Look! It’s the Austin Chronicle’s ‘Best of Austin’ 2017 Critics Pick: The AFS Cinema

As many of you know doubtlessly already know, the exhibition programs of the Austin Film Society were wide ranging affairs for the first 30 years or so of the organization’s history, hosting screenings at various venues with the help of a dedicated network of partners.

Earlier this year – with the assistance and good will of an army of donors and supporters – the AFS Cinema was born. A full-time two screen theater presenting the best new releases, restorations, documentaries, community screenings and more, in a venue that also features a social space with excellent food and lots of good things to drink.

You can see the complete calendar for the AFS Cinema here.

It’s been a lot of fun for us, and it’s been great to have a chance to meet tens of thousands of new folks who have also been attracted to this vision of internationally relevant cinema.

And the cherry on top for us after our first 5 months of operation has been today’s Austin Chronicle Best Of Austin issue. Specifically the Critics Picks section, which calls the AFS Cinema, the Best “It’s Not An Art House… It’s An Art Home.”

It’s a bit of an unwieldy award, and will be tough to fit on the marquee, but we’ll do our best.

To quote the Chronicle:

“When AFS Cinema permanently took over the Marchesa Hall & Theatre space earlier this year, we knew it was going to be a struggle to schedule our lives around the influx of repertory films, special guests, new releases, and 4K restorations. But holy hell, guys! Some of us have jobs and family commitments, not to mention the maintaining of personal hygiene. To say that the programming team hit the ground running is an understatement. From series on Bob Fosse, Catherine Deneuve, and world animation to quirky and essential programs like Science on Screen and Richard Linklater’s crowning Eighties appreciation, Jewels of the Wasteland, the beating heart of Austin’s cinephilia is alive and well, and well-dressed, too, in this stylishly re-fabbed venue.”

And, as if that were not enough, the food critics singled out chef Peter Klein’s Signature Popcorn, Fully Loaded, as the Best Movie Theater Popcorn.

Read the whole Chronicle ‘Best Of Austin’ Issue here and, if you haven’t made it to the AFS Cinema yet, what are you waiting for?

Photo credit: Ellen Bruxvoort, Square Foot Photography