Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings roared into Austin as one of the first stops of the worldwide spring tour. Her first Austin appearance since being diagnosed — and beating — cancer, Jones and her fellow bandmates put on a stellar live performance (but, don't they always?) in support of the latest album "Give the People What They Want."
Indeed, Jones gave us we wanted: a soul-tacular performance that left us dancing in the streets long after the show was over.
Home Free has been making the rounds at festivals, but is about to be shown to the public for the first time in Austin.
A project that's been in the works for a long time in Austin is finally ready to be seen by the public. Home Free, a feature-length comedy by a local filmmaking duo, is finally home now through November 8, 2024. It'll screen every Friday at the recently resurrected Eastside Cinema, followed by Q&A's with the cast and crew.
Open-minded Austinites may have wished they could help someone out by providing a temporary roof over their head, but filmmakers Aaron Brown and Lenny Barszap actually tried it in college at the University of Texas. They extended an offer to an unhoused philosophy professor, who inadvertently served as the basis for the catalyzing character in the film, played by Joe Hart.
After 25 years, the filmmakers' fictional stand-ins turn the real-life experience into a coming-of-age film, with the same chaotic tone of many iconic college films ("Dazed & Confused meets Superbad," a release says), but a deeper message about how Austinites might help the people around them. Brown and Barszap call it a "Trojan horse": a way to get the message out there that is still fun to watch.
“Our movie is unapologetically funny, but it’s also intended to be a catalyst for serious social change sharply focused on one of the most pervasive problems across America – the unhousing epidemic,” said co creators of the film, writer Barszap and director Brown, both producers, in the release. “We want the message to reach the audience that would never watch a sad drama or documentary about homelessness, but would surely want to laugh. Humor is our spoonful of sugar.”
This series of screenings is a sneak peek before the rest of the United States gets to see it in 2025, and it looks like demand is already high.
The film's world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood sold out in June, 2023. Kevin Smith, the actor from Austin who played the iconic character Silent Bob, selected it for his Smodcastle Film Festival in New Jersey; it sold out for closing night at the Dances With Films NY Festival; and it's also played in Austin at the Austin Film Festival to capacity screenings. All that said, this series will provide the first public (i.e. not at a festival) screening.
Since taking strangers in isn't exactly an efficient or perfectly safe idea, filmmakers are channeling support to The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF), a highly regarded local nonprofit for transitional housing. TOOF offers meals and work (having paid out nearly $1 million so far), helps clean up trash around Austin, and manages a shelter complex at the Esperanza Community on state-owned land.
The Home Free team sees TOOF as a model the rest of the U.S. could use to build out more effective programs. They've also been involved with Been There, another TOOF-affiliated nonprofit that organizes a music and arts festival to further the common goal; the next one is November 2.
Lots of big and local names show up on Home Free's soundtrack, including Beastie Boys, Dinosaur Jr., Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, Ghostland Observatory, Sabrina Ellis, White Denim, Stephanie Hunt. Local super-producer Adrian Quesada, who also attended UT in the 90's, worked on this soundtrack.
Tickets ($13, with an option to add popcorn and candy for an addition $9) are available at beenthere.org. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will support TOOF. Eastside Cinema is located at 1156 Hargrave St.