Lone Star International Film Festival 2009

Virgil Gurdies (Mark Scheibmeir) doesn’t eat to live, he lives to eat. Unfortunately for Virgil, his passion for fine cheese and wine doesn’t jive with his day job: manufacturing artificial flavor additives for TV dinners. But Virgil is ready to take a bold step. He strips off his lab coat, spends the money he had saved for his girlfriend’s engagement ring on a goat, and plunges into the world of artisanal cheese making. It’s a world where a hermit, yes, a hermit, becomes your best friend, and nefarious German bakers work to foil your every move. The Austin-based Bogart Brothers’ first feature is the story of one young man’s quest for true love and the perfect round of goat cheese. Charles Dee Mitchell

A trio of women, brought together by one’s mental breakdown as she succumbs to Alzheimer’s, tries to reconnect in their family home.

In a small ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo, 60,000 Zaballeen (“Garbage People”) collect and recycle 80% of their garbage as their method for survival in the world’s largest garbage village. Their efficiency in garbage collection is, arguably, the most proficient in the world; however, their jobs quickly become endangered by the globalization of their trade from larger multi-national garbage disposal companies. Through the narrow roadways in the labyrinth of garbage, three boys, born into the trash trade, must make choices at a cross roads in their lives that will impact their future as well as the future of their community. This fascinating film has won 4 festival awards this year. Blake Nelms Winner of the Best "Documentary Feature" Jury Prize

Jana (Franziska Welsz) quite likes Daniel (Ken Duken), her shy, introverted co-worker at the botanic garden. They have a few dates and Jana feels that Daniel also likes her. What she doesn’t know however, is that Daniel also likes to kill people. Frequently. For his debut feature, Thomas Seiben has put together a quiet, stylish thriller punctuated by well-timed shocks and the blackest of humor. Charles Dee Mitchell

In Beijing, the government has established an official Complaints Office where petitioners come from across China in hopes of redress for injustices in their local communities. The Complaints Office however, is organized to force the petitioners to wait years for their cases to be heard, creating a Kafkaesque nightmare for country people stranded in the city and often pursued by “retrievers” sent by their local governments. Zhao Liang began work on this documentary in 1996, often shooting footage with a secret camera. It is both infuriating and moving as it shows the community that comes together in the shantytown known as Petition Village. Zhao’s film was among those pulled by the Chinese government from the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival. Petition Village was demolished as part of Beijing’s Olympic building program. Charles Dee Mitchell Winner of Best Foreign Language Film Award

Henry Spooner (Matthew Lillard) meets the girl of his dreams, Rose Conlin (Nora Zehetner), as he heads into the worst day of his life. A used car salesman, his sales numbers, like his life, are just coasting along but not really cutting it. Teetering on the edge of 30, with a mandate to move out of his parent’s house when he reaches that ominous age, and a mandate from his boss to bring up his numbers, Spooner’s heart overrules his practicality diverting his energy from securing his job and a place to live to securing the heart of his new-found love who reveals she is leaving for the Philippines. This quirky romantic comedy has won multiple film festival awards this year. Janis Jolcuvar Winner of the Best "Narrative Feature" Jury Prize

Three men steal an armored truck, bury it in the New Mexican desert, and change their lives forever.

Some films just seem to have it all: sex, betrayal, murder, Austin, Texas, and M. Emmett Walsh as the meanest, toughest bastard you would ever not want to cross paths with. Joel and Ethan Coen’s first feature film won the Grand Jury Award at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival and it keeps looking better over time. For this “Director’s Cut,” the brothers have actually removed three minutes of footage. -Charles Dee Mitchell

Daryl (Daryl Wein) and Zoe (Zoe Lister Jones) have planned the perfect break up of their four-year relationship. They will do it slowly, establish “on” and “off” days, and ease into a separation so that nobody will get hurt. This all goes about as well as any rational person might expect it to but for the audience the process is both humorous and heartbreaking. Along with playing characters named after themselves, Daryl Wein directs, and Zoe Lister Jones shares the screenplay credit with Peter Duchan. Charles Dee Mitchell