Tonight, the AFI Dallas International Film Festival presents its Tex Avery Animation Award to a director many people may never have heard of. Yet henry Selick has already created at least two major animation landmarks — as well as an instantly recognizable style that combines the gloomy and giggly.

Desdemona: A Love Story may well be the most gorgeous looking film at the AFI Film Festival. Good or bad, consciously or not, it's one of those judgments viewers make about an independent film: Does this thing look as good as a Hollywood studio product? Thanks to cinematographer and editor Philip Roy, Desdemona doesn't look like a Hollywood film. It looks like a beautifully crafted Hollywood film.

Yes, a beautifully crafted Hollywood film whose slowness and obviousness are likely to make a viewer pinch himself on occasion to make sure he hasn't fallen into a coma.

This week, Paul talks with Denton band Matthew and the Arrogant Sea about their new album, Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian.

How do female rappers find the balance between embodying traditional hip-hop qualities while also maintaining their identities as women?
That's the question at the heart of the documentary Say My Name.

This week's Saturday Spotlight shines on The Eyes of Me, a documentary playing at AFI Dallas about the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Right. So how's the movie? It's a low-budget-but-n0t-cheap-looking musical set in America with all of the happy-happy Bollywood conventions intact, sub-category: the struggling young dancer with a dream. Raj (the charming Sachin Bhatt) wants to dance professionally, but he can't get a gig, his dad doesn't understand why he doesn't find a real job and his girlfriend dumps him. An older Indian woman (Dubey) has a suggestion: Why not start a dance class for Indian women?

Roxanne Wheelis owns the River City Tattoo Parlors in Killeen and in Austin. Five years ago over a beer, Wheelis told documentary filmmaker Nancy Schiasari about the young men and women from Fort Hood — and the tattoo that some were getting before they deployed to Iraq.
It’s called a “meat tag.” It’s a soldier’s dog tag information tattooed on his or her torso.

Stephen's taking a deep breath before diving back in to all things AFI.  So it's my turn to say: who wants some passes to the film festival?
The first 10 people who e-mail me  (abothwell@kera.org) with AFI in the subject line get 10 shiny vouchers each.  Note – these vouchers are good for regular screenings and [...]

With most wide-release films, you've been told by countless commercials and trailers how you're supposed to feel about what you've yet to watch. It's an invitation for you to sit back, relax and just let the film wash over you.
Then there are films like St. Nick, which requires your attention and thoughts to help tell [...]

The AFI Dallas International Film Festival kicks off today with the opening-night screening of The Brothers Bloom at NorthPark Center. From today through April 2, 173 feature films and shorts will screen during the festival's third installment, and Art&Seek is here to help you make the most of the event. Be sure to check back [...]