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 Founded:  August 08, 2004
Web Page Co-editors:  Tom and Betty Jane Ferguson
Last updated: Saturday, November 8, at 9:45 a.m..

The current or ongoing  information will have a "new" flag.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT THE ARCHIVES TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT.  OTHER NTM MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO SHARE THEIR MOVIE-RELATED  INFORMATION THROUGH THIS SITE BY EMAILING bookies@gte.net.   ALSO, YOU MIGHT FIND SOME OF THE OTHER SELECTIONS FROM THE MENU TO BE OF INTEREST, BUT THEY ARE ALSO BEING ADDED TO.   

BETTY JANE AND TOM FERGUSON,  EDITORS

Welcome to the North Texas Mensa Movie SIG (Special Interest Group)!  It's for people who love movies, want to know more about movies, and/or want to go to movies, especially free screenings.

History: A few of us started going to Saturday afternoon matinees at the Angelika, and then for a snack afterwards to talk about movies.  We had so much fun, we decided to share it with the rest of you.  We hope you will enjoy interacting with this SIG.  Now let the show begin!--bj



Dallas Video Festival 2009

November 5, Thursday, to November 8, Sunday

Film Festival:  One of the best ways to see the best movies being made.  The festivals select the best movies of those submitted to them and you have the choice of seeing one movie or a day's worth of movies or, with a festival pass, all the movies that the festival has to offer.

Some of these movies will never be seen again by anyone.  They won’t make it into theaters or onto DVD’s.  You may be the only person, with your audience, to see them unless you decide to advocate for them by telling everyone you know and writing to the newspapers or blogging, saying this is a film that deserves to be seen by everyone.  You can make a difference. 

Dallas has many festivals throughout the year, and one of the best opens tonight at the Angelika:  VideoFest, formerly the Dallas Video Festival.  It runs from today through Sunday.  Don’t miss it.

 

 

  • SCHEDULE CORRECTION: "A Dallas Jewish Journey" will be shown at 7pm Thursday, Nov.5, on Screen 2
    playing with "4 questions for a Rabbi" and "The Tale of Nicolai and the law of return."
  • HIGHLIGHT'S CORRECTION:  The Highlight's section, the Blog by Bart currently reflects the 2008 information, but should soon be corrected to 2009.
I'll be going to the fesitval on Saturday starting at 2 and staying as late as I can.  I  hope to see some of you there.  The original name had "video" in it and as the festival grew through the years, it also had plenty of regular films, but kept the old name.  Now it seems to be one of the only festivals showing videos at all.  Bart makes excellent selections every year, and you won't go wrong with any of them.--bj

 

*******************************************************************************************************

Posting from earlier this year when the festival was in the development stages:

This should be a great festival as always, so make plans to attend.  I received an email from the VAD Managing Director about opportunities to get in on the ground floor for this year's festival.  If you think you might want to do this, please contact him.


We're looking for:
VOLUNTEERS/INTERNS
This year VideoFest needs your help more then ever. We have a lot of exciting films and artists coming to town. And our 4-day Fest starts Nov 5th but we need help getting ready right now. We're looking for some enthusiastic people to help. This is a great opportunity for college students. Come see how a nonprofit works and be on the inside of Film Festival screenings and parties.  All jobs are part time and not paid. But please let me know if you want to help, you don't have to know anything about film or video. You just have to have fun.

            Marketing Manager Volunteer: You find businesses and corporations to raise funds and you inform about advertising opportunities. Meet the businesses of Dallas.

            Festival Event Coordinator: Plan the parties and events that make a festival fun. You'll be working closely with Marketing to engage the business community and gain sponsorships.

            Graphics/Office Intern: We have a lot of message and no messenger. If you'd like to have a chance to build a portfolio and work with artists, this will be a good place to start.

            Office Intern: If you're interested in working with Non-profit Organizations this is a great place to start. We are a small organization, so you'll be able to see all the parts working up close, from grant writing, fund raising, organizing the people, to board meetings.

            FEST Volunteer: Help during the Fest Nov 5-8th.

       Please send an e-mail with your name, background, and availability. Put the position you'd like to take in the subject line of your e-mail.
 
Thanks,
 
Johnny Rutledge
VAD Managing Director
Cam Fest22 long
Video Association of Dallas
1405 Woodlawn Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75208
 

A Look Back at Last Year's Festival:

 Dallas Video Festival 2008

 November 6 Thursday to November 9 Sunday

Come to the Dallas Video Festival!  I first went in '86 or '87, my first movie festival.  The name video festival stuck and was kept even though films are shown as well.  Heather was so inspired that she searched all over town to find a bath tub to recreate one of the presentations, kept the festival poster hanging on her wall all through high school, tried to open an art gallery featuring all sorts of multi-media, became an intern for the Plano Arts Centre and her future in the arts was  sealed.

To get to this year's festival go to www.videofest.org for all the information.  I'm really looking forward to Sunday at 7:30 p.m. when Jerri Truhill's documentary will screen and she will be in attendance.  You don't want to miss this one.  She was one of  the women in training to be astronauts for the Mercury mission.  The men's group had the likes of John Glenn, who said he felt women would make nice recreational equipment in space.  No, I'm not kidding.  Come get the real story, which I promise you have never heard before and it will shock you.  The women outperformed the men in every way--mental, physical, etc.  What they went through everyone should know.  Jerri spoke at a North Texas Mensa general meeting and then we invited her to present at the 2001 Annual Gathering of American Mensa for the United States. Jerri brought down the house.  She lives here in Dallas.  I hope y'all get to come to the festival and especially to Jerri's presentation.  When I went to get tickets online they said you could buy individual tickets at the door for six dollars to some of the events--Jerri's was one of them. 
Talk more later.

Betty Jane


Portable Movie Fest Watches Cinema Paradiso

November 1 Saturday 2008

7:00 PM - Portable Movie Fest Watches Cinema Paradiso, rated by many, including myself, as one of the greatest movies of all time.  Help launch NTM Movie SIG's Portable Movie Fest, a series of movies, rotating to different member's homes.  If we come to your home, you definitely get a big say in what we'll see, and we'll provide the refreshments.  Call me to volunteer for a month you would like. To RSVP and get more information, please contact me (Betty Jane) at  bookies@gte.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  After the event article coming, but it was a WONDERFUL event.  Thanks, Cheryl.

For NTM Members Only - Movie SIG Special Event:
Saturday, October 04 2008, 10:00am - 4:00pm by  amethyst_dawn999 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Hits : 32

10:00 AM - Movies Without a Car. You don't have to give up seeing movies on the big screen just because of the high price of gas. Take a bus or drive to your closest DART rail station and head on down or up to Mockingbird Station (both red and blue lines go there), home to the palatial Angelika Film Center Dallas, where the best independent films abound. The Angelika allows you to bring in your own food and drinks. Meet at the box office at 10 and we'll decide on a movie, take a guided tour of the inner workings of the theater, and go across the street to explore the best movie rental store in town--Premiere Video on Mockingbird. To whet your appetite, it has one l-o-n-g wall totally dedicated to foreign films, divided up by country and by director within the country. After that we can stop by the shops and restaurants of Mockingbird Station and, if you twist my arm, I'll drive everyone up the street to Big Shucks, where resides the best Mexican shrimp cocktail in town. I know, I'll have a car, but it's just in case someone prefers to carpool or needs a ride across the street. Don't let that stop you from coming. The weather will be great! RSVP please to Betty Jane Ferguson at ( bookies@gte.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .). (An NTM Movie SIG event.)

Full-screen

Angelika Film Center

Imagery ©2008 DigitalGlobe, Sanborn, GeoEye, Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of Use
Map
Satellite
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Location: Angelika Film Center Dallas at Mockingbird Station
Contact: Betty Jane Ferguson at bookies@gte.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Special Event for NTM  Members Only on Wednesday, October 2, 2009 (Additional information and a reminder.)

Susan (one of our newest members) has invited us to another free movie screening.  This movie is presented by 3 Stars Jewish Cinema, who offer wonderful films all year long.  Those who went to $9.99 really enjoyed it.  Here are the details:

I have another film for the group - PLAY THE GAME starring Andy Griffith.
It'll be shown September 2nd  7pm at the Angelika Dallas.
We have plenty of seats!

Here's a synopsis:
A young ladies' man teaches his dating tricks to his lonely, widowed grandfather, and plays his best mind games to meet the woman of his dreams.

BTW - Mensa is even mentioned in the film! (from Susan Kandell, Mensa member and  Co-artistic Director of 3 Stars Cinema)

stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars stars

The North Texas Movie SIG is inviting everyone in NTM to come to the screening TOMORROW night at 7.  I recommend that you come around 5:30 - 6:00ish.  There will be a line of fervent movie goers for you to talk to.  I will be there wearing a blue and white North Texas Mensa Volunteers t-shirt so you can find me.  I have the email pass for two that you will need to get in.  Please email me at bookies@gte.net if you would like to go so Susan and I will be expecting you, and please put "NTM  Movie SIG:" at the beginning of the subject line so I will find it.  I will email the pass (for 2) back to you.  If you read this too late, just come and find me and I will have some extra passes for you.

Now to get in the mood for this event, if you would like, please wear a yellow map pin, so I can look for you as well.  In the golden olden days, wearing a yellow map pin in your lapel or elsewhere was a sign to other Mensans that you were a Mensan.  I joined in '73 and received a yellow map pin along with my acceptance letter.  I haven't seen anyone wearing one recently, but I think this is a tradition worth renewing.  Susan and I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow evening.

NOTE:  If you are on the NTM Movie SIG email list you should have also received an email about this event.  If you didn't or if you wish to be placed on the list so you will receive Movie SIG updates by email, please contact me by email requesting this and remember to start your email subject line with "NTM: Movie SIG."--Betty Jane Ferguson, NTM Movie SIG Steering Committee, bookies@gte/net.  

Thursday, October 2 

2008 Chick Flicks Film Festival!

cf_web.jpg
 
Lot's of ACTION on Oct. 2nd!
  • Films announced!
  • Buy tickets here! 
  • Read all about it!

Women In Film.Dallas (WIF.D) invites you look at films "through her eyes" at the 7th Annual Chick Flicks Film Festival at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas. This special screening is brought to you in part by by Urban Taco, Angelika Film Center - Dallas, FUNimation Films, Dallas Film Commission, Entertainment Partners, and AFI DALLAS.

One night only, Thursday evening, October 2, 2008 starting at 7:00pm, Chick Flicks will showcase the talents of Texas filmmakers in narrative, documentary, animation, experimental works, and trailers allowing viewers to experience the unique perspective of female producers, directors and crew members with Texas roots.

Linda Stogner, last year's Jury Award Winner and all around funny gal, will kick off the evening's events where moviegoers will first enjoy the showcase and then have the opportunity to meet and greet the filmmakers, fans and industry professtional like our WIF.D members and celebrate the winners with cool prizes at the awards ceremony afterwards at the modern and upscale taqueria Urban Taco.

The screening is open to the public and tickets are $12 for both the screening and after-party with proceeds benefiting WIF.D's yearly scholarship fund. WIF.D members pay only $8, limit 2 please.

Every year, Women In Film.Dallas is devoted to offering two scholarships to female college students and applicants studying film, television, or video production in the North Texas region.  This year's winner(s) will be honored at this evening's festival.
 

Here are your leading ladies and their films!

Resurrecting Moton Field, Monika Watkins (trailer)
The Significant Other, Shalene Portman (trailer)
Women in Red, Jennifer Horst
Breaking the Chain, Coralee Trigger
Unkempt Room, Sarah Nolen
A Native American Dream, Liz Daggett
Behind the Scenes with the Director of Prison Break, Fonya Mondell
Parts, Lynne Moon
Salsa y Tango, Andrea Duque
Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam, Tammy Nguyen Lee (trailer)
High Hopes, Linda Stogner and Therese Powell

The following films are eligible for the coveted "Audience Choice," "Jury Choice," and our new "Crew Girls Choice awards. Winners will receive a gift package that includes festival passes to AFI DALLAS and Dallas Video Festival, a fully loaded grip bag from MPS Studios Dallas, budgeting or scheduling software from Entertainment Partners, passes to WIF.D's highly anticipated program, "We've Got That In Development," as well as gift items from The Filmworkers Club, and Cabot Creamery Cooperative.

And then there was the 2008 Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD).

www.affd.org

At Landmark's Magnolia Theatre - 3699 McKinney Ave. Phone: 214.520.0098

E-Mail: mailbag@affd.org

 

Opening Night
PING PONG PLAYA

In attendance
Writer/Director Jessica Yu
Writer/Actor Jimmy Tsai

Centerpiece
THE ASSEMBLY

Closing Night
Be a Man! Samurai School

In attendance
Director/Actor Tak Sakaguchi

AFFD 2008 Feature Films:

The Assembly
Be a Man! Samurai School
Behind Forgotten Eyes
Black Belt
Boomtown Beijing – Free Screening at Crow Collection of Asian Art
The Case
Fire Under the Snow
For More Sun – Free Screening at Studio Movie Grill
Genghis Khan
Help Me Eros
Kala
Killing of a Chinese Cookie
L: Change the World
Loins of Punjab Presents
Machine Girl
Maiko HAAAAN
Muay Thai Chaiya
Our Town
The Park – Free Screening at Crow Collection of Asian Art
Ping Pong Playa
The Rebel
Santa Mesa

Shorts Block 1 – Free

Shorts Block 2 - Free
Tokyo Gore Police
Wide Awake

For complete film synopses and trailers and to purchase tickets, please visit http://affd.bside.com/2008/schedule

More Festival Coverage

An introductory article is coming explaining for the curious the sudden burst of energy below.--bj

Movie reviews from and an article about the AFI  Dallas International Film Festival 2008 coming when I have a chance to put them up. (I saw every film I could get to in four different venues.) Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the 2009 festival.

Movie reviews from and an article about the USA Film Festival 2008 when I have a chance to put them up. (I saw every film I could.) Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the 2009 festival.

Movie reviews from and an article about the Dallas Video Festival 2008 when I have a chance to put them up. (I saw every film I could.)

Movie reviews from and an article on the Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2008 coming when I have a chane to put them up.  (I saw every film I could.

Movie reviews from and an article on the Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2009 coming when I have a chance to put them up.  (I saw about 19 films this year and had a wonderful time.)



If you are a member of NTM and would like to submit an article for the site or would like to become part of the North Texas Mensa Movie SIG Steering Committee or would like to be placed on the NTM Movie SIG email list would just like to find out more about the Movie SIG, please email Tom or Betty Jane Ferguson at bookies@gte.net using NTM: Movie SIG for the first part of your subject line. We would love to hear from you. :-) bj and tom.


Also, please visit these recommended sites that Tom and/or I once created or helped to create in the past.
          

Disclaimer:  Opinions on this site are the opinions of individual North Texas Mensa members, and they do not represent the opinions of North Texas Mensa or American Mensa, because North Texas Mensa and American Mensa do not have opinions about what is mentioned here.