Your Guide to the 2017 Houston Cinema Arts Festival

MORE THAN A DECADE since former Mayor Bill White floated the idea for a film festival that would put Houston on the cinematic map, what is now the Houston Cinema Arts Festival has expanded to become a multi-day event featuring dozens of screenings, panels, and juried film competitions that shine the spotlight on both local talent and Oscar winners to-be.

But looking at the full schedule that begins Thursday, Nov. 9, it can feel impossible to narrow your choices, assuming you don’t have your schedule blocked off to attend the entirety of the five-day festival. Thankfully, Houstonia whittled the schedule down to six superlatives to guide your festival attendance, along with a number of runners-up. And if you absolutely can’t miss it all, grab one of the festival’s all-films passes for $99.

< allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V9T_Gccx2fs" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1.5em auto; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; max-width: 100%; width: 660px;" width="100%">

Best Bang for Your Buck: CineSpace

Nov. 10 at 8:30 p.m. Rice Media Center

From more than 650 entries, this Richard Linklater-juried competition will screen 13 finalist short films inspired by or using NASA imagery. The submissions truly run the gamut, from To The Sky, which focuses on an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease who writes a letter to the heavens, to The Great Portals of Cyberspace: Doomsday, in which a smartphone from outer space attempts to take over the world.

Tickets $10. Rice Media Center, 2030 University Blvd. More info and tickets at houstoncinemaartsfestival.org

www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2017/11/7/houston-cinema-arts-festival-guide-2017