2011 Cinema Arts Festival Houston Highlights Films and Live Performances Nov. 9 - 13

HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Now in its third year, Cinema Arts Festival Houston (CAFH), which runs from November 9 to 13, 2011 will bring an ambitious program of films by and about artists to the nation's fourth largest city.

Austin native Ethan Hawke will present his latest film, The Woman in the Fifth, and receive the Levantine Cinema Arts Award from the festival, honoring his multifaceted career in the arts. Additionally, director Richard Linklater will join Hawke for a tenth anniversary screening of their 2001 collaboration, Tape. Also premiering at the 2011 Cinema Arts Festival Houston are several major upcoming releases: the critically acclaimed The Artist, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, and Wim Wenders' Pina in 3D.

Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz comments: "We're thrilled to be bringing Ethan Hawke here with his close friend and collaborator, Richard Linklater. Linklater's Tape was a breakthrough performance for Hawke, and his phenomenal growth as an actor is on ample display in his new psychological thriller, The Woman in the Fifth."

Cinema Arts Festival Houston will kick off its third annual event on November 9 with the regional premiere of Downtown Express, accompanied by director David Grubin and the film's star, the brilliant Russian-American violinist Philippe Quint. Downtown Express is a love story set in New York City's classical and popular music worlds. The opening night event will feature a live performance by Quint, the first of several live performances in this year's program.

Returning to the festival is the Donald Sosin Ensemble, featuring vocalist Joanna Seaton, who will perform live to accompany the recently rediscovered silent classic by John Ford, Upstream (1927).  Filmmaker Braden King will present his new feature film HERE, as well as a live hybrid film-concert HERE [THE STORY SLEEPS], accompanied by the Boxhead Ensemble. Miwa Matreyek will perform live in a multimedia production, Myth and Infrastructure, using projected animation she has created.

"This year, we're excited to expand not only the live performance but also the interactive media aspects of our multi-arts festival," says Herskowitz. "Our CINEMA ON THE VERGE program will include video installations by five of the artists whose films are being featured in our festival, including guest artists Lynn Hershman Leeson and Trimpin."

In preparation for its thirtieth anniversary, filmmaker Godfrey Reggio will bring a brand new print of Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and a preview clip from his upcoming collaboration with Philip Glass, The Holy See.

The festival is also bringing three major international directors to present works in the festival. The great Chilean director Patricio Guzman (Nostalgia for the Light) will come to Houston for a five-part retrospective highlighting the wide-ranging intellectual explorations of his work.  Zhu Wen, a renowned short story writer in China, will present his third feature, the culture-clash, pseudo science-fiction comedy, Thomas Mao. Mahmoud Kaabour will present Grandma, A Thousand Times, a poignant, magical realist documentary that follows the 83-year old matriarch of the Kaabour family.

The 2011 Cinema Arts Festival Houston will showcase its largest selection of Texas programs. Natural Selection, swept seven awards at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival, and was directed by Houston native, Robbie Pickering, who will appear with the film. This year's festival will conclude with the world premiere of Art Car: The Movie at a free outdoor screening, with art cars on display. This new documentary follows a handful of Houston artists as they prepare their entries for the granddaddy of them all, the 2010 Houston Art Car Parade.

Other confirmed works that will bring art to life at the 2011 Cinema Arts Festival Houston include festival sensations The Mill and the Cross, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, Wish Me Away, !Women Art Revolution, and Crazy Horse.

Travel packages including Festival passes and accommodations are available at www.visithoustontexas.com.

For more information, please visit HCAS at www.cinemartsociety.org.

ABOUT HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY (HCAS)

Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) is a non-profit organization created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Crane. HCAS hosts Cinema Arts Festival Houston (CAFH), an innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing, and literary arts. CAFH celebrates the vitality of the arts in Houston, collaborating with many of Houston's cultural institutions.  Works are shown not only in traditional theatrical venues but also via interactive video installations, live performances, and outdoor projections.  HCAS is funded in part by the Crane Foundation, The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Arts Alliance through the City of Houston and a grant from the Texas Art Commission. Volunteer scheduling is provided by www.shiftboard.com.

SOURCE Houston Cinema Arts Society