Film Society expects the event to draw nearly 100,000 visitors.

In addition to competition film screenings at The Magnolia, the movie festival will have a few special events, including an Opening Night Celebration on May 3 in the West Village, and a 25th anniversary event for Jurassic Park at Studio Movie Grill (Spring Valley) on May 6.

To celebrate the festival’s 12th year, Dallas Film Society released a preview of its first 12 films – here’s a sneak peek with movie notes from the film society’s release:

• Won’t You Be My Neighbor — A film focused on the legacy of Mister Rogers by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet from Stardom).

• McQueen — The fashion motion picture, directed by Ian Bonhôte, offers a personal look at the extraordinary life, career and artistry of fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

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• First Reformed — This movie directed by Paul Schrader follows Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke), a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary.

• Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me — Directed by Samuel D. Pollard, the movie is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.

• 1985 — Inspired by the award-winning short film of the same name by director Yen Tan, the film follows a young man during the wave of the AIDS crisis.

• Eighth Grade –Bo Burnham directs this film about 13-year-old Kayla enduring the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school.

• Loud Crazy Love (Texas Premiere) – Trey Hill and Scott Mayo direct this music documentary focused on Brian Welch’s (Korn) vicious battle with crystal meth, ultimately finding solace in one place he never thought he could belong: Church.

• The Iron Orchard (World Premiere) – The story of Jim McNeely, a young man thrust into the vibrant and brutal West Texas oil fields circa 1939 who works his way through the ranks to ultimately become a formidable wildcatter is directed by Ty Roberts.

• Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (Texas Premiere) – A reimagining of the Charles Band classic, from Dallas-based, Cinestate. This Horror Comedy will headline DIFF’s “Almost Midnight” category.

• Sons of St. Clair – A music documentary directed by Tim Newfang follows Krayzie and Bizzy of iconic R&B group Bone Thugs N Harmony into the recording studio as the duo sets out to prove to the younger generation that they can still create relevant music today.

• Tejano (World Premiere) – Desperate for cash to pay his grandfather’s medical bills, a young man resorts to smuggling drugs across the Texas -Mexico border in this film directed by David Garcia.