MARFA FILM FESTIVAL 2008

George W. Bush chooses Crawford, Texas to build his ranch before becoming president. Locals find financial benefits but at what cost? As their fortunes rise and fall, they discuss the circus that followed Bush to town and honestly wonder why he chose Crawford to build his ranch in the first place.

A Mexican crosses the border in search of a singing career but is intercepted by a vigilante "patriot" with a mean-streak. Starring Kris Kristofferson and Efren Ramirez (from Napoleon Dynamite)

Love and theater blend when actors bring home their roles in this Chilean study of affection, affectation and heartache. (Spanish with Englsih subtitles.) North American Premiere

Astronauts hear a song in space and bring it back to Earth.

Local youths grab a camera and make a statement about their love of a home that could soon slip away. World Premiere.

Hypnotic digital imagery with gorgeous sound make for a bewitching experience. Sit back and soak it in. For the last few years, apart from experiments in video, John Ausbrook has been teaching himself about plant alchemy, "collecting toad skins when I find them," he says, "and dressing a few in gold leaf and cinnabar for their upcoming performances." Sometimes it's best to let the artist speak for himself. Ausbrook adds, "I am inspired by artists and magicians of all kinds, but particularly by musicians and certain figures known as members of the American underground... they are the usual suspects as you might have guessed. But especially Brion Gysin and WSB." Sound by well-known Austin experimental musician, Rick Reed.

A disturbed young man pushes away his exurban family to seek wildness in the woods. The boy’s urge for the primitive manifests in his bedroom at home and in a wild dog he follows through the countryside. Gorgeous shot-making and imagery create a gripping mood throughout. World Premiere.

Two documentary filmmakers race through Los Angeles, from Beverly Hills to Watts and places in between, to get a brother / friend from jail to rehab before 8pm or he goes to prison for three years. From a suburban police station in Calabasas through mansions in Beverly Hills, to East LA chop-shops and housing projects in Watts, they attempt to raise the $5,000 they need to get him into the clinic. Along the way they encounter dozens of colorful characters each with their own excuse for why they can't help him out. In the end it may take a drug deal to get the funds for rehab. *"A bold new style and talent."* - Oliver Stone "Brash, cool and energetic ... a wild ride." - Variety *"FIX has the gritty energy of 'Go', the speedy wit of 'Arrested Development' and a magnificent visual panache!"* -IndieWire

A not-so-young man lives above his mother, talks to a pet raven and fantasizes about God. Wonderful art direction and cinematography bring the strange miniature world alive. Stop Motion Animation.