Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase avoids star vehicles

Fort Worth actor and filmmaker Bill Hass had been wishing for a showcase dedicated to low-budget, independent films here at home. Then a friend of his with the upstart Austin Revolution Film Festival — launched five years ago by Central Texas filmmakers who felt that the other festivals in that city were geared too heavily to stars and celebs — suggested he do something about it.

“He kept telling me that ‘this was something you need to do in Fort Worth,’ ” Hass recalls.

So, last year, Hass staged the first Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase and now the second edition begins July 17 at the Marriott Courtyard West at Cityview. Whereas the first edition featured approximately 40 features, shorts, and documentaries, this year’s will have about 70.

“What we’re trying to do is actually build a circuit which is an alternative means for individuals to show their films,” he says. “We’re not [necessarily] looking at getting our films into major theaters. A lot of us aren’t going to do that, and renting a theater is out of the question for most people. ... This is just another avenue that’s going to give people an opportunity to get their movie seen.”

The titles range from Coming Back to the Hoop, Jane Pittman’s autobiographical documentary about her return to playing basketball as an older person, to the short Friends Like Mine starring Vince Pisani (The Good Lie). Hass’ personal favorites include the documentary What Men Really Want, about a man’s search for meaning.

While such films by and starring relative unknowns do populate the schedules of the larger regional festivals like the Dallas International Film Festival and the Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, they are the sole focus of the Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase’s mission.

“We’re smaller and more personal and more familylike,” says Haas, 52, who has recruited his sister and two friends to help him put the festival together. “Ultimately though, you still have to have a quality film.”

Hass says that roughly half the films are from Texas directors. “We wanted to celebrate Texas filmmakers in particular,” he says.

Hass, whose day job is as an IT supervisor, says he only occasionally thinks about the hard work involved in following his Austin friend’s advice. “Depends on the day,” he says with a laugh. “It’s a lot of work but being a labor of love keeps me from attaching the label ‘hard’ to it.

“I do enjoy it but it’s definitely a lot of work, and it’s becoming more and more of a job — not in a bad way, but we’re finding out we need to put more thought into doing it properly.

“We’re already talking about season three,” he continues. “It’s not something that you can just throw together.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase avoids star vehicles."