With its cinema shut down in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Austin Film Society (AFS) will begin virtual screenings of some of the films previously schedule to screen in the upcoming months.
In new partnership with film and video distributor Kino Lorber, AFS will offer screening via Kino Marquee, a virtual theatrical exhibition initiative.
Viewers can purchase a ticket on the AFS website that will be good for a five day pass to see the film. “Proceeds from the virtual ticket purchases will help sustain our programming and support our efforts to reopen the AFS Cinema,” the non-profit AFS said in a statement.
The first virtual screening starts March 20 with “Bacurau”, previously scheduled to open at the AFS Cinema in early April.
Co-directed by Kleber Mendoza Filho (“Aquarius” and “Neighboring Sounds”), the thriller draws from the cinematic legacy of exploitation and siege films to make a provocative, ingenious and gloriously entertaining parable about the current state of global inequality.
Set in a near future time, Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead.
Also, two of the film’s co-stars are products of the Austin film community: actors Chris Doubek (“Lover of Hate,” “Computer Chess”) and Jonny Mars (“The Happy Poet,” “Saturday Morning Massacre”).