Chad Mathews, director of the Lone Star Film Festival, promises this year’s Lone Star Film Festival to be spectacular.
"One quarter of films featured at the 17th annual Lone Star Film Festival will feature movies made in the Lone Star State," Mathews said. "The festival experience will draw locals and show visiting moviemakers the strength of Fort Worth’s film industry."
This year’s festival spans two venues: Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater and TCU Music Center (home to Van Cliburn Concert Hall). Featured films include Lost Soulz, the drama directed by Katherine Propper that follows a young rapper traveling across Texas as he discovers who he is as an artist and person; Jailhouse to Millhouse, director Buddy Farmer’s intimate portrait of Pamela Hayden (Milhouse on The Simpsons); and Trail Boss, the Stephen Robinson work that tells the story of a young girl forced into managing the sale of her family’s cattle.
Enjoy easy entry to this year’s festival with a Festival Pass which includes access to all screenings, film talks, happy hours and parties outside the LSFF Gala. The LSFF Gala, to be held at Hotel Drover, will honor Marty Bowen, the producer/actor/writer behind First Man, Fatherhood and The Maze Runner; Luke Wilson, the famed actor featured in Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, My Dog Skip and Legally Blonde; Charley Crockett, the Texas-based blues, country and Americana singer-songwriter; and David Glasser, the producer behind Yellowstone and the show’s popular spinoff 1883.
Thanks in part to the work of the Fort Worth Film Commission, a proud sponsor of this year’s LSFF, Fort Worth is becoming a popular destination for major movie and show productions.
“People love Texas,” Mathews said. “There is a mystique tied to this state. Texas is also unique in that it has every setting you can find, from piney forests to dessert. I can shoot in downtown Fort Worth and then in 20 minutes be at a ranch. That’s a unique situation.”
During your stay in Fort Worth, consider spending your film-filled nights at Aloft Hotels or Springhill Suites which both have LSFF-blocked rooms available, or Cowtown’s rustic-luxe Hotel Drover. And while you're out, enjoy everything Fort Worth’s nightlife has to offer.
Feature Films and TV Shows To Be Showcased at This Year's Lone Star Film Festivals:
CRESCENDO – Pre-Festival Screening
Thursday, October 26
TCU Music Center
5pm
This pre-festival screening comes to audiences in partnership with The Cliburn. Crescendo follows 30 of the world’s most promising musicians as they travel to Fort Worth to compete in the 2022 Cliburn International Piano Competition. Directed by Heather Wilk in her directorial debut, the film has been met with enthusiasm by audiences across the world. The audience will have a unique experience to watch the documentary in the very same venue in which it was filmed.
WILDFIRE – Opening Night Film
Thursday, November 2
Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater
7pm
The world premiere of the film Wildfire will open the festival. Inspired by the hit song by Michael Martin Murphy, Wildfire tells the story of redemption and forgiveness as a young girl releases a dark secret through the friendship she develops with a wild horse. Murphy will perform a short set after the screening and there will be photo opportunities surrounding the event.
RED HEADED STRANGER – Retro Screening
Saturday, November 4
Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater
8pm
Willie Nelsen's Luck Reunion will do a retro screening of Red Headed Stranger that will include a special musical performance following the movie. The 1986 western drama starring Willie Nelson tells the story of a preacher who takes the arduous journey from faith to revenge and back again.
LANE – World Premiere
Monday, November 6
Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater
7:30pm
Lone Star Film Festival will host the world premiere of Lane. Produced by Fort Worth-based Out of Order Studios, the documentary takes an in-depth look at the life of deceased bull rider Lane Frost. The legendary bull rider was the Bull Riding Champion of the first Youth National Finals in Fort Worth in 1982, and the film offers audiences an emotional contemplation of a talented life that ended far too soon.
LAWMEN: BASS REEVES – Special Sneak Peek – Episode 1 & 2
Date Saturday, November 4
Location Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater
Time 5pm
Lone Star Film Festival, courtesy of Paramount+, is pleased to host a special sneak peek screening of the highly anticipated Paramount+ series, Lawmen: Bass Reeves. From executive producer Taylor Sheridan, the series tells the untold story of the first black U.S. Marshall and legendary lawman Bass Reeves. The eight-episode series was filmed in and around Tarrant County.
The 2023 Lone Star Film Festival’s official selections include feature films, documentaries and short films. Many will make their world and Texas premieres at the festival, including films No Right Way, A Good Girl and the documentary O Pioneer. Nearly 50 outstanding short films were accepted to this year’s festival.