Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/836013
AUSTINWAY.COM 39 PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID BRENDAN HALL FOR AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY CINEMA PARADISO IT'S THE ARTHOUSE LINKLATER BUILT: THE DIRECTOR'S LONGTIME VISION COMES TO LIFE WITH THE NEW, TWO- SCREEN AFS CINEMA. BY KATHY BLACKWELL Think of the new AFS Cinema, which opened Memorial Day weekend, as Austin's permanent film festival—a venue not only for avant-garde, classic, and other independent films, but a gathering place for this city's many fervent cinephiles. The Austin Film Society extensively renovated the former Marchesa Hall & Theatre—the home of the nonprofit's film series since 2013—into a two-screen, fulltime arthouse theater with a cafe, expansive lobby, and private event space. Long the vision of Austin's Oscar- nominated director Richard Linklater, who founded the AFS in 1985, the venue was redesigned by renowned local architect Michael Hsu and his team as well as boutique architecture firm Designtrait. "It's like our church," Linklater says during an intimate preview. Turning the large, cavern- ous space in a strip mall into a film lover's dream venue was a challenge. After closing the one-screen Marchesa Hall in November, the design team got to work. "We wanted to incorporate design "ART CINEMAS ARE GOING AWAY, BUT WE'RE CONFIDENT IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT THIS WILL WORK." —RICHARD LINKLATER SCENE | STYLE | SPACE EVERYBODY'S TALKIN G ABOU T...