AFS Cinema Announces Its July/August 2026 Program Calendar
June 11, 2026, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces its July and August 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.
Highlights include the return of the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) from July 30 to August 2. AFS will present the Los Angeles-based festival, with programming curated especially for Austin audiences. This is the fourth annual series PAFF has created for Austin. PAFF, the nation’s largest and longest-running global Black film and arts festival, celebrates Black stories from around the world through film. PAFF will feature a robust slate of screenings, including narratives, documentaries, shorts, and animations, with 10 Texas premieres. The opening night film, Muganga, the One Who Treats, tells the true story of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, who treats survivors of wartime sexual violence. Other films include a 20th Anniversary screening of Phat Girlz, documentaries about Toronto Soul and photographer Kwame Braithwaite, and the Texas premiere of the animated short Two Black Boys in Paradise. The full festival lineup is included below, or visit austinfilm.org/paff. Full festival passes are available here, and AFS members will receive additional discounts on tickets.
In August, award-winning filmmaker Margaret Brown will present her documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders, which brought one of Austin’s most searing and traumatic unsolved mysteries to national attention when it aired on HBO last year. Less than a month after the series premiered, something remarkable happened: new technology revealed critical evidence, and the case was closed for good. Brown has returned to the subject with a final fifth episode on the case’s closure and what it means to have an answer after decades of uncertainty. AFS Cinema will present the complete series across three screenings, each accompanied by a panel discussion. Episodes 1 & 2 will feature a panel of the victims’ families. Episodes 3 & 4 will feature a panel of the filmmaking team, including Austin-based cast and crew members, to discuss the making of this Austin-made HBO/A24 series. Following Episode 5, filmmaker Margaret Brown will be joined by the investigators who worked on the case and the exonerated accused. This discussion will be moderated by AFS Artistic Director Richard Linklater.
- Episodes 1 and 2: 8/27 with a post-screening discussion with the victims’ families.
- Episodes 3 and 4: 8/29 with a post-screening discussion with the filmmaking team.
- Episode 5: 9/3 with a post-screening panel moderated by Richard Linklater featuring guests from the police force and the exonerated accused
In July and August, the following films will be exhibited on 35mm film prints:
- The Lady Eve (7/14, 7/19)
- Sullivan’s Travels (7/21, 7/25)
- The Palm Beach Story (7/28, 8/1)
- Mildred Pierce (8/28, 8/30)
The full July/August lineup continues below and is also at austinfilm.org. Ticket prices range from $11.50 to $14, with discounts for AFS members. Special pricing is noted if applicable.
AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY JULY/AUGUST CALENDAR
ESSENTIAL CINEMA: FOUR BY PRESTON STURGES
The name Preston Sturges is synonymous with a certain kind of cinematic comedy. It’s smart and literary but not exactly highbrow. And, while it revels in physical comedy, you couldn’t call it slapstick. Come to think of it, maybe the only way to describe them is “Sturges Films.” Presumably, there are still those among us who love to laugh and think at the same time. This series of Preston Sturges comedy masterworks is for all those people.
THE GREAT MCGINTY
Preston Sturges, USA, 1940, DCP, 83 min.
7/7, 7/11
THE GREAT MCGINTY used to seem like a baroque parody of political corruption but the world has caught up to it. Nonetheless, it is a masterful comedy about a drunk roustabout (Brian Donlevy), pulled from his barstool and sent out to vote in every precinct in the city, who becomes a political power-broker himself.
THE LADY EVE
Preston Sturges, USA, 1941, 35mm, 94 min.
7/14, 7/19
Preston Sturges’s screwball comedy is well known as a triumph of writing, directing, and the acting of its stellar cast, led by Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, who has never been better or funnier, and yes, we know that’s a bold statement. Bring a date. Bring two! In 35mm.
SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS
Preston Sturges, USA, 1941, 35mm, 90 min.
7/21, 7/25
Writer-director Preston Sturges’ masterpiece is not only a prime example of golden-age Hollywood comedy, it is a philosophical meditation on the importance of comedy in all our lives. You’ll definitely laugh, and you might even cry. Joel McCrea, as a filmmaker who has lost his way, and Veronica Lake lead the cast. In 35mm.
THE PALM BEACH STORY
Preston Sturges, USA, 1942, 35mm, 88 min.
7/28, 8/1
Comedy of remarriage, Preston Sturges style. Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea play a couple who are unhappy with their lot in life. As they tentatively venture into other romantic situations, they each contrive to make the other partner jealous. It’s very funny, and romantic in a hard-bitten sort of way. In 35mm.
ESSENTIAL CINEMA: SOMEWHERE ELSE, ALWAYS: RESTLESS WOMEN AND THE CITY
From Hollywood hijinks to beloved crowd-pleasing comedies to highbrow arthouse dramas, these films offer four very different ways of looking at life in the city through the eyes of women. As these modern-day explorers go on unexpected adventures, they have to trade in traditional ideals for something altogether wilder and more uncertain. From a backdrop, the urban landscape turns into a character of its own: a playground, a mirror, and a means of emancipation, forcing confrontation and, ultimately, growth.
FULL MOON IN PARIS
Eric Rohmer, France, 1984, DCP, 101 min. In French with English subtitles.
8/4, 8/8
In the fourth entry in Eric Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs cycle, Pascale Ogier finds life in the suburbs with her boyfriend (Tchéky Karyo) impossible, yet the possibility of life in Paris — without him — unimaginable. Co‑starring Fabrice Luchini as her motormouth confidant and featuring the electropop of Elli & Jacno, the film finds Rohmer in a different rhythm, but one painfully familiar to anyone who has ever been young, restless, and indecisive.
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
Susan Seidelman, USA, 1985, DCP, 104 min.
8/11, 8/15
Madonna is Susan, a downtown girl with wild style and an even wilder nightlife. Rosanna Arquette is Roberta, a New Jersey housewife fascinated by the kooky adventures she reads about in the personals. Hijinks ensue when Roberta assumes Susan’s identity and stumbles into a life so crazy it takes two women to live it! A quintessential ‘80s showstopper from Susan Seidelman, co-starring Aidan Quinn and featuring cameo appearances by Richard Hell, Ann Magnuson, Arto Lindsay, and more.
NEVER SLEEP AGAIN
Pia Frankenberg, Germany, 1992, DCP, 92 min. In German with English subtitles.
8/18, 8/22
Three friends from Hamburg travel to Berlin for a wedding, but when an unexpected encounter forces the trio to flee the riverboat shindig early, they discover their car tires stolen and every hotel booked. Stranded, they decide to live in the present and walk headfirst into a city caught between its past and future. Directed by little-known auteur Pia Frankenberg and starring Wim Wenders regular Lisa Kreuzer, NEVER SLEEP AGAIN is a discovery worth making.
MURIEL’S WEDDING
P.J. Hogan, Australia & France, 1994, DCP, 106 min.
8/25, 8/29
How does this sound? A hot pastel-hued coming-of-age story about a shy, outcast young woman in tiny Porpoise Spit, Australia, who finds her identity in ABBA songs and sets out for the big city to become somebody. Pretty good, huh? It gets better. Toni Collette plays her, and she kicks it into hyperdrive.
NEWLY RESTORED
I SHOT ANDY WARHOL
Mary Harron, USA, 1996, DCP, 103 min.
7/4-7/9
Lili Taylor plays SCUM Manifesto author Valerie Solanas who, in a fit of rage about her work being appropriated for profit, tried to assassinate the artist Andy Warhol in 1968. This was the first feature directed by Mary Harron and has an all-star cast as real Factory-era figures. It also features a 60’s by way of the ’90s soundtrack featuring many popular musical artists. New 4K restoration.
MIKEY AND NICKY
Elaine May, USA, 1976, DCP, 119 min.
7/24-7/26
You probably know Elaine May as a legend of comedic writing and direction but MIKEY AND NICKY, outside of some witty dialogue, is a surprisingly tragic story of friendship and betrayal between two old pals, played by real-life buddies Peter Falk and John Cassavetes. Haunting, harrowing, and unforgettable. New 4K restoration.
THE PIANO
Jane Campion, New Zealand/Australia/France, 1993, DCP, 117 min.
8/13-8/16
Mute pianist Ada (Holly Hunter) arrives in colonial New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) for an arranged marriage. When her domineering husband (Sam Neill) refuses to transport her cherished piano, a frontiersman (Harvey Keitel) offers a deal: land in exchange for the piano and private lessons. What follows is an evocative story of one woman’s awakening to passion from writer-director Jane Campion. Winner of the Palme d’Or and three Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. New 4K restoration.
MY SASSY GIRL
Jae-yong Kwak, South Korea, 2001, DCP, 123 min. In Korean with English subtitles.
8/20-8/24
A mild‑mannered engineering student’s life is hijacked by an unpredictable woman after a meet‑not-so-cute. Based on a blog of reportedly true stories about one guy’s life with his outrageous girlfriend, it’s the manic rom-com that became a box‑office sensation, one of the most beloved and influential Asian films of the century, and the inspiration for a Hollywood remake — but there’s truly only one: MY SASSY GIRL. New 4K Restoration.
NO PICNIC
Philip Hartman, USA, 1986, DCP, 87 min.
8/30, 9/3
A relic of a bygone era, the first and only film by Philip Hartman follows jukebox operator Macabee Cohn (David Brisbin) as he wanders the streets of the Lower East Side in search of a mysterious woman in a striped dress. Featuring appearances by Steve Buscemi, Richard Hell, Luis Guzmán, and more, the justly dubbed “swan song to a languishing New York tribe” (The Village Voice) takes you back to a time before the city bulldozed good taste. New 4K restoration.
MYSTERIOUS SKIN
Gregg Araki, USA, 2004, DCP, 107 min.
8/29-9/2
Two boys experience traumatic events one summer that shape their lives in radically different ways. As teens, Brian (future director Brady Corbet), convinced he was abducted by aliens, becomes obsessed with uncovering his memories, while Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) turns to hustling. Years later, Brian seeks Neil out, hoping he holds the key to unlocking the past. Adapted from the novel by Scott Heim, “MYSTERIOUS SKIN is infused with remarkable tenderness and beauty” (The New York Times). Co-starring Michelle Trachtenberg and Elisabeth Shue. New 4K restoration.
2 X SHUNJI IWAI
LOVE LETTER
Shunji Iwai, Japan, 1995, DCP, 117 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
7/2, 7/5
Rocked by the death of her fiancé, Hiroko sends a letter to his former address. Surprisingly, she receives a reply from a woman who shares the same name as her beloved. As the pair exchange letters, their correspondence slowly uncovers memories of a man they each thought they knew. A box office hit in Japan and abroad, the film marks the feature film debut of Shunji Iwai (ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU, SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY).
ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU
Shunji Iwai, Japan, 2001, DCP, 146 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
7/4, 7/6
Angst is a pop tune for the teenage fans of Lily Chou-Chou, a ‘Björk-like chanteuse’ whose loyal fandom lose themselves in cult-like chat rooms devoted to the mysterious goddess in this turn-of-the-millennium masterpiece from Shunji Iwai (HANA AND ALICE), now celebrating its 25th anniversary.
WORLD CINEMA CLASSICS
JOURNEY TO ITALY
Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1954, DCP, 85 min.
7/2-7/4
After opening to little interest or box office support, Roberto Rosselini’s JOURNEY TO ITALY has slowly and steadily risen in esteem with critics and audiences, many of whom now consider it a great and profound work of Cinema. George Sanders and Ingrid Bergman play a middle-aged married couple whose Italian voyage inspires in them a greater and deeper love. Gorgeously acted and photographed.
MILLENNIUM ACTRESS
Satoshi Kon, Japan, 2001, DCP, 87 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
7/25-7/29
Freely inspired by the life of Setsuko Hara, Ozu muse and star of 101 films, Satoshi Kon (PERFECT BLUE and PAPRIKA) brings his elliptical style to the story of a documentarian whose investigation into the life of an actress sends him on an adventure through time and straight into the heart of cinema.
DOC NIGHTS
ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION
Travis Gutiérrez Senger, USA, 2025, DCP, 90 min.
7/19, 7/22
Using archival footage, interviews, and newly staged happenings, this documentary tells the story of a radical Chicano art cooperative who merged activism with art and radical identity in 1970’s Los Angeles and have continued to inspire and ignite movements ever since.
EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET
Felipe Bustos Sierra, UK, 2026, DCP, 98 min.
7/20, 7/23
This documentary is a vital record, captured on the phones of the participants and by news crews, of a remarkable event in 2021. In Glasgow’s most diverse neighborhood, a pair of men were picked up by police outside their Mosque where they had gone to commemorate Eid. As the van prepared to take the men away, a small act of passive resistance soon swelled to the entire quarter of the city as thousands of people joined the swelling, spontaneous movement. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, July 20.
AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ
David Alvarado, USA, 2026, DCP, 92 min.
8/12
Playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez brought the Chicano experience into the American cultural mainstream with the films ZOOT SUIT and LA BAMBA. His own story, here told by documentarian David Alvarado, is every bit as drama-filled as his works. With Luis Valdez and filmmaker David Alvarado in person.
SEEDS
Brittany Shyne, USA, 2025, DCP, 123 min.
8/22, 8/26
With expressive black and white photography, SEEDS captures the stories of modern Black farmers in the South in poetic vignettes, shot over a decade. Filmmaker Brittany Shyne captures intimate moments of daily life with her characters, including their deep connections to land and community and their struggles to make the economics of farming work in a system that is often stacked against them. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Best Documentary Film. A 2025 AFS Doc Days selection.
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Stanley Kubrick, USA/UK, 1968, DCP, 139 min.
7/10-7/16
Stanley Kubrick’s metaphysically rich science fiction adaptation is one of the most visually compelling works of film art ever made. An enormous step forward in movie special effects, it also showed that serious speculative fiction belonged on the same plane as art films. A mindblower.
TO DIE FOR
Gus Van Sant, USA, 1995, DCP, 106 min.
7/17-7/23
Based on a true story. Nicole Kidman is the show here, giving a Big Star performance in this black comedy masterpiece as a villainously ambitious weather reporter who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal of leaving her small suburban life behind her. Written by Buck Henry, writer of THE GRADUATE. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Check out this supporting cast: Ileana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck. We could go on.
MILDRED PIERCE
Michael Curtiz, USA, 1945, 35mm, 111 min.
8/28, 8/30
Joan Crawford’s career seemed to be at an end in 1945. But her will to survive was mirrored in her next part, the title role in this film, one of her career milestones. She plays a devoted mother who stands by her daughter through everything, including murder. This is peak Hollywood melodrama. In 35mm.
BEST OF THE FESTS
BARRIO TRISTE
Stillz, Colombia/USA, 2025, DCP, 84 min. In Spanish with English subtitles.
8/3, 8/5
From executive producer Harmony Korine and featuring original music by Arca comes the acclaimed debut feature by Stillz, whose images have burned up the screen as a photographer and Bad Bunny music video director. In Medellin, 1987, a crew of teenagers commandeer a news camera and turn it on their lives in BARRIO TRISTE.
TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS
Sho Miyake, Japan, 2025, DCP, 89 min. In Japanese and Korean with English subtitles. 8/10, 8/16
Based on two manga by Yoshiharu Tsuge, this film‑within‑a‑film contrasts a summer romance between Yūmi Kawai and local Natsuo with the wintry story of screenwriter Li (Shim Eun-kyung), creatively blocked and searching for connection alongside innkeeper Benzo. A work as profound and delicate as snowfall from Sho Miyake (SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY). Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, August 10.
BOUCHRA
Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki, Italy/Morocco/USA, 2025, DCP, 83 min. In Arabic, French, and English with English subtitles.
8/17, 8/20
New York City is filled with animals in artists Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s (best known for the web series 2 LIZARDS) utterly original look at art, creativity, and identity, BOUCHRA. The titular Bouchra — a filmmaker and queer expat envisioned as an anthropomorphic jackal — stares at blank pages in New York as she tries to connect with her mother in Casablanca in this inventive mix of documentary, narrative, and animation.
DREAMS IN NIGHTMARES
Shatara Michelle Ford, USA, 2024, DCP, 120 min.
8/31, 9/2
Three Black queer femmes hit the road in search of a missing friend, unraveling truths and tensions along the way. Director Shatara Michelle Ford (TEST PATTERN) centers joy in a world in this defiant treatise for living.
FRIGHT CLUB
GANJA AND HESS
Bill Gunn, USA, 1973, DCP, 113 min.
8/13, 8/15
Writer/director Bill Gunn’s engaging and sometimes humorous experimental horror film is like no other vampire movie. Its story of a centuries-old African blood disease takes the viewer into a world of pan-African mysticism and is also a visceral meditation upon colonialism and its trail of blood.
LATES
THE DEVIL QUEEN
Antonio Carlos da Fontoura, Brazil, 1974, DCP, 99 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. 7/3, 7/4
The Black femme Devil Queen rules over Rio de Janeiro’s criminal underworld with an iron fist — no, a straight razor, which she uses both for shaving her legs and slitting throats — in this underseen classic of Brazilian genre cinema. Newly restored, THE DEVIL QUEEN is an outrageous, sleazy, and shockingly mean queer crime epic that epitomizes the saying “be gay, do crime” (Elizabeth Purchell). New 4K restoration.
THE TASTE OF TEA
Katsuhito Ishii, Japan, 2004, DCP, 143 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
7/10, 7/11
This family is nothing like yours — they’re better. An eccentric artist mom, a hypnotherapist dad, a son with dating hangups, a daughter facing off with her doppelgänger, and an uncle haunted by the past. Giants, musical numbers, and an endless supply of whimsy (a train through the head, anyone?), it’s — as one character puts it — “weird but cool.” Starring Tadanobu Asano (ICHI THE KILLER) and Tomokazu Miura (TYPHOON CLUB, SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY) with appearances by Hideaki Anno (EVANGELION, LOVE & POP), Anna Tsuchiya (KAMIKAZE GIRLS), and more. Newly Remastered.
METAL SKIN
Geoffrey Wright, Australia, 1994, DCP, 109 min.
7/24, 7/25
In Australia, just beyond ordinary life, lurks a world of devil‑worshipping, car‑smashing, speed‑racing teens with nothing to lose. Writer‑director Geoffrey Wright follows his controversial ROMPER STOMPER with a bloody, nihilistic blast of MTV‑style visuals, leather, and angst. Starring Ben Mendelsohn.
PAPER CUTS
PEEPING TOM
Michael Powell, UK, 1960, DCP, 101 min.
7/5, 7/9
Join us for a special conversation with writer and film critic, Katherine Packert Burke, on Sunday, July 5. This film’s book pairing, All Us Saints — by Katherine Packert Burke, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online. Michael Powell’s psychological thriller about a murderer who uses motion pictures to capture the final moments of his victims’ lives on film is still shocking and revelatory today. The film’s insights into the human condition and the uneasy roots of cinephilia still resonate.
MEANTIME
Mike Leigh, UK, 1983, DCP, 112 min.
8/16, 8/19
Life on the dole in Thatcher’s England, Mike Leigh’s MEANTIME follows two brothers (QUADROPHENIA star Phil Daniels and a young Tim Roth) as the grind of public-housing life wears them down to a pulp. An early standout from Leigh, the great “chronicler of the British underclass.” (Little White Lies) Featuring a breakout performance by Gary Oldman.
Featuring a post-film discussion and a pop-up shop on Sunday, August 16. This film’s book pairing The Hard Road to Renewal: Thatcherism and the Crisis of the Left by Stuart Hall, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.
QUEER CINEMA: LOST AND FOUND
MACHO DANCER
Lino Brocka, Philippines, 1988, DCP, 133 min. In Filipino with English subtitles.
7/12, 7/16
From Lino Brocka (INSIANG, BONA) comes MACHO DANCER, the story of 18-year-old Pol as he navigates Manila’s underground gay club scene and, stripping to survive, discovers the world of pleasure is filled with corruption. A landmark of Filipino cinema, now restored in 4K and ripe for rediscovery.
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Harry Dodge & Silas Howard, USA, 2001, DCP, 95 min.
8/5
A trans and butch buddy film as radical as the day it was made, BY HOOK OR BY CROOK is the story of Shy, a gender-bending dreamer, whose plans for a life of crime collide with Valentine, an adoptee searching for her birth mother. Together, these two misfits forge an unlikely, yet genuine bond. New 4K restoration.
PARTNER EVENTS
American Short Fiction presents LA CAUSA
Andres Figueredo Thomson, Venezuela, 2019, DCP, 82 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. 7/16
Join author Alejandro Puyana and filmmaker Andres Figueredo Thomson for a post-film discussion.
This screening is presented in collaboration with American Short Fiction, the Austin‑based nonprofit literary organization founded in 1991.
Alejandro Puyana is the author of Freedom is a Feast (paperback available August 5). A sweeping, multigenerational Latin American saga of love and revolution, the novel follows a rebel who, after committing a youthful betrayal, receives a late-life chance at redemption: “a tour de force” from “the new master” (Luis Alberto Urrea, New York Times bestselling author of Good Night, Irene).
In this prison, inmates rule. Enter one of the most dangerous facilities in Venezuela, PGV in Caracas, where the only guards stand outside. Inside, prisoners enforce their own code and deliver justice accordingly. Despite — or because of — these conditions, salvation is sought, and found, even in the darkest of cells.
LIVE SCORE
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC with Live Score by The Silent Light
Carl Theodor Dreyer, France, 1928, DCP, 81 min. Silent with live musical accompaniment. 8/21
Live heavy metal score by The Silent Light. Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy are brought to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent achievements of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the final hours leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques —including expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, and painfully intimate close-ups — to immerse viewers in her subjective experience.
SPECIAL SCREENING
THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS
Episodes 1 and 2: 8/27 with a post-screening discussion with the victim’s families.
Episodes 3 and 4: 8/29 with a post-screening discussion with the filmmaking team.
Episode 5: 9/3 with a post-screening panel moderated by Richard Linklater featuring guests from the police force and the exonerated accused
We present the complete Austin-made series about Austin’s most traumatic decades-unsolved mystery, including the latest final episode about the closure of the case. An HBO Original documentary series. Featuring filmmakers and special guests in person at each screening.
PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL
AFS welcomes Los Angeles’ famed Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) for its fourth annual Austin series, presenting a selection of the most acclaimed films from PAFF’s February festival. Established in 1992 by Hollywood veterans Danny Glover, the late Ja’Net DuBois (Good Times), and Ayuko Babu (Executive Director), the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has remained dedicated to the promotion of Black stories and images through the exhibition of film, visual art, and other creative expression. As the critically acclaimed largest Black film and arts festival and Black History Month activation in the United States, PAFF has become the quintessential global celebration of Pan-African cultures and an international beacon for the African diaspora film and arts communities.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
MUGANGA, THE ONE WHO TREATS
Marie-Hélène Roux, Gabon/France/Belgium, 2025, DCP, 105 min. In French, Swahili, Lingala with English subtitles.
7/30
Denis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor and future Nobel Peace Prize laureate, treats — at the risk of his life — thousands of women who are victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His encounter with Guy Cadière, a Belgian surgeon, will breathe new life into his mission. Texas Premiere.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
PHAT GIRLZ – 20th Anniversary
Nnegest Likké, USA, 2006, DCP, 100 min.
7/31
While on vacation, two besties, (“Mo’Nique and Kendra C. Johnson) struggling with body-image issues meet two rich, handsome Nigerian doctors (Jimmy Jean-Louis and comedian Godfrey) who invite them to a traditional African party where they are the belles of the ball because of their full figures. A whole new world opens up for them, culturally and romantically, changing their lives forever. This groundbreaking, glow-up film celebrates the beauty of black bodies, Nigerian culture, Afrobeats, and Pan-African love. The culturally groundbreaking, body-positive romantic-comedy turns 20, but its timeless message of self-love resonates stronger than ever today.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
PLAY IT LOUD! HOW TORONTO GOT SOUL
Graeme Mathieson, Canada/Jamaica/USA, 2025, DCP, 83 min.
7/31
This documentary reveals how many of Jamaica’s biggest stars turned Toronto into a Jamaican music mecca. The film tells the story through the life of beloved reggae singer Jay Douglas, an O.G. still going
strong 60 years after the story begins. The Jamaicans built a vibrant culture of basement studios, record stores, and house parties, recording extraordinary tracks, forgotten until an American record label discovered and released the long-lost recordings, breathing new life into their careers. Texas Premiere.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE (SHORT FILM BLOCK)
Various, 2025, DCP, 112 min.
8/1
A bold compilation of seven Pan-African narrative journeys of self-determination. Rooted in the intertwined principles of the African philosophy of Ubuntu: interconnectedness, compassion & empathy, respect & dignity, communal responsibility & solidarity, this mix of sci-fi, action/adventure, comedy, drama, psychological thriller, and animation, including LGBTQ+, mental health, and environmental-related issues, examines the resilience of Black bodies manifesting joy and sustainability while navigating grief, self-identity, and trauma.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Legally Black (Episodes 1 & 2), dir. Abai Peace
After her father’s death, fashion consultant Jade Black spirals into alcoholism. As her life unravels, she must choose whether to keep spiraling or reclaim her spark with humor and resilience.
TIME SETTERS, dir. Oliver Mack Calhoun
A grief-stricken inventor (Fury) and a hardened ex-Marine (Vengeance) secretly lead the Time Setters, a covert group that alters history to save lives stolen by racial violence. When idealistic historian Marvin (Justice) joins their cause, he’s thrust into his first mission: traveling to 1955 Mississippi to save Emmett Till. Due to time travel not being an exact science, they run into obstacles and race against time to accomplish their mission for their version of social justice.
TWO BLACK BOYS IN PARADISE, dir. Baz Sells
Edan (19) and Dula (18) navigate love, identity, and self-acceptance on a journey about coming into oneself and out to the world. Confronting fear, shame, and societal expectations, the boys rediscover a sense of belonging in their own paradise, in this celebration of queer love, vulnerability, and the power of embracing who you are.
THE INCONVENIENCE STORE, dir. Ifeanyi Ezieme
At a remote gas station in Nowheresville, California, shopkeeper Hiro, stranded traveler Tonya and gruff trucker Ron collide in a heated altercation. When an emergency broadcast warns of extraterrestrial craft overhead—and a bleeding stranger stumbles in from the street—the group must decide whether to trust the approaching beings or prepare for a fight that could alter the fate of the universe.
COMPLICATED GRIEF, dir. Julius Amedume
A mysterious gift from beyond crosses continents to a secluded chalet, where the fate of a couple unfolds in an unexpected and unsettling way.
SPILLED MILK, dir. Jared Leaf
What happened to all those dads that went to the store to get milk and never came home? A father’s late-night trip to the store leads him into an encounter with a mysterious Milk Man, and things quickly go sour.
THE BLACK BART OF TACO KING # 17, dir. Rickey Larke
A suave larcenist searches for a new partner at a dive bar and finds the perfect Bonnie to his Clyde. He takes her to dinner to put her to the test, yet she has all the answers… and more.
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL: THE KWAME BRATHWAITE STORY
Yemi Bamiro, USA, 2025, DCP, 98 min.
8/1
Photographer to the greats, collaborator in African liberation, and archivist of Harlem, Brathwaite’s impact on Black culture is undeniable, but he was largely forgotten by history. This documentary covers the incredible surge in awareness of Kwame’s work, including being embraced by Rihanna and Beyoncé. Alicia Keys, Jesse Williams, Gabrielle Union, and Tyler Mitchell speak emotionally about championing Kwame’s work in this documentary, which finally gives “the keeper of the images” of the Black is Beautiful movement his moment to shine. Texas Premiere.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
MONTMARTRE
Leon Hendrix III, USA/France, 2025, DCP, 103 min. In French and English with English subtitles. 8/1
Disillusioned with her life, Jo visits the storied French district of Montmartre to clear her mind. There she falls for Toussaint, a tour guide with a penchant for poetry and romance. Through their curious connection, history, art and love intertwine, reconnecting Jo to her long-lost passion for life. Regional Premiere.
This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
About PAFF
Established in 1992 by Hollywood veterans Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon), the late Ja’Net DuBois (Good Times), and Ayuko Babu (Executive Director), the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has remained dedicated to the promotion of Black stories and images through the exhibition of film, visual art, and other creative expression. For over 30 years, PAFF has been the international beacon for the African diaspora film and arts communities.
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.
