About Us

The Austin Film Society was founded in 1985.

We started as a group of friends getting together to watch films that weren't going to be distributed to the general public. . .

As word got out, that small group of cinephiles turned hundreds. So in 1985 the Austin Film Society (AFS) was born, honoring classic and independent film with screenings in public venues all over Austin.

By 1995 our mission had expanded from appreciating the movies we were screening, to supporting the filmmakers who made them. Since then we have earned the Directors Guild of America's first DGA Honors Award in recognition for our support of regional film production and culture. We also receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Council. We have instituted programs that award grants to filmmakers and internships for students in the film industry.

Every year, we get closer to becoming the model media arts center that we have envisioned for ourselves. And it just keeps getting better. As we move further into the areas of film and video production with the opening of Austin Studios, we help to secure Austin's place on the national filmmaking map and ensure that there will always be a place in this town for fans, students and professionals to create and watch movies together.

Filmmaker Richard Linklater spearheaded the Austin Film Society?s early efforts, and in May of 1986, AFS was incorporated as a non-profit educational organization. From the outset, programs have been curated to present films within an artistic and cultural context. Series are constructed around thematic links, or feature the work of an individual director, and program notes accompany most screenings. Over the years our offerings have built a loyal audience and brought forth a nationally known, thriving film culture.

AFS offers a model for presenting artistic works of cinema on a regional level. Most films presented are not available on video, and have not been seen in the mass market. Past series have included "Black Image in American Cinema," "Bigger than Life: a Festival of Cinemascope," "San Francisco Super-8 Film Happening," "Pre-Code Hollywood," "Women's Film Shorts" and "Che Bella: Italy in the 60s." Directors featured in retrospective series have included Lindsay Anderson, Bergman, Bresson, Bunuel, Cassavetes, Dreyer, Fassbinder, Robert Frank, Sam Fuller, Godard, Abbas Kiarostami, Ozu, Oshima, Pasolini, Peckinpah, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressberger, Satyajit Ray, Raul Ruiz, Sirk, Sokhurov, Sturges, Tarkovsky and others.

Visiting filmmakers are an important component of AFS programming, both as inspiration to the audience and affirmation for the filmmaker. Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Ron Howard, Robert Rodriguez, Atom Egoyan, Charles Burnett, Monte Hellman, Tobe Hooper, Nancy Savoca, Gregg Araki, Albert Maysles, James Benning, Les Blank, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Ross McElwee, D.A. Pennebaker, and others have presented their works for AFS audiences.

The Austin Film Society also assists local artists in showcasing work. The Austin Film Society has over 1,200 members, and attendance for fiscal 2003 was over 35,000. Audiences and members represent all ages and a cross-section of the diverse population of Austin. Individual series target particular audiences, and have expanded our audience base in the Latino, African-American, Middle Eastern, Jewish and Asian-American communities.

The exhibition programs enjoy a national reputation, with the Austin Film Society ranked among the top film centers of the country. The Austin Film Society's accomplishments have been sustained by concerted volunteer efforts, the support of the community and local arts organizations, a strong Board of Directors, and the enthusiasm of Austin audiences.

In 1995, the AFS hired its first paid staff and revised the mission statement to reflect its expanded role as a source of support and information for regional artists. These support services include advice and referrals, workshops, a bi-monthly newsletter, a Web site, fiscal sponsorship of projects, and the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund (since 1996 the Austin Film Society has awarded $750,000 in cash, goods and services to 222 film and video projects). In 2000 AFS created Austin Studios through a partnership with the City of Austin. Austin Studios features a 10,000 square foot production office and over 100,000 square feet of production space in five former airplane hangars. Austin Studios is bringing millions of dollars into the Austin economy in the form of jobs, goods and services.

The Austin Film Society's advisory board consists of Charles Burnett, Guillermo del Toro, Jonathan Demme, Mike Judge, Robert Rodriguez, Nancy Savoca, John Sayles, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Steckler, Quentin Tarantino, Elizabeth Avellan and Kevin Smith.