AFS special screenings in July

An Austin Film Society membership is the best deal in town. You can become an AFS member for as little as $20 a year and if you see films with any regularity, the membership pays for itself easily. (I think mine paid for itself sometime in March.)
Many of the Alamo Drafthouse special screenings have AFS discounts, including the Texas Documentary Tour series. AFS nearly always has some other film series going on with weekly movies that are free for members, movies that are often hard (or impossible) to find on DVD. And every so often, AFS holds sneak previews where members can get one or two free tickets if they respond quickly enough.
Those are just the free movie perks … I haven’t even mentioned benefits and discounts for filmmakers. Because of my AFS membership, I was able to audit a master class in film at UT last semester, which was an unforgettable experience.
Also, I really like AFS-sponsored movies because you usually can buy the tickets online at the AFS Web site, which doesn’t charge extra for online ticket purchases like most movie theaters do.
Besides their regularly scheduled films, Austin Film Society is sponsoring two preview screenings in the next couple of weeks:
Me and You and Everyone We Know—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Thursday 7/14. Tickets are $5 and the proceeds go to benefit Cinematexas. Miranda July’s film won an award at Cannes and has been getting great reviews all over the place. You get to support a female filmmaker and a deserving local short film festival. Tickets are still available on the AFS Web site (I got mine) and I don’t think you have to be an AFS member.
The Bad News Bears—Playing at the Paramount on Wednesday 7/20. Tickets range from $8-50 depending on whether you’re an AFS member and whether you actually want to be able to see the film from your seat. Director Richard Linklater and cast members to be named later will be in attendance. Tickets are available through the Paramount.
As much as I’d enjoy seeing (and reviewing) this movie in advance and hearing Linklater talk about it, I’d rather see it in a theater where I don’t have to spend $40 for a good seat (although that $40 also gets you into an after-party at Dart Bowl). I wish I could get a press pass. Hey, I’m a film critic. Somebody comp me.