Houston Cinemar Arts Festival have announced their lineup for the annual festival in November. The festival always showcases indie cinema and bold new voices in the space. In 2024 it’s no different than other years with an incredible schedule for cinephiles in Houston, Texas. Check out the official line up here and below.

The festival will open up with Tendaberry which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. It will also include a post-film discussion with Houston born and raised writer-director Haley Elizabeth Anderson and star Kota Johan. There will be a Q&A right after the screening as well.

Houston’s best-known showcase for new indie cinema takes place Nov. 7-17 at a variety of locations including the recently reopened River Oaks Theatre, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the DeLuxe Theatre.

‘Reality Bites’: The children of Coca-Cola and divorce, Gen X discovers reality bites in this now classic slacker comedy about friends, credit cards, and decaf from screenwriter Helen Childress. The iconic Winona Ryder is Lelaina, a recent college graduate and aspiring filmmaker who turns her camera on friends and roommates Troy (Ethan Hawke), Vicky (Janeane Garofolo) and Sammy (Steve Zahn) in a bid to create the next great American documentary before meeting uptight television exec Michael (Ben Stiller). Between cigarette drags, trips to the Gap, and calls to the Psychic Friends hotline — expect sex, break-ups, make-ups, Schoolhouse Rock, and an honest look at growing up after you’ve already grown.

“Conjunction junction, what’s your function…”

‘Basquiat’: 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.

‘The Spook Who Sat by the Door’: Ivan Dixon’s 1973 drama, about a Black man who undergoes CIA training to figure out how to start a revolution, came out in the middle of the so-called “Blaxploitation” film boom. But it was more serious than some of its competitors at the time. Now, Houston is one of four cities where it is being shown theatrically in 4K. Natiki Hope Pressley, daughter of screenwriter Sam Greenlee, and Doris Nomathandé “Noma” Dixon, daughter of Ivan Dixon will be special guests. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the DeLuxe Theatre.

The Hair Was Perfect, But the World Was a Mess: ‘Hairspray’ with John Waters Live

John Waters, The Pope of Trash, comes to Houston for his first ever live and in person director’s commentary of his original HAIRSPRAY! A special pre-show trailer reel will kick things off, followed by the main event, the screening of Hairspray with live commentary by Waters, followed by a Q&A. VIP ticket holders will join in a Group Therapy Experience with Waters afterwards.

Attendees also have the chance to sign up for the VIP Group Therapy Experience which includes: preferred seating, an autographed show poster, and a socially distanced selfie with John on stage with you in the foreground, in front of the stage (better safe than sorry!)

“Hairspray is the only really devious movie I ever made. The musical based on it is now being performed in practically every high school in America… Pink Flamingos was preaching to the converted. But Hairspray is a Trojan horse: It snuck into Middle America and never got caught.” – John Waters

Presented by Arthouse Houston, and Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

Media Sponsor OutSmart Magazine

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

In the much anticipated follow-up to her widely acclaimed debut I AM NOT A WITCH, Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni explores the aftermath of a mysterious death over a days-long funeral ceremony through the eyes of the deceased’s family, including Shula who discovered the lifeless corpse on the side of the road. As the initial display of grief gives way to dark revelations about who their loved one truly was, Shula has to make a choice: must she remain silent or transform herself into the voice of those who have been silenced for so long? From A24 comes an elliptical, seriocomic fable about the lies we tell ourselves.

 The Borders/No Borders showcase of shorts dealing with cultural collisions and celebrations in the South and Southwest screens at 10 a.m. Nov. 9 (narratives) and 3 p.m. Nov. 9 (documentaries) at the DeLuxe Theatre.  Cinespace Short Film Competition, in which director Richard Linklater picks the winning films, takes place 8 p.m. Nov. 17 at The Orange Show.

There will also be panels/discussions such as “Film Distribution in an Age of Disruption,” “From the Ground Up: Producing with Academy Award winner Amy Hobby,” and “Background Artist: The Life And Work Of Tyrus Wong with author Karen Fang.”

For the full list of films and events, go to cinemahtx.org/hcaf/