AFS Cinema Announces Its September/October 2026 Program Calendar
August 13, 2026, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces its September and October 2026 calendar featuring a diverse lineup of films that filmgoers can only see at the AFS Cinema. The full calendar can be found at www.austinfilm.org.
AFS’s mission is to support Texas filmmakers, to be a beacon for all who value great cinema and global perspectives, and to serve as a hub for our creative community. Join us this fall to see new work from AFS Grant-supported filmmakers, learn more about Austin history and culture, and hear filmmakers talk about their work.
Highlights include several films by AFS Grant-supported* and Austin-based filmmakers such as:
- Our Body Electric by Dana Reilly* on 9/6
In this riveting documentary, three elite women bodybuilders — Ariel, Amanda, and Chelsea —
compete to qualify for the Ms. Olympia, the most coveted muscle show title. Together, their
journeys reveal what it costs to strive for strength in a world that tells women to stay small. An AFS Grant-supported film. With director Dana Reilly and some very special guests in attendance. - The 23rd Street Mural Project: Season 2 Premiere on 9/10
The 23rd Street Mural Project turns Austin’s historic first mural into a living documentary archive. Visitors can explore the wall online at 23rdStreetMural.com and discover short original films about the characters, venues, musicians, and wild stories that helped shape the soul of the city. It’s a way of preserving Austin history while connecting the dots between the Austin of the ’70s and the city we live in today. At this special event, we premiere five new documentary shorts about legendary clubs, queens, killers, a real-life miracle, and a whole lotta mescaline. Featuring an audience discussion with project director Mike Woolf and special guests. - Tower by Keith Maitland* on 9/13
Emmy & Critics’ Choice Award-winning filmmaker and AFS Filmmaker Advisory Committee member Keith Maitland will host a special 10th anniversary screening of his documentary Tower. The innovative hybrid animation documentary tells the story of the 1966 shooting on the University of Texas campus that left 16 people dead and dozens more wounded. The film uses archival footage, interviews with survivors, and rotoscope animated reenactments to tell the story of the nation’s first mass school shooting. - First They Came for My College by Patrick Bresnan* on 10/2, 10/3
Florida’s New College has been a bastion of progressive education for decades, a model laboratory of learning. Which is why it found itself in the crosshairs of an attack by knuckle-dragging reactionaries in state government. This compelling documentary shows the machinations of the crackdown and the way it is counteracted by the highly creative, highly motivated students and faculty. With filmmakers in person.
*denotes AFS Grant-supported
Other highlights include:
In September, AFS will present a new Essential Cinema series called Three Non-Films by Jafar Panahi dedicated to the films of the celebrated Iranian auteur. Panahi was sentenced to prison in late 2025 for engaging in “propaganda activities” against the Iranian regime. Iranian authorities first banned Panahi from making films in 2010, though he continued making them in secret. First in the series is This is Not a Film (screening September 8 & 12), his 2011 autobiographical documentary made during his house arrest, which was smuggled out of Iran. On September 15–19, AFS will screen Taxi, a hybrid documentary/fiction film, in which Panahi poses as a taxi driver on the streets of Tehran while he records his interactions with a variety of passengers. The series ends with No Bears, screening September 22 & 26. In the film, Panahi, playing a fictionalized version of himself, stars as a film director under house arrest in Iran who is struggling to make a film remotely.
Throughout October, AFS will present another new Essential Cinema series called Roots of J-Horror. The series will feature a selection of Japanese horror films, beginning with Masaki Kobayashi’s surreal ghost story Kwaidan (October 6–11), which won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. On October 13 & 17, AFS presents the cult classic Jigoku, a shocking and visceral tale of a theology student who is involved in a hit-and-run and his journey to the underworld from Nobuo Nakagawa, considered the father of Japanese horror. The series continues on October 20 & 24 with Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo’s stylish ghost folktale, which will be shown in 35mm. The series wraps up with The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, based on a popular young adult manga series and adapted for the big screen by Noriaki Yuasa. The film will screen on October 27 & 31. In addition to the J-Horror series, AFS will present a pair of horror classics leading up to and on Halloween: Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, screening October 1–10, and Brian De Palma’s Carrie, on October 31 and November 2. As part of its Lates series — which The Austin Chronicle recently awarded Best Midnight Movie Programming — AFS will present the French art house slasher Last Screening (October 9 & 10) and the experimental horror film Begotten (October 30 & 31).
In October, AFS will present the uncensored director’s cut of Ken Russell’s 1971 horror cult classic The Devils, newly restored in 4K. The film, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Catholic priest accused of witchcraft, and a convent of possessed nuns. The film, heavily censored since its initial release due to its depictions of sacrilege and deviant sexuality, is now being released for the first time in the U.S. as a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative and based on the edit the director constructed in 2004.
In September and October, the following films will be exhibited on 35mm film prints:
- The Hole (September 11–14)
- Onibaba (October 20 & 24)
- Paper Moon (October 9 & 10)
The full September/October lineup continues below and is also at austinfilm.org. Ticket prices range from $12 to $15, with discounts for AFS members. Special pricing is noted if applicable.
AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER CALENDAR
ESSENTIAL CINEMA: THREE NON-FILMS BY JAFAR PANAHI
You wouldn’t know it from his sly humor and indomitable spirit, but Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has had to overcome many obstacles placed in his way by his own government in order to make his unique features. Jail, exile, in-house detention; all of it seems to merely provide more material for Panahi, whose freedom to create has become an international cause célèbre.
THIS IS NOT A FILM
Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iran, 2011, DCP, 76 min. In Farsi with English subtitles.
9/8, 912
This directly autobiographical documentary by Jafar Panahi and his collaborator Mojtaba Mirtahmasb was made during the filmmaker’s house arrest when he was forbidden for political reasons from doing the one thing he cares most about in the world: making cinema. It portrays Panahi’s home life under these restrictive conditions and is in and of itself a defiant gesture. THIS IS NOT A FILM was smuggled out of Iran on a USB drive that was baked into a cake, and subsequently screened at many international film festivals and won international awards.
TAXI
Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2015, DCP, 82 min. In Farsi with English subtitles.
9/15- 9/19
In this hybrid narrative with documentary elements, Jafar Panahi, forbidden by the Iranian state from making films, becomes a taxi driver on the streets of Tehran. His dashcam records his interactions with a variety of people, some funny, some very moving. Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin and the FIPRESCI prize.
NO BEARS
Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2022, DCP, 107 min. In Farsi, Azerbaijani, Turkish with English subtitles.
9/22, 9/26
Jafar Panahi, playing himself as a film director under house arrest in Iran, is trying to make a film remotely via livestream with frustrating results. When he attempts to cross the border to direct his subjects directly, he finds himself in a village quarrel. A meta narrative about Panahi’s own struggles that somehow also succeeds as an absurdist comedy.
ESSENTIAL CINEMA: ROOTS OF J-HORROR
The term “J-Horror” largely refers to RINGU and its kin, but there has been a tradition of skin-crawling, viscerally creepy cinema in Japan for many years. This program shares a few of the high points of the genre, from the high-art ghosts of KWAIDAN to the bizarre pop-art shape-shifting alien of GOKE, BODYSNATCHER FROM HELL.
KWAIDAN
Masaki Kobayashi, Japan, 1965, DCP, 183 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
10/6-10/11
Full of widescreen compositions of weird, delicate beauty, KWAIDAN will linger in your dreams long after you see it. Though KWAIDAN tells four ghost stories, the intent is never to shock, though the atmosphere of unexplainable otherness creates a miasma of fear and dread. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at Cannes.
JIGOKU
Nobuo Nakagawa, Japan, 1960, DCP, 101 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
10/13, 10/17
Join us for a trip to Buddhist Hell with a group of sinners in this shocking and visceral Japanese moral horror classic. Nobuo Nakagawa is a master of low-budget horror, and he doesn’t spare any of the sufferings of the afterlife in this colorful Cinemascope fantasia.
ONIBABA
Kaneto Shindô, Japan, 1964, 35mm, 102 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
10/20, 10/24
In Kaneto Shindô’s stately-but-shocking ghost story, a mother and daughter live on the fringes of a civil war, making a grim living killing soldiers who wander through their bamboo grove and selling their armor. As you might expect, the story takes a supernatural turn that is as stylish and spooky as anyone could hope. In 35mm.
THE SNAKE GIRL AND THE SILVER HAIRED WITCH
Noriaki Yuasa, Japan, 1966, DCP, 82 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
10/27, 10/31
Unlike the previous films in this series, which operate in a high-cultural plane, this one is based on a popular Young Adult manga series by Kazuo Umezu (The Drifting Classroom). A teenager who has grown up in a boarding school returns to her bizarre family home, with a father who is absorbed in his bizarre experiments and a (ghost?) sister. Dreamlike, gothic, and a little silly — just like you.
NEWLY RESTORED
TREES LOUNGE
Steve Buscemi, USA, 1996, DCP, 95 min.
9/6, 9/12
Rediscover Steve Buscemi’s directorial debut, TREES LOUNGE, a gem of ’90s American independent cinema, now restored in 4K. A Long Island loser (Buscemi) keeps losing: fired from his job, watching his ex-boss (Anthony LaPaglia) date his ex-girlfriend (Elizabeth Bracco), and taking a dead-end gig as the local ice cream man. Thank god for booze and Debbie (Chloë Sevigny) — too bad she’s only seventeen. Featuring a stellar cast including Seymour Cassel, Michael Imperioli, Samuel L. Jackson, Carol Kane, Debi Mazar, and more.
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH
Basil Dearden, UK, 1957, DCP, 83 min.
9/9
In this adorable, knowing British comedy, made with more charm than money, a young couple takes ownership of a quaint neighborhood cinema and its staff, which includes box office clerk Margaret Rutherford and projectionist Peter Sellers.
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1988, DCP, 86 min. Dubbed and subtitled versions presented.
10/3-10/4
Based on the rich childhood fantasy life of Hayao Miyazaki, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is a classic that is just as engaging for daydreaming adults as it is for kids. Roger Ebert called this one of the five best films for children, and we don’t disagree. Screenings that begin at 6 PM or later are subtitled. Screenings that start before 6 PM are dubbed in English.
THE ARRIVAL
Ruth Norman, USA, 1980, DCP, 84 min.
10/15
THE HOLY MOUNTAIN meets XANADU. Available for the first time in theatrical release, this joyously glorious piece of outsider cinema depicts the science-factual Unarius prophecy of the Space Brothers’ arrival in the year 2001. Trust us, it’s an extraterrestrial event unlike anything you’ve seen out of Hollywood. Featuring a far-out 30-minute interdimensional mixtape of rare Unarius material!
THE DEVILS
Ken Russell, UK, 1971, DCP, 114 min.
Opens 10/16
Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS has been plagued by censorship troubles since its first release. In what is a truly historic moment for horror cinema, a complete uncensored 4K restoration is now available in the US. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave star in the medieval story of witchcraft and repression that is still as shocking as ever in its depictions of sacrilege and deviant sexuality. Not for everyone, but an unmissable experience for those who seek the extremes of art and culture.
MY BROTHER’S WEDDING
Charles Burnett, USA, 1983-2007, DCP, 81 min.
10/18, 10/21
Unreleased after its 1984 premiere, this KILLER OF SHEEP follow-up is the story of Pierce Mundy, who scrapes by in a dead-end job in South Central. But with his best friend released from prison and his brother set to marry a first-class snoot, he’s got some figuring out to do of his own. Re-edited and released to critical acclaim in 2007, MY BROTHER’S WEDDING is filled with “voices and memories, humor and rage; [Charles Burnett’s] vision of neighborhood life has an ample, passionate generosity” (The New Yorker).
BEST OF THE FESTS
LOST CHAPTERS
Lorena Alvarado, Venezuela, 2024, DCP, 67 min. In Spanish with English subtitles.
10/18, 10/21
Memories are lost and found in Lorena Alvarado’s subtle “adventure film in minor” (In Review Online). With her grandmother’s memory fading, Ena returns to Venezuela and finds her bookseller grandfather on the hunt for rare Venezuelan books — a desperate bid to preserve the only past he has left. Soon a postcard found in his bookshop sends Ena off on a search of her own, which she hopes will lead her to a long-forgotten writer.
WORLD CINEMA CLASSICS
THE HOLE
Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan, 1999, 35mm, 89 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
9/11-9/14
Presented in a newly struck 35mm print, approved by Tsai Ming-liang. The end of the world has never been more in tune. A hole in the floor bridges two apartments, quarantined amid the spread of a strange pandemic. A jazzy sci-fi/musical original, set to the rhythms of the apocalypse, from director Tsai Ming-liang (GOODBYE, DRAGON INN).
VAGABOND
Agnès Varda, France, 1985, DCP, 105 min. In French with English subtitles.
9/19-9/24
Agnès Varda’s novelistic study of a homeless young woman (Sandrine Bonnaire) who traverses the highways and back roads of France was a highly acclaimed art house sensation in its day and has become even more meaningful as the decades pass.
KUNG FU HUSTLE
Stephen Chow, Hong Kong, 2004, DCP, 99 min, in Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles.
10/23-10/28
Stephen Chow’s ludicrously energetic action comedy masterpiece is full of diabolical martial-arts in-jokes, Looney Tunes pacing, and more successful gags than any other movie this century. You need the big screen to keep up with them all.
DOC NIGHTS
OUR BODY ELECTRIC
Dana Reilly, USA, 2026, DCP, 91 min.
9/6
In this riveting documentary, three elite women bodybuilders — Ariel, Amanda, and Chelsea — compete to qualify for the Ms. Olympia, the most coveted muscle show title. Together, their journeys reveal what it costs to strive for strength in a world that tells women to stay small. An AFS Grant-supported film. With director Dana Reilly and some very special guests in attendance.
This project is supported in part by an Austin Live Music Fund Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
SHERMAN’S MARCH
Ross McElwee, USA, 1986, DCP, 158 min.
9/20, 9/23
Determined to document the lingering effects of Sherman’s March on the South, Ross McElwee — in the wake of a breakup — quickly finds himself distracted, turning his eye from one battleground to another: love. A groundbreaking feat of diaristic filmmaking, it’s a wry meditation brimming with wit and wisdom on two of the modern age’s greatest conundrums: women and the American South. New 4K restoration.
REMAKE
Ross McElwee, USA, 2025, DCP, 114 min.
9/20, 9/24
For over forty years, Ross McElwee has documented life through his own singular, personal lens. His son Adrien grew up in front of that camera and eventually picked one up himself. When a Hollywood producer pitches a fictional spin on SHERMAN’S MARCH, it stirs hope that Ross will finally find wider recognition. But that dream collides with a harsh reality as Adrien’s drug addiction worsens, leaving father to reckon with the life he’d kept just out of frame.
FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE
Patrick Bresnan, USA, 2026, DCP, 105 min.
10/2, 10/3
Florida’s New College has been a bastion of progressive education for decades, a model laboratory of learning. Which is why it found itself in the crosshairs of an attack by knuckle-dragging reactionaries in state government. This compelling documentary shows the machinations of the crackdown and the way it is counteracted by the highly creative, highly motivated students and faculty. With filmmakers in person.
DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD
Franco Rosso, UK, 1979, DCP, 72 min.
10/11
Available in America for the first time, BABYLON director Franco Rosso’s stunning portrait of “the regal dub poet” (The New York Times) Linton Kwesi Johnson captures how he set Black liberation to heavy riddims and gave voice to a generation of British African-Caribbean people in 1970s England. Forging the roots of British rap through dub poetry, the film captures the immediacy and potency of the reggae bard’s verse through his recording sessions with legendary producer Dennis Bovell, live performances, and activism. Screening alongside a rare 1985 concert.
WELCOME SPACE BROTHERS
Jodi Wille, USA, 2023, DCP, 101 min.
10/12-10/17
An up-close encounter with humankind: Jodi Wille (THE SOURCE FAMILY) lays bare the out-of-this-world true story of the Unarius Academy of Science, an extraterrestrial-loving spiritual sect, and their bedazzled leader, advanced clairvoyant Ruth E. Norman (aka Archangel Uriel), whose devotees transmitted their far-out message over public access television in 1980s Southern California. From producers Elijah Wood, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, October 12.
THE 23rd STREET MURAL PROJECT: SEASON 2 PREMIERE
Various, USA, Approximately 90 min.
9/10
The 23rd Street Mural Project turns Austin’s historic first mural into a living documentary archive. Visitors can explore the wall online at 23rdStreetMural.com and discover short original films about the characters, venues, musicians, and wild stories that helped shape the soul of the city. It’s a way of preserving Austin history while connecting the dots between the Austin of the ’70s and the city we live in today. At this special event, we premiere five new documentary shorts about legendary clubs, queens, killers, a real-life miracle, and a whole lotta mescaline. With a post-screening Q&A with project director Mike Woolf and artist Kerry Awn.
This project is supported in part by an Austin Live Music Fund Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
REPO MAN
Alex Cox, USA, 1984, DCP, 95 min.
9/9, 9/12
Southern California hardcore punk meets high weirdness in Alex Cox’s classic tale of a disaffected teenager (Emilio Estevez) who falls in with a grizzled repossession specialist (Harry Dean Stanton) and takes off after a ‘64 Chevy Malibu that may or may not have aliens in the trunk.
THE SHINING
Stanley Kubrick, USA/UK, 1980, DCP, 144 min.
10/1-10/10
Kubrick’s symphony of terror is a completely unique theatrical experience. We are accustomed to horror movies with a lot of atmosphere and with shocking jump scares, but when a cinematic master turns his hand to these techniques, they become something more like high art. Come see it with us on the big screen and appreciate the performances of Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and company as the peerless spell cast by Stanley Kubrick works its grim magic on your spine.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Jim Sharman, USA/UK, 1975, DCP, 100 min.
10/2-10/4
The legendary qualities of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW are well known, and it continually finds new fans among subsequent generations. In the new doc FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE, the campus screenings of ROCKY HORROR help to provide a rallying point for those who will not surrender to the conformist agenda. These screenings are intended as an adjunct to the doc.
PAPER MOON
Peter Bogdanovich, USA, 1973, 35mm, 102 min.
10/9, 10/10
Shot in beautiful black and white, this Depression-era movie stars real-life father & daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal. Addie (Tatum O’Neal), who we meet at her mother’s funeral, may or may not be the daughter of Moses Pray (Ryan O’Neal), but she is entrusted to his care nevertheless. Moses agrees to deliver Addie to her aunt in Missouri. Along the way, the pair run swindles across the heartland, forging a bond in the process. Ms. O’Neal, 11 years old at the time, was awarded an Oscar for her performance. In 35mm.
WILD STYLE
Charlie Ahearn, USA, 1983, DCP, 82 min.
10/25-11/1
Graffiti and hip-hop culture meet the highbrow art world in Charlie Ahearn’s epochal hybrid doc. With spray paint art legend Lee Quiñones as the artist who is feted by the art world. Starring such luminaries as Fab Five Freddy, Busy Bee, and Grandmaster Flash. The oft-sampled soundtrack is as legendary as the film itself.
CARRIE
Brian De Palma, USA, 1976, DCP, 98 min.
10/31, 11/2
Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel is a veritable shock machine, crammed with memorable set pieces in its story of an outcast teenager (Sissy Spacek), possessed of strange powers, and her religious fanatic mother (Piper Laurie). With memorable support from Nancy Allen, John Travolta, and William Katt.
PAPER CUTS
SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR
Roy Andersson, Sweden/Norway/Denmark, 2000, DCP, 98 minutes. In Swedish with English subtitles.
9/6
Join us for a special conversation on Sunday, September 6. This film’s book pairing, Combined and Uneven Apocalypse by Evan Calder Williams, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in person or online.
“SHORT CUTS meets NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” (Bay Guardian). SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR is composed of forty-six loosely connected vignettes “that, in their own idiosyncratic way, sum up the strange horror of life in the new millennium” (Chicago Tribune). Darkly humorous and unfailingly humanistic, the film is like “an Ingmar Bergman movie as realized by Monty Python” (The Globe and Mail). From director Roy Andersson (A SWEDISH LOVE STORY). The first film in Andersson’s Living Trilogy, with a score by Benny Andersson of ABBA.
THE DECAMERON
Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy, 1971, DCP, 111 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
10/18, 10/19
Join us for a special conversation on Sunday, October 18. This film’s book pairing, Heretical Aesthetics: Pasolini on Painting by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in person or online.
Inspired by the tales of Giovanni Boccaccio, the first film in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life imagines a pre-modern world where personal freedom, sensuality, and eroticism are central to human experience, and church and religion are fodder for comedy.
QUEER CINEMA: LOST & FOUND
CASTRATION MOVIE CHAPTER III.II JUNIOR GHOSTS — PREMORPHIC DRIFT; A FRAGMENTARY PASSAGE
Louise Weard, USA, 2026, DCP, 127 min.
9/21
CASTRATION MOVIE is a multi-part postmodern epic by visionary auteur Louise Weard. CHAPTER III. JUNIOR GHOSTS—PREMORPHIC DRIFT; A FRAGMENTARY PASSAGE is a standalone installment that consists of one chapter.
In CHAPTER III. JUNIOR GHOSTS — PREMORPHIC DRIFT, Izzy (Avalon Fast, director of CAMP) does everything in her power to stop her partner (Henri Gillespi) from transitioning.
Featuring a special Q&A with filmmaker Louise Weard, moderated by queer film historian, filmmaker, and Queer Cinema: Lost & Found programmer Elizabeth Purchell.
AIA Austin LGBTQIA+ Alliance presents URINAL
John Greyson, Canada, 1988, Digital, 100 min.
10/3
Join us for this special co-presentation with AIA Austin LGBTQIA+ Alliance, a local committee dedicated to preserving and celebrating queer spaces while championing LGBTQIA+ designers in Austin and beyond.
Desire meets the law when Frida Kahlo, Yukio Mishima, Langston Hughes, and Sergei Eisenstein return from the dead to 1980s Toronto to investigate how the city polices its public toilets. Infiltrating the force, they soon discover that they’re the ones being watched.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with AIA Austin LGBTQIA+ Alliance and special guests, moderated by queer film historian, filmmaker, and Queer Cinema: Lost & Found programmer Elizabeth Purchell.
LATES
GANDAHAR
René Laloux, France, 1987, DCP, 83 min. In French with English subtitles.
9/4- 9/10
From the visionary creator of FANTASTIC PLANET and THE TIME MASTERS comes René Laloux’s final masterpiece, now restored in its original cut in 4K. Enter GANDAHAR, a utopian civilization on the brink of destruction, under siege from an army of Men of Metal. Featuring a score by Academy Award winner Gabriel Yared (BETTY BLUE) and designs by influential French comic artist Caza, GANDAHAR is a psychedelic eruption of violence and surreal imagery — beautiful and bizarre in equal measure.
WASTED!
Aryan Kaganof, Netherlands, 1996, DCP, 104 min. In Dutch with English subtitles.
9/11, 9/12
Two rave lovers head for gabber heaven — Amsterdam — only to discover that the city’s underbelly of sex, drugs, and techno pounds just as hard as the beats. Shot like a lo-fi, acid-colored bender pushing 190 bpm, WASTED! doesn’t come down till sunrise.
LAST SCREENING
Laurent Achard, France, 2011, DCP, 81 min. In French with English subtitles.
10/9, 10/10
A real arthouse slasher: a cinema devotee spends his life inside a soon-to-be-shuttered theater, projecting beautiful prints that no one comes to see, leaving only to create his own gruesome works of art. After the last reel comes the last breath. Like PEEPING TOM as directed by Paul Vecchiali or CINEMA PARADISO by way of Argento, Laurent Achard’s film is a blood-curdling ode to the silver screen.
DER FAN
Eckhart Schmidt, Germany, 1982, DCP, 92 min. In German with English subtitles.
10/23-10/26
Teenage angst and obsession are set to cold German synths in DER FAN, the absorbing tale of a girl’s unwavering popstar fandom that soon turns to madness. An entrancing minimalist take on pure pop fanaticism in the era of the Walkman. Shocking, sordid, ice-cold — meet your new cult favorite. Starring Desiree Nosbusch and Bodo Staiger of Reingold, featuring music from the band. New 4K restoration.
BEGOTTEN
Elias Merhige, USA, 1989, DCP, 72 min. Silent.
10/30, 10/31
“Subversive” was coined for cinema like this. Sublime — an indelible pileup of grainy grotesqueries reaching toward the heavens. A robed deity commits suicide, bringing forth Mother Earth, who leads her son on a pilgrimage beset by indescribable horrors. “A metaphysical splatter film” (Premiere) from director E. Elias Merhige. “Nobody will get through BEGOTTEN without being marked” (Time Magazine).
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
TOWER
Keith Maitland, USA, 2016, DCP, 82 min.
9/13
We are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the deadly 1966 shootings on the University of Texas campus with a special 10th anniversary screening of Keith Maitland’s innovative hybrid animation documentary about the events. Maitland and some very special guests will join us for a post-screening panel discussion after the film.
This project is supported in part by an Austin Live Music Fund Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
REBEL WITH A CLAUSE
Ellen Jovin, USA, 2025, DCP plus live component (Grammar Table) in lobby, 86 min.
9/30
One fall day, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a homemade sign that said “Grammar Table.” Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints. What happened next is the stuff of grammar legend. Ellen and her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, took the table on the road, visiting all 50 states as Brandt shot the grammar action. Now, the documentary comes to Austin along with Ellen herself and the Grammar Table. Join us for this very special event. (Special pricing: Non-members $16/AFS members: $14)
CAR WASH
Michael Schultz, USA, 1976, DCP, 97 min.
9/19
As a hangout movie along the lines of DAZED AND CONFUSED and a soapy microcosm of America in the ’70s, CAR WASH has no peer. And what a cast: the very funny Franklin Ajaye, Richard Pryor, the Pointer Sisters, Bill Duke, and even George Carlin. We will be joined by author Josiah Howard, whose Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide has just gone into a new edition. He will be signing copies of his book, which will be for sale in the lobby.
STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN: FILMS FROM THE BOB DYLAN CENTER
Various, 60 minutes plus panel discussion and musical guest
9/27
Spanning decades and musical styles, this far-ranging one-hour program of short films and videos from the Bob Dylan Archive features rare and previously unreleased clips of Dylan on stage and in the studio.
Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins will present the films and engage in a post-screening discussion and audience Q&A with singer-songwriter John Doe (X, The Knitters), who toured with Dylan earlier this year.
The Bob Dylan Center opened in Tulsa, OK, in May 2022 as the permanent home of the Bob Dylan Archive. The mission of the Center is to inspire and celebrate fearless creativity by exploring the music and artistry of the Nobel Prize–winning singer-songwriter as a catalyst for personal expression and cultural change. (Special pricing: Non-members $16/AFS members: $12)
WHAT’S THE STORY, WISHBONE?
Joey Stewart, USA, 2026, DCP, 88 min.
10/11
Join us for a special screening and Q&A of the new doc WHAT’S THE STORY, WISHBONE?, which goes behind the scenes of the beloved PBS series that turned classic literature into adventure, starring one unforgettable little dog with a very big imagination.
Through rare archival footage and new interviews with the cast, creators, and fans who grew up with the show, the film uncovers the unlikely, chaotic, and surprisingly heartfelt story of how a scrappy public-television production became a cultural touchstone for millions of kids.
About Austin Film Society
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, AFS creates life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyzes Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and brings the community together around great film. AFS supports filmmakers from all backgrounds towards career leaps, encouraging exceptional artistic projects with grants and support services. AFS operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, to attract and grow the creative media ecosystem. Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate, provides many points of access to filmmaking and film careers. The AFS Cinema is an ambitiously programmed repertory and first run arthouse with broad community engagement. By hosting premieres, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. AFS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. More at austinfilm.org.
