.@ffalliance: FFA’s newly elected board members: Patrick Shepherd of @clefilmfest, Cara Ogburn of @mkefilm and Ryan Watt of @indiememphis. Missing: Rachel Morgan of @sidewalkfilm. Yay!! #ffa2018 #ahc2018 (at Cleveland International Film Festival)

Hi all  I had a great time at the Film Festival Alliance/Arthouse Convergence, where I meet with lots of film festival people and learned how they do what they do. I had a great time, and even though I still had a bit of a cold, I have many pages of notes and new ideas to help me move forward.  Everyone I talked to was amazed and pleased when I told them of our new version VideoFest as two smaller events.   Also, as you know Sundance and Slamdance are happening now, and I look forward to hearing what is going on there.  Did you know that three OP Docs from The Times are playing there and three others are nominated for an Academy Award? The Times was not the first paper to move into video; in the early days the Washington Post was doing some great work, but The Times has put incredible diverse work out that makes you think. Of course, they have also been working in animation and virtual reality, and have now moved in to podcasting. If you are not listening to The Daily you are missing on great perspectives on the days’ news.    And hey, while mentioning podcasts don’t forget to subscribe to THE FOG OF TRUTH.  We dropped an episode last week and will have a new one this Wednesday.   I really like My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes which has nothing to do with porn. It is a very personal look at filmmaker, Charlei Tryell’s, family history. In the film he tries to use hyper-animated objects and home movies to discover who his late father really was. It is the kind of film that is more at home at a film festival, and it is playing at Sundance, but having it on The Times shows of a newspaper.     Ten Meter Town is a very different doc. While Dad’s Porno is a heavily stylized video, with so many visual elements, this film slowly shows us how humans behave when facing fear and social pressure. We see many people standing in line, waiting to jump off of a 10 meter diving board.  For MOST of the short we just see a static shot of people going to the edge looking down and having second thoughts.  We also hear them talk to either themselves or their friends. It reminds me of a simple video we showed many years ago called Poked with a Stick, which I would be happy to show you if you are interested—it is not online.   I want to point to another Times video, an animated series called Conception. Explore and the next time you see me, we will talk.    We are co-presenting a really great film this week at the Alamo Drafthouse on Wednesday night at 7:30.  It is called Mr. Gaga, about Israeli choreographer, Ohad Naharim.   I have been aware of this film and I am really glad we are finally showing it. A Variety Review had this to say about it: "Leading Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin is profiled in “Mr. Gaga,” possibly the most exciting documentary for fans of edgier modern dance since “Pina.” With a complex, compelling lead character and plenty of striking performance footage from throughout his tenure to date as director of Batsheva Dance Group,” helmer Tomer Heymann (“Paper Dolls” and “Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?”) delivers a feature that should travel widely in various formats. So far it’s won a handful of fest prizes (including the audience award in its category at SXSW) and theatrical release in several territories."   Unfortunately, I will be teaching and cannot make it, but you should check it out! What else is going on in town?    The Denton Black Film Festival is this weekend in Denton and it looks like a great line up. On Monday night, Women in Film has Margarita Madness networking event at Ojeda’s, 4617 Maple Ave., from 6:30pm – 9pm   This week, The Alamo is showing Lawrence of Arabia, which looks great on a big screen and plays differently considering waht is currently happening in the Middle East. Definitely worth a revisit. They are also showing Gangs of New York.   This Friday at The Texas Theatre they are bringing Joe Bob Briggs back to Dallas for the How Rednecks Saved Hollywood program, which should be really fun. On Saturday and Sunday, they are screening Bombshell, the Hedy Lamarr story, so if you somehow missed this at DocuFest, you should definitely go and see it.   There are many great films to see in theaters this week, so get away from the angst of politics and enjoy one. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe to The Fog of Truth.  Bart Weiss, Artistic Director Dallas VideoFest

Home this morning after a great week at @arthouseconvergence. Here are some of the awesome folks who are part of the @ffalliance! photo credit: Film Festival Alliance #FFA2018 #AHC2018 (at Midway, Utah)

Great work by @goonslur representing @clefilmfest and #CLE at Art House Tales last night! #AHC2018 #FFA2018 (at Midway, Utah)

Be sure to track down @jonganndc & support @ffalliance by purchasing one of these awesome knit hats for 15 bucks! #FFA2018 #AHC2018 @arthouseconvergence (at Midway, Utah)

Tuesday night dinner @arthouseconvergence #AHC2018 #FFA2018 (at Midway, Utah)

Lela Meadow-Conner introduces the @ffalliance Making Your Festival Festive panel @arthouseconvergence #AHC2018 #FFA2018

Great work by @indiememphis’ Ryan Watt at his “Real Data Means Real Growth” presentation at @arthouseconvergence @ffalliance #AHC2018