Every year we have the privilege of presenting a collection of the Best of Texas-made short films to the industry in Hollywood, and 2009 is no exception. There is something for everyone in these 7 films that represent the creative, bold filmmaking that comes from Texas. A great big thanks to all the Texas filmmakers who submitted, the selection committee, and sponsors who all support burgeoning independent filmmaking in Texas! We look forward to the premiere screening of the Texas Filmmakers Showcase 2009 in Los Angeles and around Texas in the fall.

Upcoming Screenings:
NEW!: Special Screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Friday June 26, 2009, 7P at The Landmark.

*Tickets are FREE to Festival Passholders/Non-Passholders and should be picked up at The Landmark box office (10850 West Pico @ Westwood Blvd.) the day of or immediately before the screening. Any questions about the Showcase screening please call 800-365-7575 ext.5249 or email here.

Visit Our Sponsors: Texas Film Commission    B-Side    Lazlo Rain    Next Generation Media    Hotel Palomar Los Angeles - Westwood

Color By Number (3:59 min., HD)

    Adam likes Jeanine. Jeanine likes Thomas. Thomas likes airplanes.

  • Marshall Rimmer - Austin, Texas
    Marshall Rimmer is a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. His work has been selected for both South by Southwest and Palm Springs International ShortFest 2009 film festivals, nominated for multiple College Broadcasters, Inc. Production awards, and awarded Best Picture at Columbia University's National Undergraduate Film Festival. Currently, he's unemployed and lives with at home with his mother.
Back to top
Fury (25:00 min., HD)

    Two high school students deal with the struggles of adolescence.

  • Van Blumreich - Houston, Texas.
    Van Alan Blumreich, a native of Houston, graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas in 2005 and immediately pursued a career in the television/film industry. After establishing a name for himself in music videos, he began working on short films with the ultimate goal of writing and directing his first feature film. His stories are deeply affected by his love of philosophy and tragedy, focusing on morally complex characters in situations that reflect the greater human condition.
Back to top
Skip and Lester: Here's The Stapler If You Need It (2:13 min., Animation)

    It's Lester's first day on the job at Copy-O's copy shop and his boss, Skip, has given him just one direction - - Don't let anyone use the big paper cutter in the back!

  • Lance Myers - Austin, Texas
    Fever Productions is my company. My name is Lance Myers and I've been a professional animator for over twelve years. My work can be seen in such feature films as Space Jam, Anastasia, Quest For Camelot, Prince Of Egypt, and the Richard Linklater film, A Scanner Darkly. My original animated shorts have shown on HBO, PBS, MTV, and Canada’s Moviola, as well as on screens at the Director’s Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles, and Houston’s Museum Of Fine Arts. Our most recent project has been the creation of an original animated series for Turner Broadcasting's online comedy channel, SuperDeluxe.com. It's called the Ted Zone, and it stars Toby Radloff, the self-proclaimed Genuine Nerd featured in the big, badass blockbuster hit, American Splendor.
Back to top
It's For Her (11:00 min., Mini-DV)

    Every relationship has a fatal flaw. For Greg and Maureen, that flaw is direct, unfettered communication.

  • Travis Johns - Houston, Texas
    Travis Johns is a Houston-based filmmaker & playwright, having produced original work under his company's banner of Uncooth Entertainment since 1997, that year winning the T.E.T.A. Award for Best Play as well as The Alley Theatre's H.Y.P.E. Festival in 1998. As he continued to produce theatrical work in Santa Fe, Boston, and New York, Mr. Johns was also involved on both sides of the camera for a series of original short films, including Love and the Crazy Person, Kissfield: The Documentary, and Partly Cloudy, which was included in a Los Angeles screening of ResFest 2005. After relocating to Boston, he continued to create original short films and theatrical pieces while freelancing with clients like Redbull, New Balance, and Scion. Currently back in Houston, Mr. Johns serves as Art Director at Zenfilm, a small but powerful post-production boutique, while pursuing his film and theatrical endeavors.
Back to top
My Mom Smokes Weed (17:00 min., HD)

    An old woman and her son on a roadtrip to meet some drug dealers in order to replenish the mom's supply of a certain herb.

  • Clay Liford - Dallas, Texas
    While a student at University of Texas at Austin, putting himself through school by MC'ing at the The Laff Stop comedy club, Clay Liford produced shows for the student TV station including award-winning Laughing Stock and The Night Show. After graduating, Clay made a name for himself in Austin and Dallas shooting/editing ultra-low-budget features with two 16mm cameras he inherited from a previous film. After shooting seven features, Clay wrote, produced and shot his own debut feature film, A Four Course Meal and his second feature, Earthling, is currently in post-production. Clay has now shot over ten feature films including such memorable titles as Prison-A-Go-Go, Blood On The Highway, and most recently St. Nick. My Mom Smokes Weed marks his foray into filmmaking with his mother who was a "consultant" during production (and had script approval).
Back to top
Quarter To Noon (14:00 min., HD)

    A worker discovers a world outside her office window...so she crawls though it.

  • Kat Candler - Austin, Texas
    Kat Candler has written, directed and produced several short films and two feature films, cicadas and jumping off bridges. She's screened at South By Southwest, Slamdance, The National Institutes of Health, The Carter Center, IFC.com and on PBS. In 2002, Kat was one of 50 finalists in the Chesterfield Fellowship Competition, a Semi-Finalist in the 2002 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab and a participant in the 2002 IFP Market's Emerging Narrative Section for her screenplay jumping off bridges. Candler has taught workshops and camps since 2001 with Storie Productions, Expanding Your Horizons Youth Conference, American Youthworks, Girl Start, The Austin Film Society, The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Skill Point Alliance and The Austin School of Film. Most recently Candler was a participant in the 2009 Tribeca All Access Development Program with her next feature film, The Spider in the Bathtub, a family comedy co-written with Chris Mass (Chalk).
Back to top
Smokey (14:16 min., Mini-DV)

    Out of the wind with a suitcase full of surprises, Smokey Binion, Jr. walks through a parking lot, preparing himself for another free performance as an Elvis impersonator in the Texas panhandle. A day in the life with Smokey reveals an optimistic man involved with his community as an employee of the city and tribute artist, comfortable living and working in the small town of Stinnett, TX while finding unusual ways to connect with all kinds of people.

  • Scott Thurman - Denton, Texas
    A lifelong resident of Texas, Scott Thurman earned his BFA in Photography/Printmaking/Video at Texas Tech University and directed Smokey during his first year in the MFA Documentary Filmmaking program at the University of North Texas.
Back to top