The Austin Film Festival (AFF) announced on Tuesday the first wave of film premieres for its 32nd annual festival, taking place Oct. 23-30 alongside its renowned Writers Conference (Oct. 23-26), which together celebrate the art of storytelling on screen and on the page.
This year’s slate features high-profile world premieres, A-list ensembles and highly anticipated Texas premieres from award-winning filmmakers. Additionally, writing and filmmaking partners Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar will receive the 2025 Writer’s Writer Award, presented as part of the screening of their latest film, “Train Dreams.”
Amongst the titles making their world premiere at AFF are “You’re Dating a Narcissist,” a romantic comedy starring Marisa Tomei, written/directed by AFF alum Ann Marie Allison; “Signing Tony Raymond,” a sports comedy drama starring Mira Sorvino, Rob Morgan and NFL star Marshawn Lynch, written and directed by Glen Owen; and “The Boy From St. Croix,” a documentary portrait of NBA legend Tim Duncan, directed by his brother Scott Duncan.
“Rhythm Is a Dancer,” a coming-of-age comedy drama written, directed and starring Lauren Caster, with Amy Aquino and Tate Donovan; “Miles Away,” a modern comedy drama feature from Jackie Quinones, co-starring Luis Guzmán; “Crystal Cross,” a darkly comedic road trip feature starring Rubyrose Hill, Lukas Haas; and Luke Baines; and “Spite,” an atmospheric horror feature starring Masha Cima, written and directed by Carolynn Cecilia, will also premiere.
In addition to world premieres, AFF will host Texas premieres of some of the year’s most anticipated titles, including A24’s “Eternity,” directed by David Freyne, co-written with Pat Cunnane, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph; and Amazon MGM Studios’ “Hedda,” from writer director Nia DaCosta, starring Tessa Thompson, Imogen Poots, Nina Hoss and Nicholas Pinnock.
The festival will also screen Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” the third installment in the filmmaker’s whodunnit series after “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion.”
