While cinema goers in Austin are more than familiar with the Alamo Drafthouse, The Paramount and a few other offerings, a little known gem is being burnished up in the North side of town. The Austin Film Society (AFS), founded by filmmaker Richard Linklater in 1985, finally found itself a permanent home a few years ago at the Marchesa Hall. Allowing them to host their own screenings, retrospectives, and guests as they champion film talent from the Austin area and beyond.
The anchor tenants recently left the location leaving AFS to not only strike out alone, but to up their ambition for the project. Their aim is to renovate the location, upgrade the existing theater and add a second. On top of this, the lobby will also get a makeover, providing a full-service bar and a menu of locally-sourced snacks. In their own words “a place for the community to gather to appreciate cinema and watch films as they are meant to be seen, on a big screen with an audience“. Checkout this video which outlines the project.
They have already gathered a significant portion of the funds to do this but to get them to their goal and also involve the community they look to serve, they set up a IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. Offering perks with donations ranging ranging from from $10 to $10000, there’s something for everyone who wants to be part of the endeavor.
For the full details go to their fundraising site at IndieGoGo and visit the AFS website at https://www.austinfilm.org/.
ABOUT The Austin Film Society
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, the Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch, and love film and creative media. Here’s how we do that:
AFS shows hundreds of films year-round, curating a broad range of titles from around the world and throughout cinema history
– We attract film production to Austin and support homegrown productions through Austin Studios, our 20-acre production studio
– We offer pathways to filmmaking for the entire community through equipment, facilities and channels at our community media facility, Austin Public, and classes at various sites
– We deliver artist development programs to an elite group of Texas filmmakers, including financial support through the AFS Grant.
Originally published at cinapse.co on November 5, 2016.