Marfa Film Festival and Writer Larry McMurty

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MARFA FILM FESTIVAL

Larry McMurty, screenwriter of award-winning Brokeback Mountain and other celebrated Westerns, makes a rare appearance to be honored at the Marfa Film Festival.

PRESS RELEASE

Hello Friends,

The 2nd Annual Marfa Film Festival is coming soon and we have some great news to share with you!

Oscar and Pulitzer prize winner Larry McMurtry is coming to Marfa Film Festival to introduce a special outdoor screening of “The Last Picture Show” Saturday night (May 2nd) and answer questions about his life and career Sunday morning. Also before the screening Saturday, Marfa Film Festival (in association with the Texas Association of Film Commissions) will present McMurtry with the first ever “Texas Screen Legend” award for his contributions to the cinema-arts in Texas and beyond. (Details on the award ceremony (and tickets) will be coming soon.)

In addition to “The Last Picture Show,” for which he also wrote the screenplay, McMurtry’s work includes the novels for the classics films “Hud” with Paul Newman, “Terms of Endearment” with Shirley McLain and Jack Nicholson, and the epic mini-series “Lonesome Dove” with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Mr. McMurtry rarely if ever appears at screenings of his films, so it’s a very special honor to bring him to Marfa. He will be joined by his writing partner, Diana Ossana, who won as Oscar with McMurtry for their screenplay to “Brokeback Mountain.”

Other night screenings this year include the 40th anniversary of “Midnight Cowboy,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, and the great technicolor classic “The Red Shoes,” directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. (See EVENTS at www.marfafilmfestival.org for details and descriptions of the films.) Also, the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow will be back to project the 35mm classic prints on their enormous 40 x 20 foot outdoor screen. Tickets (as well as festival and day passes) are on sale on the website

(Note: Please know that there are very few if any options left for lodging in Marfa during the festival. At this moment, the Hotel Paisano is still holding a few rooms for pass-holders only. If you’ve bought a full festival pass and would like to stay at the Hotel Paisano during the festival, please call our office 432.729.1948 as soon as possible and we’ll put you on the list.)

The festival will close this year with the annual Cinco De Mayo street party at the courthouse (Marfa Film Festival in partnership with the Rotary Club of Marfa) complete with Mariachi music, bands and DJs, turtle races, chicken**** bingo, food and fun for all. We’ll also have free Yoga again this year as well as other events happening around Marfa, so please check our EVENTS section on the website (www.marfafilmfestival.org) as the festival draws near.

We’re in the final stages of choosing the program for 2009 right now, and still watching movies day and night. The selections will be announced at noon on April 1st via Twitter (www.twitter.com/marfafilmfestival) and later that afternoon on our website, so stay tuned for details. We’ll also have news to share soon of our opening party and world premiere opening screening Wednesday night (April 29th).

Last year’s festival was a great success thanks to people like you and our wonderful sponsors, most of whom are back again this year. Patron and Paul Mitchell have again displayed enormous generosity in sponsoring the festival. That goes for King Airways, too, who’ll be flying Mr. McMurtry to town. Also Sull Ross University, Marfa Public Radio, The Hotel Paisano and Alamo Beer are helping us again. And this year friends like Ballroom Marfa and the Thunderbird Hotel have come on board with incredible energy and generosity. And companies like Fiji Water, Barefoot Wine and Kodak are sponsoring us for the first time.

Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon!

If you have any questions, please visit the site at:

http://www.marfafilmfestival.org/

Robin and Cory and the MFF family

READ more about the city of Marfa: Mother of Marfa! A Film Festival

April 1, 2009 | Filed Under What's Happening 

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