15 ways to enjoy the Dallas International Film Festival

The Dallas International Film Festival returns April 9 with 165 films in tow, offering a good chance for North Texans to catch up on some of the movies that have been generating buzz at Sundance and South by Southwest, as well as a total of 17 world, North American and U.S. premieres.

It’s also an opportunity for movie fans to get a taste of other local film festivals, as some screenings are co-presented with the likes of the Oak Cliff Film Festival, the Texas Black Film Festival and the Asian Film Festival of Dallas.

As always, trying to decide what to see can be daunting. Even though DIFF sprawls over 11 days and some films are shown more than once, it’s hard to see more than a fraction of what’s offered.

This is a special problem with the Dallas festival, because while most of the screenings are at the Angelika at Mockingbird Station, other locations are far-flung: the Majestic (for Thursday’s opening-night film, I’ll See You in My Dreams), Cinemark West Plano and the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff.

With that in mind, here is a guide to 15 films deserving special notice.

The Day West Shook Texas: Director Jim Gerik’s documentary is listed as a work in progress, but its subject matter — the 2013 explosion that rocked the town of West — has special resonance for Texans no matter if it’s finished or not. 1:30 p.m. April 18. Texas Theatre.

Frame by Frame: During the Taliban years, photography was banned in Afghanistan. With the fall of the totalitarian regime, interest in photojournalism has exploded — though it can still be a dangerous profession. This documentary follows four photographers as they practice their craft. It was nominated for the Grand Jury award at SXSW. 10:15 p.m. April 14, 7:15 p.m. April 15. Angelika Dallas.

Hollow: South Korean horror is well-known worldwide, Vietnamese less so. But this movie, which was one of the most popular films in Vietnam last summer, has been generating interest among those who like a little fright in their filmmaking. 10:30 p.m. April 16, 10:30 p.m. April 17. Angelika Dallas.

The Jones Family Will Make a Way: Director Alan Berg’s documentary showcases the unlikely friendship that blooms between the gospel-singing Jones Family of Southeast Texas and atheist Austin writer/critic Michael Corcoran, who helps introduce them to a rock audience. 2:30 p.m. April 11, 7:15 p.m. April 12. Angelika Dallas.

Kung Fu Killer: Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen (Ip Man) plays a man who has to stop a killer who’s targeting martial-arts masters. It was nominated for awards at Taipei’s Golden Horse Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Awards. 7 p.m. April 14, 10:30 p.m. April 15. Angelika Dallas.

The Look of Silence: Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, his compelling and horrifying exploration of how the Indonesian army and police tortured and killed their opposition in the ’60s, was one of the best documentaries of recent years. He now follows it with the other side of the story: how the victims and their families were affected. It has already won a fistful of awards, including the Audience Award at SXSW. 7:45 p.m. April 12, 4:15 p.m. April 15. Angelika Dallas.

Love & Mercy: The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson was a troubled genius as a younger man, and director Bill Pohlad (mostly known as a producer of such films as 12 Years a Slave and Brokeback Mountain) turns that torture into gripping drama. Starring Paul Dano as the young Wilson and John Cusack as him at middle age, Love & Mercy also respects the music. The scenes in the studio with the perfectionist Wilson are absolutely fascinating. 8 p.m. April 18. Angelika Dallas.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is best known as an Emmy-nominated TV director (Glee, American Horror Story), but that’s likely to change with this indie darling that won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Thomas Mann, Nick Offerman, Jon Bernthal, Connie Britton and Olivia Cooke star in this story about the friendship between a young man and his friend with cancer. 7:30 p.m. April 16. Cinemark West Plano.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot: German director Sebastian Dehnhardt digs beneath the basketball stats for a portrait of the Mavericks player that charts his rise and his professional relationship with coach/mentor Holger Geschwindner. 6:30, 7 and 7:30 p.m. April 14; 4:30 p.m. April 16. Angelika Dallas.

Paper Planes: A huge hit in its native Australia, Paper Planes — starring Sam Worthington (Avatar) and Ed Oxenbould — focuses on a father-son relationship strengthened by their decision to enter the World Paper Plane Championships. 12:30 p.m. April 11, 2 p.m. April 18. Angelika Dallas.

Sacrifice: Texas filmmaker Michael Cohn is best known for his 1994 film When the Bough Breaks starring Martin Sheen and Ron Perlman, but he returns with this thriller about a hunting trip that turns into a nightmare. Dermot Mulroney stars. 4:15 p.m. April 10, 7:45 p.m. April 11. Angelika Dallas.

Turbo Kid: This Canada-New Zealand co-production, set in a postapocalyptic retro-future world where a kid navigates the ruined landscape on his BMX bike and has to fight an evil overlord, has been an audience charmer. It won an Audience Award at SXSW. 11:59 p.m. April 10 at Angelika Dallas; 10:30 p.m. April 17 at Texas Theatre.

Welcome to Leith: This documentary has already generated headlines and heat because of its subject matter: the takeover of a North Dakota town by white supremacists. There was also angry pushback at Sundance when the lead supremacist was present (via Skype) for the post-screening Q&A. “I was a little surprised by people being that upset,” Sundance festival programmer Hussain Currimbhoy said in the Los Angeles Times. 4:45 p.m. April 13, 10:30 p.m. April 14. Angelika Dallas.

Western: The Texas-Mexico border is the uncredited star in this documentary from brothers Bill and Turner Ross about life in the twin cities of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Coahuila. Where once there was easy co-existence, there is now fear because of the growth of drug cartels and the ensuing violence. It won the Louis Black Lone Star Award at SXSW and the Special Jury Award at Sundance. 10 p.m. April 15, 7:45 p.m. April 16. Angelika Dallas.

Who Am I — No System Is Safe: This German techno-thriller from director Baran bo Odar, about a group of misfit hackers being hunted by both the German government and a rival group of hackers, has earned a lot of notice in Europe, winning or being nominated for awards at the Zurich Film Festival and Bavarian Film Awards. 10:15 p.m. April 13, 1 p.m. April 15. Angelika Dallas.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 1:13 PM with the headline "15 ways to enjoy the Dallas International Film Festival."