SLEEPING IN PLASTIC to premiere at Austin Film Festival

The Austin Film Festival said Friday that Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, the Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth will be in the lineup for the 26th annual fest, which is set for October 24-31.

The first wave of films also includes the world premieres of the documentary Cowboys, written and directed by Austin natives John Langmore and Bud Force; The Animal People, from executive producer Joaquin Phoenix; The VICE Guide to Bigfoot; and the Texas crime thriller Sleeping in Plastic, from writer-director Van Ditthavong.

Also set for the fest is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Oh My God I Think It’s Over, a documentary that follows the making of the show’s series-finale episode which aired in April. Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna and director Katie Hyde will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

Here’s the first round of films set for the lineup, which will be filled out next month.

A Hidden Life
Writer/Director: Terrence Malick
Starring: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon, Tobias Moretti, Bruno Ganz, Matthias Schoenaerts, Karin Neuhäuser, Ulrich Matthes
Based on real events, from visionary writer-director Terrence Malick, A HIDDEN LIFE is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive.

A Patient Man
Texas Premiere
Writer/Director: Kevin Ward
In the aftermath of a terrible car accident, a man tries to make sense of his life and seeks revenge for what he has lost.

Cowboys
World Premiere
Writer/Director: John Langmore, Bud Force
In an age of breathtaking change, rapid urbanization, and a daily news cycle, it’s hard to imagine an existence almost entirely divorced from that reality. Yet, COWBOYS: A Documentary Portrait reveals a fascinating way of life tied uniquely to the natural environment and capricious thousand-pound animals. Filmed on location in the most remote parts of the American West, COWBOYS paints an intimate portrait of a surprisingly diverse and eloquent group of men and women committed to a harsh reality while feeding a population they’re likely never to encounter.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Oh My God I Think It’s Over
Director: Katie Hyde
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Oh My God I Think It’s Over” is a peek behind the curtain as the team behind the award-winning comedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” wraps up its final season. We watch as co-creators Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna and their many talented collaborators steer the show through its final episode. The film highlights their unique process as they juggle writing, songwriting, choreography on a spinning turntable, last minute big ideas and emergencies, and the “impossible task” of creating a smart, feminist, musical comedy show that’s a process unlike any other show ever to air on network TV.

Harriet
Writers: Gregory Allen Howard, Kasi Lemmons
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, Clarke Peters
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, HARRIET tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Macabre
North American Premiere
Writer: Lucas Paraizo and Rita Gloria Curvo
Director: Marcos Prado
Macabre is a feature film based on the true story of the ‘Werewolves of Freiburg’, two young brothers who were accused of brutal murders in the 90’s, in Brazil. The thriller follows Sergeant Téo in his quest for the suspects hiding in the Atlantic Forest. While the population, the press and the local police condemn the brothers, Téo realizes that one of them may be innocent.

Sleeping in Plastic
World Premiere
Writer/Director: Van Ditthavong
A small Texas town awakes when a high school wrestler gets swept into the dangerous world of an intoxicating drifter and her ruthless lover. Lives intertwine and spiral violently out of control once he becomes her escort driver and risks everything to save her.

The Animal People
World Premiere
Writers: Cassandra Suchan, Denis Henry Hennelly, Sasha Perry, Brian Palmer
Director: Cassandra Suchan, Denis Henry Hennelly
A chilling portrait of what happens when activism rattles the institutions of power.

The Truth
Writer: Hirokazu Koreeda, Adaption by Lea Le Dimna
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, Ludivine Saginer, Roger Van Hool
Fabienne is a star; a star of French cinema. She reigns amongst men who love and admire her. When she publishes her memoirs, her daughter Lumir returns from New York to Paris with her husband and young child. The reunion between mother and daughter will quickly turn to confrontation: truths will be told, accounts settled, loves and resentments confessed.

The VICE Guide to Bigfoot
World Premiere
Writer: Zach Lamplugh, Brian Emond
Director: Zach Lamplugh
The debut feature from director Zach Lamplugh (Adult Swim); This paranormal comedy follows a hopelessly millennial reporter on the most important assignment of his career: Bigfoot. But after following a prominent cryptozoologist into the Appalachian foothills, he’s forced to answer the question “is a good story worth dying for?”

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