Last night I went to a movie at AFI Dallas, an international film festival that started last year. It’s about 10 days long and gives us the chance to see about 200 different movies of all sorts – foreign, documentary, family-friendly, narratives, fantasy, horror, shorts. Most are done with a low budget by people who love film and poured their hearts into making the best film they could make. The screenings are mostly at Dallas-area theaters that focus on independent film. Generally some of the people who made the film attend the screening and talk about it afterwards.

I saw a Belgian/Dutch film called Blind, which is a tragic love story about a blind and violent young man and a woman who is hired to read to him and calm him angry soul. The filmmakers did a fantastic job all around to produce a very moving and memorable film. The lead actor, a 20-something marketing student, flew over to attend the festival and answered lots of questions from us afterward. I hope to attend another AFI Dallas film, but I don’t know whether I’ll have time. It’s best to buy your tickets in advance through the website. If you like unusual films that aren’t your typical $100 million Hollywood blockbuster, I strongly recommend that you attend!