Dallas Film is pleased to announce several exciting updates regarding the first-ever North Texas Film Festival powered by Capital One. The announcement includes the addition of a second venue, newly added films, Q&As with leading stars and filmmakers, as well as exciting partnerships that will enhance the NTXFF experience. This will be the first festival to represent North Texas, and it will be held September 26-29, 2019.

“In addition to the NTXFF host theater, Cinemark West Plano, and XD (3800 Dallas Parkway, Plano, TX 75093), we have partnered with The Star in Frisco (9 Cowboys Way, Frisco, TX, 75034) to host two special screenings,” said Johnathan Brownlee, CEO & president of Dallas Film and executive director of Dallas International Film Festival and North Texas Film Festival. “On Saturday, September 28, we are excited to present a 10th-anniversary screening of “The Blind Side” at 4:30 p.m. and a 15th-anniversary screening of “Friday Night Lights” at 7:15 p.m. on Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star in Frisco. We are delighted to welcome actors and filmmakers representing both films and will do a Q&A following the screenings.”’

Tickets for the events at Cinemark West Plano and XD are on sale and can be purchased at https://ntxff.com/.  Admission and parking are free to the event at The Star in Frisco on September 28.

Quinton Aaron had a lead role in “The Blind Side” playing Michel Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. He will make a red carpet appearance prior to the screening and will participate in a Q&A following the screening. Representing the 2004 film “Friday Night Lights,” Brad Leland, who starred as John Aubrey, and Grover Coulson, who starred as L.V. Miles, will also walk the red carpet and take part in a Q&A following the screening. “Friday Night Lights” is based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas, and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.

“We wanted to capture the spirit of North Texas sports and felt The Star in Frisco was the perfect setting to screen these iconic sports films,” said James Faust, artistic director for Dallas Film. “In addition to these two classics, we will have a special presentation of the Disney channel original film “Back of the Net” at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 28 at Cinemark West Plane and XD. Opening for this film will be the world premiere of “Second Skin,” a short film directed by Farah White. White and lead actress, Ellen Locy, of “Second Skin” will be in attendance. This is the story of an introverted young girl who finds she had more in common with her deceased grandmother than she could have ever possibly imagined. Our goal with these films is to showcase powerful women in film and in sports.”

“Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story” was just added to the official film selection of the NTXFF and complements the previously mentioned sports features, showcasing the life story of a man who became one of the most prolific quarterbacks to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Reserved seating for each screening at both venues is available to the public through Atom Tickets.

“We are pleased to offer festivalgoers reserved tickets made possible by a unique partnership with Veezi and Atom Tickets,” said Brownlee. “Veezi is responsible for behind-the-scenes functionality, and Atom’s innovative ticketing platform runs the customer-facing side of it. Part of the challenge with film festivals is the pass/badge structure. There are different levels of passes, and each give attendees different benefits. Veezi’s Loyalty system took on this challenge quickly delivered tickets right to festivalgoers’ phones, with all passes and benefits accounted for without missing a beat. So much peace of mind comes from knowing you’ve got reserved seats to the films you want to see, and it elevates the festival experience. Festivalgoers can focus on having fun and forego the stress of standing in lines worrying about seats.”

Not only will guests of the festival benefit, but NTXFF volunteers and staff will benefit from e-ticketing too; allowing them the ease of scanning passes directly from phones and alleviating the stress of counting passes and tearing tickets. The new process also provides valuable real-time data pertaining to who is sitting in each seat, how many seats are available and which seats are most popular. This partnership was first implemented at the 19th Annual Dallas International Film Festival this past April, and the team is excited to bring it back for the NTXFF this fall. A new advancement allows for VIP pass holders to reserve two seats together during the booking process.

For more information, please visit www.ntxff.com.

Proceeds from NTXFF will benefit the Veterans Institute for Film and Media, a program that prepares veterans for careers in film and media production through education, mentorships, and job placements. For details about VIFM, visit www.vifm.us.

For members of the media who are interested in covering this story or arranging an interview, please email Lauren Witt at lwitt@thepointgroup.com or call (215) 378-7970 ext. 306.

About Dallas Film  

Dallas Film (www.dallasfilm.org), established as Dallas Film Society in 2006, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to celebrate the past, present and future of film in our community. The organization provides leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television, and digital media. Through a variety of screenings, educational programs, and festivals, Dallas Film raises awareness of the world’s most approachable and inclusive art form.

Additional film selections include (listed alphabetically):

Movie Title: Dolemite is my Name

Festival Category: Premiere

Director: Craig Brewer

Country: USA

Running Time: 118 minutes

Synopsis: Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play. Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D’Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore’s Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era.

Movie Title: Friday Night Lights

Festival Category: Sports

Director: Peter Berg

Country: Germany, USA

Running Time: 118 Minutes

Synopsis: Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.

Movie Title: Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story

Premiere Status: Special Presentation

Festival Category: Sports

Director: Chris Hanna

Country: USA

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Synopsis: This is the true story of Tony Romo, a kid from Burlington, WI who became one of the most prolific quarterbacks to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Though he never won a Superbowl, his community describes a man whose passion for the game continues to inspire his fans, community, family and friends.

Movie Title: The Laundromat

Festival Category: Premiere

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Country: USA

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Synopsis: When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin (Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world's wealthiest citizens amass even larger fortunes. The charming — and very well-dressed — founding partners Jürgen Mossack (Academy Award winner Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Golden Globe nominee Antonio Banderas) are experts in the seductive ways shell companies and offshore accounts help the rich and powerful prosper. They are about to show us that Ellen's predicament only hints at the tax evasion, bribery and other illicit absurdities that the super wealthy indulge in to support the world's corrupt financial system.

Zipping through a kaleidoscope of comic detours in China, Mexico, Africa (via Los Angeles) and the Caribbean en route to 2016’s Panama Papers publication — where journalists revealed the secret, leaked documents of Mossack Fonseca’s high-profile patrons — THE LAUNDROMAT is directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Magic Mike, High Flying Bird) with a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!, The Report), adapted from “Secrecy World"" by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jake Bernstein. The film is produced by Lawrence Grey, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Sugar and Burns with a cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, Melissa Rauch, Jeff Michalski, Jane Morris, Robert Patrick, David Schwimmer, Cristela Alonzo, Larry Clarke, Will Forte, Chris Parnell, Nonso Anozie, Larry Wilmore, Jessica Allain, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rosalind Chao, Kunjue Li, Ming Lo, with James Cromwell and Sharon Stone.

Movie Title: The Two Popes

Premiere Status: Texas Premiere

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Country: UK, Italy, Argentina, USA

Running Time: 125 Minutes

Synopsis: From Fernando Meirelles, the Academy Award-nominated director of “City of God,” and three-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten, comes an intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world.

*Inspired by true events.

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