2021 Sundance Film Festival and Houston Cinema Arts Society Reveal Additional Program Selections Debuting in Houston and Beyond Film Selections
HOUSTON, TX – Houston Cinema Arts Society announces new additions to the Sundance Satellite program. Judas and the Black Messiah, Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, and Mayday will join previously announced films CODA, I Was a Simple Man, and Passing. In addition to the screenings of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection, Houston Cinema Arts Society is presenting the “Beyond Film” series, programs curated by HCAS in compliment to the official Sundance selections. Programs include a Drive-In screening of the Texas-based film that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Miss Juneteenth, at the DeLuxe Theater Pop Up Drive-In, a virtual conversation between Miss Juneteenth director Channing Godfrey Peoples and HCAS Board Member Richard Linklater, and the return of the Black Story Media Summit – Texas on a virtual platform.
Feature competition film Mayday will screen at Moonstruck Drive-In on Sunday, January 31 at 7:30PM. The much anticipated film Judas and the Black Messiah, starring LaKeith Standfield and Daniel Kaluuya, will play Moonstruck Drive-In on Monday, February 1 at 8PM. Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir is the last feature by late director James Redford, Robert Redford’s son, and will play Moonstruck Drive-In on Tuesday, February 2 at 7:30PM.
Judas and the Black Messiah / U.S.A. (Director: Shaka King, Screenwriters: Will Berson, Shaka King, Producers: Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King, Shaka King) — FBI informant William O’Neal infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther party when J. Edgar Hoover fears charismatic leader Chairman Fred Hampton will emerge as a Black Messiah. O’Neal lives in fear of discovery and cannot escape the deadly trajectory of his betrayal. Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Lil Rel Howery, Martin Sheen. World Premiere. Monday, February 1 at 8:00PM at Moonstruck Drive-In
Miss Juneteenth / U.S.A (Director and Screenwriter: Channing Godfrey Peoples, Producers: Neil Creque Williams, James M. Johnston, Jeanie Igoe, and Toby Halbrooks – Turquoise Jones is a single mom who holds down a household, a rebellious teenager, and pretty much everything that goes down at Wayman’s BBQ & Lounge. Turquoise is also a bona fide beauty queen—she was once crowned Miss Juneteenth, a title commemorating the day slaves in Texas were freed – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Life didn’t turn out as beautifully as the title promised, but Turquoise, determined to right her wrongs, is cultivating her daughter, Kai, to become Miss Juneteenth, even if Kai wants something else. Cast: Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, and Alexis Chikaeze. Houston in-person premiere. Sunday, January 31 at 7:30PM at The DeLuxe Theater. This screening is co-presented with Austin Film Society and Black Public Media.
Mayday / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Karen Cinorre, Producers: Jonah Disend, Lucas Joaquin, Karen Cinorre, Sam Levy) — Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize that she’s not the killer they want her to be. Cast: Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Havana Rose Liu, Soko, Théodore Pellerin, Juliette Lewis. World Premiere. Sunday, January 31 at 7:30PM at Moonstruck Drive-In.
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir / U.S.A. (Director: James Redford, Producers: Karen Pritzker, Cassandra Jabola) — Amy Tan has established herself as one of America’s most respected literary voices. Born to Chinese immigrant parents, it would be decades before the author of The Joy Luck Club would fully understand the inherited trauma rooted in the legacies of women who survived the Chinese tradition of concubinage. World Premiere, Documentary. Tuesday, February 2 at 7:30PM at Moonstruck Drive-In.
Richard Linklater will join Miss Juneteenth director Channing Godfrey Peoples for a free virtual conversation, co-hosted by Austin Film Society and Black Public Media. Both Linklater and Channing have early works focused on specific communities in Texas, aiming to represent them cinematically and authentically. The filmmakers will sit down for a virtual conversation to explore the creative threads that connect them, and the journey of making independent films today. The talk will take place on January 28 at 4PM. Registration is free but required.
The 2nd Black Media Story Summit-Texas, following the inaugural summit held during the 2019 Houston Cinema Arts Festival, at the historic DeLuxe Theater in Houston’s 5th Ward, will be a virtual affair, and part of the Sundance Film Festival’s “Beyond Film” Sundance Satellite programming. This free virtual conference will bring together 100 guests, including filmmakers/content creators of color, foundations, tech, distributors, and social justice leaders on the Eventive virtual platform for a day of collaboration and discussion about new strategies designed to support diverse black stories. The Texas summit is one of several regional events that continue the conversation started at the inaugural Black Media Story Summit in 2018 originated by Black Public Media, and aims to galvanize local efforts to amplify black stories. This invite-only event is presented by Black Public Media, Austin Film Society, and Houston Cinema Arts Society on Tuesday, February 2nd from 10am to 4:30pm.
Tickets for in-person screenings are available now. You can learn more about the films selected for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and see the online schedule on the Festival’s film program guide at festival.sundance.org. To purchase tickets to these in-person screenings, visit cinemahtx.org
ABOUT HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY (HCAS)
Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting unique and innovative film programs, multimedia installations and performances, and educational opportunities to engage, enrich, and empower Houston’s diverse communities and cultures. HCAS flagship programs include the Houston Cinema Arts Festival held annually in November, the Cinespace short film competition (a collaboration with NASA challenging filmmakers to create films from the NASA archives), Borders | No Borders (a short film competition for filmmakers with meaningful ties to Texas, the states it borders, and Mexico), and the Black Media Story Summit (a collaboration with Black Public Media, the Austin Film Society, and the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation). HCAS is dedicated to serving Houston filmmakers and film lovers and engaging in meaningful partnerships with creative individuals and organizations at the intersection of cinema with the visual arts, music, theatre, literature, dance, culture, science, and the humanities. HCAS is generously supported by HEB, National Endowment for the Arts, Brown Foundation, Kinder Foundation, Houston First Corporation, Franci Neely Foundation, Petrello Family Foundation, Cabrina & Steven Owsley, Carrin Patman & Jim Derrick, Catherine Asher Morgan, Sara and Bill Morgan, Louisa Stude Sarofim, Nina & Michael Zilkha, Mark Wawro, Amegy Bank, Texas Film Commission, Houston Film Commission, Texas Commission for the Arts, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Six Foot, and Houston Arts Alliance. The 2020 Houston Cinema Arts Festival took place November 12-22 at Drive-Ins around Houston and on the virtual Eventive platform.