WHAT TOWATCH AT THE CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL
The Houston Cinema Arts Festival, beginning Nov. 12 and running through Nov 22, is going to look and feel very different this year. No more tightly packed, shoulder-to-shoulder screenings and get-togethers. No more standing in lines waiting to get in.
But one thing remains: more than a week’s worth of films from around the world that many Houstonians might not get to see otherwise. This year, however, themovies will be seen from either the comfort of your car at a drive-in or in your home on your television or streaming device.
Here, then, are some of the films and events worth noting.
‘Mogul Mowgli’
The opening-night slot goes to a movie made by one of Houston’s own, director/writer Bassam Tariq, who grew up in Sugar Land. “Mogul Mowgli,” an engrossing character study, stars Riz Ahmed (“Nightcrawler,” “The Night Of”) as a rising British Pakistani rapper who finds himself humbled by a debilitating illness. Ahmed delivers a strong performance and Tariq, in his first narrative feature, shows himself to be an original filmmaker with a distinctive point of view that ex
plores the space where South Asian and Anglo-American identities intersect. This will be followed by a Q&A between Tariq and Bun B.
5 p.m. Nov. 12 (virtual screening, film available for 48 hours only); 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12, Moonstruck Drive-In
‘Shogun Assassin’
It’s the 40th anniversary of this cult martial-arts classic, and what better way to see this sword-happy action flick than in a drive-in? Co-directed by Kenji Misumi, who made “The Last Samurai” in 1974, “Shogun Assassin”— about a shogun and his 4-year-old son who become killers for hire — is a slice-and-dice good time.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 13, Showboat Drive-In
‘Ema’
Chilean director Pablo Larraín makesmovies that veer in unexpected directions. His 2016 film “Jackie” was less of a biopic of Jackie Kennedy and more of a poetic meditation on being Jackie Kennedy. Similarly, this drama, about a couple who are also dancers (Gael García Bernal, an impressive Mariana Di Girólamo) wrestling with guilt and anger after giving up their troublesome adopted son, is less concerned with naturalism and realism than creating a series of memorable set pieces. Presented in conjunction with Houston Ballet.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 (virtual screening, available for 48 hours)
Remembering DJ Screw
Well-known DJ Red offers a salute to Houston’s “Chopped and Screwed” sound with a free, live DJ set fromScrewed Up Records. Separately, there’s
a virtual tribute and panel discussion about DJ Screw a few days later.
(DJ Red) 9:30 p.m. Nov. 13 (virtual); (tribute) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 (virtual)
‘The 24th’
KevinWillmott’s compelling chronicle of the events that led up to the rebellion by Black soldiers stationed in Houston duringWorldWar I was released
earlier this year, but it gets another chance for exposure here. Trai Byers, MykletiWilliamson and Thomas Haden Church star.
3:30 p.m. Nov. 14 (virtual screening, available for 48 hours)
‘Night of the Kings’
Of the films previewed, this is themost strikingly original. Ivory Coast director Philippe Lacôte is garnering a lot of attention— including wins or nominations at film festivals in Venice, Toronto, Chicago and Reykjavik— for this poetic drama about a young man, sent to a notorious prison, who is given an ultimatum: Become a storyteller, spinning tales for the other prisoners, or else. Lacôte is something of a storyteller himself, incorporating dance and fantastical imagery into his prison drama.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 (virtual screening, available for four hours); 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 (virtual screening, available for four hours); 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 (drivein screening presented with the Houston Ballet which will also be showing a short film before the feature)
‘Eyimofe (This IsMy Desire)’
Fraternal Nigerian directors Arie and Chuko Esiri have made amovie that falls outside the boundaries of what has been described as Nollywood. They forsake a traditional narrative in telling their story about two residents of Lagos who dream of leaving the country— one for Spain, the other for Italy — for a
more contemplative character study in which the sprawling, chaotic city itself is one of the characters.
4 p.m. Nov. 16 (virtual screening, available for 48 hours)
‘One of These Days’
Joe Cole and Carrie Preston star in this drama, fromGerman director Bastian Gunther, that is set during a Texas hands-on contest in which competitors have to keep their hands on a pickup truck.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 (virtual screening, available for 48 hours)
‘Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful’
Gero von Boehm dives headlong into the world of famed photographer
Helmut Newton and his striking images that straddled the worlds of fashion, art and outrage.
4 p.m. Nov. 19 (virtual screening, available for 48 hours)
‘Ammonite’
Francis Lee made one of the bestmovies of 2017 with “God’s Own Country,” and this 19thcentury romantic drama, starring Saiorse Ronan and KateWinslet, could be his ticket to wider recognition.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 19, Moonstruck Drive-In
‘Horton Foote: The Road to Home’
Texas writer Horton Foote, who wrote the screenplays for “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Tender Mercies,” is the subject of Anne Rapp’s documentary. The film has been described as a love letter to Foote and his hometown ofWharton.
4 p.m. Nov. 20 (virtual screening)
‘Friday I’m in Love: A Night at Numbers’
Judging froman excerpt, this documentary is not just a celebration of the long-running Houston dance club Numbers but a look at its Montrose neighborhood, the gay community and the emerging punk scene of the ’70s and ’80s. This promises to be both a memory rush for those who were around at the start and a good history lesson for those who only know Numbers in its current iteration.
7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 (livestream)