The Marfa Film Festival is a

Film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

occurring annually in

Marfa, Texas Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The cit ...

About

The Marfa Film Festival was founded in 2007 by creator Robin Lambaria and filmmaker Cory Van Dyke. The program features works from promising newcomers and established filmmakers, as well as beloved or forgotten classics, including outdoor evening screenings in the arid landscape surrounding Marfa. The Festival does not designate winners, celebrating innovation and excellence in film through passionate curation and fostering a relaxed social space where up-and-coming filmmakers mix with adventurous cinephiles, industry veterans and living legends in a captivatingly scenic, culturally rich environment. Movies are shown one at a time to allow the possibility of viewing every film in the program without scheduling conflicts. Musical performances by popular acts, art installations, lounge spaces, and other special events are also a customary part of the 5-day event. Festival alumni include Dennis Hopper, Larry McMurtry, Lou Reed, Omar Rodriguez–Lopez, and Heath Ledger.

History

The 2008 festival received accolades for an opening night screening on the "Little Boston" set of ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel '' Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilm ...

'', which was filmed near Marfa. 400 attendees including crew members and extras who had never seen the film were shuttled to the set location 20 miles outside of Marfa. Other movies shown that year included ''

Night of the Hunter Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

'', '' True Stories'', '' The Innocents'', ''

Man On Wire ''Man on Wire'' is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, ''To Reach the Clouds'', ...

'', and two music videos directed by

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named ...

played their first-ever show at the 2008 festival, with an opening performance by artist

Mia Doi Todd Mia Doi Todd (born June 30, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter. She was described by ''Dusted Magazine'' as "one of those artists that seem to function not just as creators in their own right, but as connecting links between other musicians." ...

and Antony Langdon's band Victoria. John Paul and Eloise Dejoria, owners of

Patrón Patrón is a brand of tequila products by the Patrón Spirits Company with 40% Alcohol in each bottle. Patrón Tequilas, like all tequilas, are produced in Mexico from the "corazon" (heart or core) of the blue agave plant. Everything includin ...

and Paul Mitchell, financed the first festival. Renowned author

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

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made a rare appearance to accept the first "Texas Screen Legend Award" presented by Marfa Film Festival in association with the Texas Association of Film Commissions at the 2009 Marfa Film Festival. Polly Platt and Dianna Ossana were also in attendance during an outdoor screening of ''

The Last Picture Show ''The Last Picture Show'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel ''The Last Picture Show'' by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes ...

''. Iconic musician Lou Reed attended to premiere his documentary Red Shirley at the 2010 festival.

Omar Rodríguez-López Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has formed or played in several bands, including the Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, Antemasque, and Bosnian Rainbows. He was the bassist for the ...

's attended to show his feature film ''

The Sentimental Engine Slayer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. Other films screened include The Athlete or Atletu, directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew, the 1972 classic ''

The Harder They Come ''The Harder They Come'' is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell and co-written by Trevor D. Rhone, and starring Jimmy Cliff. The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world". ...

'' by

Perry Henzell Perry Henzell (7 March 1936 – 30 November 2006) was a Jamaican director. He directed the first Jamaican feature film, ''The Harder They Come'' (1972), co-written by Trevor D. Rhone and starring Jimmy Cliff. Life and career Henzell, whos ...

, and '' The Sun Ship Game'', a 1971 documentary about competition soaring shot primarily in Marfa by

Robert Drew Robert Lincoln Drew (February 15, 1924 – July 30, 2014) was an American documentary filmmaker known as one of the pioneers—and sometimes called father—of cinéma vérité, or direct cinema, in the United States. Two of his films, ''Prim ...

, an American documentary filmmaker known as the father of

cinema vérité Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

, or direct cinema. In 2011 the festival's co-founders parted ways, introducing a 2-year lull. 2014 festival highlights included a live score performance by

CocoRosie CocoRosie is an American musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Sierra Rose "Rosie" and Bianca Leilani "Coco" Casady. The group's music has been described as folktronica, freak folk and "New Weird America", and incorporates elements of pop, blu ...

to Sergei Peranajov's 1969 masterpiece

The Color of Pomegranates ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in many polls as one of ...

, advance screenings of Richard Linklater's Boyhood and

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

's Mood Indigo, and an interactive experimental arcade designed especially for MFF around the “Space Cowboy” mythos.

2015

The 2015 Marfa Film Festival will occur October 14–18, 2015.

References

External links

Official website

Cinematical report of the event

Coverage of the Marfa Film Festival at West Texas Weekly
{dead link, date=June 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Film festivals in Texas Tourist attractions in Presidio County, Texas