Festival Spotlight Friday: 5 Must-Attend Guest Programming Screenings at the Austin Film Festival by Patrick Achis

Founded in 1993, this year the Austin Film Festival celebrates 20 years of tradition, education and good film. Featuring a variety of panels workshops, roundtable discussions and screenings in theaters throughout the Austin area, AFF grants amateurs the opportunity to join interactive panels and roundtables with seasoned film professionals who help illuminate the ins and outs of the industry.

While MovieMaker isn’t attending AFF this year (boo hoo), we want to enjoy the fest vicariously through our readers. One thing we’d be most excited for if we were attending is the festival’s Guest Programming series. This year’s is AFF’s largest and most distinguished series yet, featuring 14 programmers of the likes of Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad (presenting two screenings – one of them an episode of the show itself) and actress Susan Sarandon of Thelma and Louise (which wasn’t the film she picked – though it was someone else’s!). So, in a fit of bitter jealousy, we’ve put together a short visual guide of our top five picks of the Guest Programmer screenings at Austin this year for those lucky attendees to get in line for.

Susan Sarandon presents Romance & Cigarettes (Turturro, 2005). 3.15pm, October 25, 2013

Vince Gilligan presents The French Connection (Friedkin, 1977). 4.00pm, October 26, 2013

Shane Black presents My Man Godfrey (La Cava, 1996). 2.00pm, October 27 2013

Callie Khourie presents Thelma & Louise (Scott, 1991). 6.15pm, October 27, 2013.

Jonathan Demme presents Greaser’s Palace (Downey Sr., 1972). 5.30pm, October 27, 2013

The full list of all Guest Programmer screenings can be viewed here. To everyone attending, have a blast! We’ll see you there next year! MM

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