Austin's leading film nonprofit, Austin Film Society (AFS), is expanding its cinema with the addition of a third theater opening October 24. Viewers at the premiere of Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, will be among the first to see the new space.

The expansion follows a fundraising campaign with a goal of $250,000, raised through events like a special screening of Boyhood, directed by AFS founder and legendary Austin director Richard Linklater. Thanks to a donation from longtime AFS supporter Amy McCall, the theater is now named after her late husband, John H. McCall.

John McCall helped establish the AFS Cinema in 2016, a press release says, with a gift that enabled AFS to rework the closed Marchesa Theater for its own purposes. He joined the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2018.

The new theater accommodates 169 viewers. It offers 4k digital laser projection and 7.1 surround sound, the release says. With the added capacity, AFS can show more screenings of more titles and offer better showtimes. Even the seating is upgraded.

“The McCall Theater will allow us to expand our programming and better serve the filmmakers, festivals, and audiences who have made the theater their home,” said Linklater, who is also AFS's artistic director, in the release. “It's another step in the same journey we began four decades ago: creating a place where great films are discovered, filmmakers are supported, and a community gathers around the shared experience of cinema.”

In true AFS style, a series of screenings will mark the opening of the John H. McCall Theater. The first is the Paper Tiger premiere October 27.

The crime thriller by writer, director, and producer James Gray goes inside the Russian mafia as two brothers face the consequences of joining a scheme that went beyond their control. Paper Tiger will start showing in select theaters on November 13, with a nationwide release on Thanksgiving, November 26. Linklater will join Gray at the theater for a discussion along with the premiere.

Tickets will go on sale to AFS members October 15, with a general onsale starting October 16 at 1 pm. Notable AFS events tend to sell out fast.

For those who miss the sale or just want something else, there will be more chances to be part of the grand opening. The series includes newly released 4k restorations of The Color of Money, Unzipped, and Marie Antoinette.

AFS is Austin's only nonprofit arthouse. Its programming at AFS Cinema regularly includes everything from new releases to old classics, independent films, documentaries, and more, making it a fun place for adventurous film buffs as well as casual viewers who are just in it for the nostalgia. It is also a hub for films that don't often play elsewhere, including international works and political documentaries. Screenings often come with talkbacks, and visitors can grab cocktails, local beers, and snacks in the lobby.

AFS currently has more than 2,500 members, enhancing the community aspect of its eclectic programming.