Photo Flash: 2016 Houston Cinema Arts Festival Opens 11/10 with Screening of HONKY TONK HEAVEN

Honky Tonk Heaven: Legend of the Broken Spoke will open the 8th Annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival on Thursday, November 10 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and will be followed by a live performance from popular Texas country artist Dale Watson.

The film is a lively documentary from Houston-born director Sam Wainwright Douglas and Brenda Mitchell that tells the raucous history of the Broken Spoke honkytonk in Austin, TX, where it is affectionately known as "the last of the true Texas dance halls."

The festival will be bookended on Thursday, November 17 with a free outdoor screening of
Contemporary Color - a film celebrating the art of Color Guard at a unique concert event
organized by legendary musician David Byrne at the Barclays Center in the summer of 2015 -
featuring Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, St. Vincent, and more. The event will
kick off with a boisterous routine from local color guard groups followed by the feature film
screening in the Downtown District.

The opening and closing films - both exciting examples of the power of music and community - will buttress a diverse set of films about the visual, performing, and literary arts. "Houston Cinema Arts Festival's mission is to celebrate the arts of Houston, and this year, we will give audiences the chance to explore, beyond our main venues at Sundance Cinemas and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, different satellite venues throughout the 8-day festival," said HCAF Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz.

On Friday, November 11, the Houston Museum of African-American Culture will host renowned "L.A. Rebellion" independent filmmaker Billy Woodberry and his landmark 1983
film Bless Their Little Hearts, a bleak yet poignant film that depicts the struggle of a family as it copes with unemployment, desperation, and tremendous adversity set against the backdrop
of Los Angeles in the early 1980s. The Billy Woodberry Retrospective will continue at
Sundance Cinemas with his first new film in decades, And When I Die I Won't Stay Dead.

The following evening, visual artist Amie Siegel will screen and discuss her unique film
installation Provenance, exploring the global trade of furniture from the Indian city of
Chandigarrh, as a free show at the Menil. The Chicago native's photography, videos, film
installations, and feature-length productions have been shown and highlighted across the
country and internationally, including presentations at film festivals such as the Cannes Film
Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival.

Celia Rowlson-Hall - a rising star in the world of choreography, dance, and visual art - will
take center stage on Monday, November 14 at Aurora Picture Show and profile several of her
short art, fashion, and music videos, including the hilarious project The Audition. On
November 13 at Sundance Cinemas, Rowlson-Hall will debut her feature film Ma - a striking
piece of cinematic experimentation completely devoid of dialogue featuring Rowlson-Hall as a
modern-day symbol of the Virgin Mary Traversing the American Southwest.

Filmmaker Eryk Rocha's acclaimed documentary Cinema Novo - a comprehensive look at
the eponymous cinematic movement created by Rocha's father, the legendary Brazilian
filmmaker Glauber Rocha -- will be screened at Sundance Cinemas on November 13. The film took home the top documentary prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. He will also screen a Cinema Novo classic by Glauber Rocha at Rice Cinema, home to Rice University's Visual Arts & Dramatic Department, on Monday, November 14.

On Wednesday, November 16 Kate Rigg and Lyris Hung - the uproarious duo known as
Slanty Eyed Mama - will give a live performance to complement a screening of Happy Lucky
Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show at the Asia Society. The pair first
met while studying at the acclaimed Juilliard School and have since held residencies at many
prominent performing venues across the country. They will be joined by director Carrie
Preston, best known for her acting on True Blood and other film and television appearances.

The 2016 Houston Cinema Arts Festival is hosted by the Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS), a a non-profit created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Neely. It organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. The festival celebrates the vitality and diversity of the arts in Houston and enriches the city's film and arts community. HCAS sponsors include Premier Sponsor Houston First Corporation, Signature Sponsor Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Featured Sponsor Levantine Films, Media Sponsor Texas Monthly and many others. HCAS is also supported in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, The Brown Foundation, Inc. and Texas Commission on the Arts.

The 2016 Houston Cinema Arts Festival opens Thursday, November 10 with a screening of HONKY TONK HEAVEN: LEGEND OF THE BROKEN SPOKE followed by a live performance from Texas country artist Dale Watson at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Festival continues through Thursday, November 17, closing with a free outdoor screening of CONTEMPORARY COLOR. For more information, please visit hcaf16.org.

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