A Recap of the 2023 Austin Film Festival

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The Cast and Crew of ‘For When You Get Lost’ at the 2023 Austin Film Festival. Photo Courtesy of David Larry/Austin Film Festival.

Ask any aspiring screenwriter or up and coming creative what particular festival they’d love to attend or be featured at, or win a contest they host, and in their list, they’ll mention the Austin Film Festival and with good reason. After all, the AFF is one of the biggest festivals around, and their screenwriting competition is heralded often by writers. For they offer amazing notes and give writers a real chance to launch their careers if they place in the competition. Not to mention, it’s a well-known fact that they celebrate storytelling and want powerful stories for their screening lineup, so having one’s visual story accepted into the AFF, is quite the accomplishment to say the least.
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If anything, it really is a destination festival for creative minds and well, in the weeks following the festival, one that we here at NTG were honored to cover, people have asked this reporter, if it is indeed as epic as advertised. And well… what better place to answer that question than through a full-on recap of the festival itself, to provide you all with a resounding yes. Because this simply was, an incredible experience through and through, and one of the most creatively fulfilling ones I’ve ever taken part in. Partly because… this festival is as epic as they come. After all, it’s a full week of film premieres and panels, from every genre one can imagine, and that alone is indeed worth the price of admission.   

But the wonder of this festival goes so much deeper than Ubering about the city and moving from downtown theater to downtown theater to enjoy some amazing movies. This is also a festival, where you get a lot of face time with creative individuals. Since they too are out and about, and eager to take in this showing or that and that brings about all kinds of delightful conversations with people that love the visual medium, that are eager to hear your feedback about their creation and that… is quite amazing. Because it just allows for one to immerse themselves in creativity, and while I was able to get a little more in depth in my conversations through interviews, the fact that writers and directors, and actors were so accessible, period, was just amazing and inspiring really. 

Because those kinds of conversations really do light a spark in anyone that’s eager to break into the industry and it only excites an audience further and really… that’s the number one thing I took away from this festival. In that, it just exudes creative energy, and that creates an incredible and inviting vibe for anyone in attendance. The kind that is infectious, and really perhaps the best way to describe that vibe… is that the Austin Film Festival is akin to lining up for a movie that you’ve been waiting to see for ages. But that anticipation and that excitement lasts over the course the time you’re there, and every single person you meet has it in their veins as well. Which really does make this a true celebration of storytelling, one that is backed up… by some amazing movies.

For I watched a good double digits worth of films for this festival, some in person, some in advance because of the nature of entertainment journalism, but regardless of where I watched it, what I was privy to, was incredible. For every single film, short or series I enjoyed, was made with incredible passion, and that translated into honest and raw stories, and amazing comedies and dramas that were moving and powerful. Giving rise to a festival that truly features some of the best up and comers out there and movies that bring the best out of stars and veterans we know and love and well, in the end… this is simply an amazing festival. One that really has tapped into something special for cinephiles, and television fans and fans of popular culture, and it is one that I now highly recommend and cannot wait to attend again, in 2024.

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