Houston Cinema Arts Festival

HCAF 2024 will feature a wide variety of curated feature films with a focus on the diverse cultural community of Houston, Texas.

HCAF 2024 will also see the tenth Anniversary of CineSpace, our annual short film competition with NASA, as well as the fifth annual regional short film competition Borders - No Borders.

Our full festival lineup has been announced. Check out the schedule to discover the incredible films, performances, and special guests we have in store!

Schedule of Events:

10:00 AM: BORDERS - NO BORDERS: Narrative Shorts

Cultural exchange is often thought of as happening between countries, but it can also take place between cities, states, and even neighborhoods - anywhere a border is perceived or imposed. Houston is the most diverse city in the United States, and Texas, in addition to being the largest state in the continental U.S., shares borders with Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mexico, which each have their own distinct cultures and identities. These regions inform Houston's past, present, and future with their cultures, histories, cuisines, ancestral and contemporary sacrifices, injustices, unceded lands, art, music, dance, theater, film, and storytellers. Borders - No Borders celebrates the complexity of Houston and its neighboring communities, all of which contribute to H-Town's je ne sais quoi. Programmed by Michael Robinson, the two-part documentary and narrative short-film competition celebrates the rich narratives of the South and invites submissions from Texas and neighboring regions as well as filmmakers with meaningful ties to these areas.

11:30 AM: Workshop: Film Distribution in the Age of Disruption, with Kyle Henry

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." and the same is true always for film distribution.

You've made your short or feature, what next? How do you get it seen by its intended audience when all the old routes like festivals, theatrical, broadcast, and the VODs seem to be collapsing? You go back to basics, and target, innovate, and create workable plans!

Learn from director/producer and self-distribution stalwart Kyle Henry as he takes you through a case study on the distribution of his NY and LA Times Critics Pick fiction feature Rogers Park (2018) and new non-fiction feature Time Passages (2024), screening at this year's Houston Cinema Arts Fest, about current pathways to finding your audience.

11:30 AM: La Cocina

Not all cooking is done in the kitchen. Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios (GÜEROS, MUSEO) adapts the acclaimed stage play by Arnold Wesker into a black-and-white confection, sticky and sweet with emotions. Nearly two dozen main characters intersect at The Grill, a buzzing restaurant in Times Square where $800 have disappeared from the till. All eyes turn to Pedro (Raúl Briones), an undocumented cook in love with waitress Julia (Rooney Mara). The pressure rises - a mix of tragedy and comedy that reflects the chaos of the kitchen as much as the changing fortunes of the lives at stake, and threatens to consume the restaurant itself. You know what they say: if you can't stand the heat…

Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Runtime: 139 minutes

12:30 pm: The Black Sea

Filmmakers Crystal Moselle and Derrick B. Harden join us for a post-film discussion following the Houston premiere of their restorative new comedy.

The latest film from Crystal Moselle (THE WOLFPACK and SKATE KITCHEN), inspired by co-director/writer/star Derrick B. Harden's own travels, asks the question: "What happens when a charismatic big dreamer gets stuck in a small town on the Black Sea?" What indeed! Lured by the prospect of romance and faraway adventure, lonely Brooklyn barista Khalid packs up for Bulgaria only to get his passport stolen and find himself penniless - and the only Black man in sight. With no place to go and abandoned by friends and family, he turns on the charm for the locals, earning their trust and acceptance in the process. Full of heartwarming energy from its largely improvised performances, this fish-out-of-water tale is all about making a home wherever you land.

Director: Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
Runtime: 93 minutes

2:30 pm: Candy Mountain (35mm)

As a chronicler of societal margins, Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker Robert Frank captured the essence of postwar America. In the 1950s, Frank took to the road to photograph the collection of images that would become The Americans, his seminal 1958 publication which laid bare the realities of the American dream. Confronting and reflective, honest and unpretentious, Frank never stopped showing us who we are through his countercultural photographic and documentary works. Bridging the gap between the two is CANDY MOUNTAIN.

The criminally under-seen rock 'n' roll road movie from Frank and longtime collaborator Rudy Wurlitzer (TWO LANE BLACKTOP) sees Kevin O'Connor as a down-on-his-luck musician looking to strike it rich by locating elusive guitar-maker Elmore Silk, whose creations turn a major profit in the music scene. What was meant to be a simple journey takes a series of wrong turns leading to a revelatory conclusion in the Canadian wilderness. A forgotten cult classic of the 1980s with a decidedly 1960s spirit, presented in 35mm and featuring real-life music legends Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Dr. John, David Johansen, and more.

Director: Rudy Wurlitzer, Robert Frank
Runtime: 91 minutes

3:15 pm: BORDERS - NO BORDERS: Documentary Shorts

Cultural exchange is often thought of as happening between countries, but it can also take place between cities, states, and even neighborhoods - anywhere a border is perceived or imposed. Houston is the most diverse city in the United States, and Texas, in addition to being the largest state in the continental U.S., shares borders with Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mexico, which each have their own distinct cultures and identities. These regions inform Houston's past, present, and future with their cultures, histories, cuisines, ancestral and contemporary sacrifices, injustices, unceded lands, art, music, dance, theater, film, and storytellers. Borders - No Borders celebrates the complexity of Houston and its neighboring communities, all of which contribute to H-Town's je ne sais quoi. Programmed by Michael Robinson, the two-part documentary and narrative short-film competition celebrates the rich narratives of the South and invites submissions from Texas and neighboring regions as well as filmmakers with meaningful ties to these areas.

Sangre Violenta / Sangre Violeta

Why does the Mexican government consider the feminist movement a bigger threat than most drug cartels? The short documentary 'SANGRE VIOLENTA / SANGRE VIOLETA' interweaves three narratives, illuminating the motivations behind their activism in Mexico. These stories include a radical feminist collective, an inspiring survivor of an acid attack, and a grieving father who tragically lost his seven-year-old daughter to femicide.

Director: Arturo R. Jiménez, Edna Diaz
Runtime: 15 minutes

5:00 pm: Boys Go to Jupiter

Preceded by a special introduction by producer Peisin Yang Lazo followed by a short comedic presentation by the film's voice talent Demi Adejuyigbe.

A hilarious, absurdist feature length debut from Julien Glander, who made a name for himself on projects for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Disney. Featuring the voice talents of "Demi" Adejuyigbe, Chris Fleming, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman, Joe Pera, Cole Escola and more. As fresh as oranges!

Boys Go to Jupiter

Teenage high school dropout Billy 5000 (voiced by Jack Corbett, visual host of Planet Money's TikTok account) is at odds with his friends Freckles (Grace Kuhlenschmidt), Beatbox (Elsie Fisher), and Peanut (J.R. Phillips), who don't subscribe to his rise-and-grind mentality. While hustling in suburban Florida to make $5000 delivering food for Grubster, he encounters and befriends a gelatinous blue alien named Donut who's being hunted by juice mogul Dr. Dolphin (Janeane Garafolo). From there unfolds an idiosyncratic lo-fi 3D fantasia, complete with a deadpan critique of capitalism, mutant fruits from moon rocks - and have we mentioned it's also a musical?

Director: Julian Glander
Runtime: 90 minutes

7:30 pm: Basquiat (Black and White 4K Restoration)

Whether you're seeing it for the first time or not, you've never seen BASQUIAT like this - in black and white and fully restored in 4K. From visual artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel comes an evocative personal rendering of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, told in a series of vignettes tracing his turn from street kid graffiti artist to one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
A touchstone of '90s independent cinema, announcing the arrival of a great talent (Jeffrey Wright in his first starring role), it remains a benchmark for biopics and an illuminating portrait of the artist and his creative process. Featuring a veritable gallery of film icons: Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Benicio del Toro, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and David Bowie as Andy Warhol.

Director: Julian Schnabel
Runtime: 107 minutes

8:15 pm: Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted

Somewhere in the Valley lives Swamp Dogg. He's 81, he just finished a US tour in support of his new album, and he is the star of the most heartwarming doc of the year. And yes, he wants to get his pool painted, together with roommates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty and some friends who are just hanging out (Johnny Knoxville, SpongeBob voice actor Tom Kenny, and more). Co-directors Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson invite you to enter the wild, psychedelic soul wonderland of a true musical icon who's lived as many lives as he's worked across genres. Quirky, funny, and life-affirming - whether or not you're a fan when it starts, you're guaranteed to be one by the time it's over.

Director: Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson
Runtime: 97 minutes

10:30 pm: In Performance: Swamp Dogg

Performance included with ticket to the film, Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted.