By Brian Landa
@BrianLandaLawyer
Waco, Texas. Birthplace of perhaps my favorite soft drink, Dr Pepper. An up-and-coming world-class city as well. People used to initially think Koresh (and maybe W) over the past few decades. But now people may think of the much more pleasant Chip and Joanna Gaines connection, with home renovations and beyond capturing national attention.
I had not been to Waco proper in more than a decade, when I attended the final 24 hours of the Waco Independent Film Festival, formerly known as Deep In The Heart. As I acclimated, those in the know pointed out all the buildings and structures with solid connections to the Gaines empire. And it is definitely an empire. For a smaller town, it has always had a national presence, at least during my lifetime. It is the home of Baylor University, a legendarily Baptist institution and a major player in sports through the decades.
This led me to believe that the films at this festival might lean a bit more conservative. But I first made it to a block of weird shorts called Bizarre Bazaar, and the offerings were as gloriously sick and twisted as one would expect. Among the insanity: A casket company with a camera installed so you can enjoy your decomposing loved one just a bit longer, insurance for polar bear and panda attacks and an absolutely mind-blowing short satirizing the use of AI in advertising, which walked away with some hardware at the awards ceremony, 38 Cheeseburgers.
I have found a niche reviewing music documentaries (several can be found here on ReelNewz.com), so my choice of feature film to review at Waco was Texas Music Revolution, about a long-running music festival spearheaded by Dallas-based outlaw country radio station KHYI 95.3. The documentary, directed by Troy Paff and produced by KHYI station manager Joshua Jones, details the run up to the 25th Texas Music Revolution festival, which was slated for 2021 in McKinney, Texas at nearly the height of Covid lockdown. Set to be among the headliners were Charley Crockett, who can trace his heritage all the way to Davy and beyond, and Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Kiefer Sutherland (May his father’s memory be a blessing. What a career that was!) is also involved in the production, and his own outlaw country band has performed at the festival over the years. The intense man we know best from 24 and The Lost Boys has mellowed with the music and has a really charming personality in the interview segments. He is all about the music, and is surprised he is being accepted into what can be quite an insular world.
The heart of the documentary actually turns out to be the faith-based content I expected from Waco. As part of the 25th anniversary of the festival, the organizers attempted to fully reunite the legendary Austin band The Derailers. Co-founder Tony Villanueva had abruptly left the band over two decades ago, as he heard a calling from above to put his talents to use in a different way, and went off the grid for a full eighteen years.
Jones even hired a private investigator to track Villanueva down. Miraculously (and that word is not used lightly here), he was finally located playing music and involved in leadership of a Christian charitable organization for children that has a campus in the St. Louis, Missouri area. So, Jones went to St. Louis, practically in the shadow of the familiar Arch, to make the pitch.
Villanueva and Jones had literally not seen each other in nearly twenty years, but it was like no time passed. They had been the best of friends back in the day, but circumstances can lead to drift. Would Villanueva make a triumphant return onstage with his old band? The jury was still out. He was indeed changed man.
The two men were overtaken by emotion praying in the chapel over what Villanueva’s immediate future should be. Jones was present in Waco for the Q&A. He said there was definitely a spiritual, and possibly divine presence in the room. And an answer was at that time given to Tony (perhaps from above) about the route best taken. I find religious content suspect in films sometimes. But this sequence was real, sincere and truly moving.
To reveal his eventual path is a bit of a spoiler, so seeing the film is highly recommended, and there was other drama to deal with as storms rolled in, with Covid protocol issues and the like. The mayor of McKinney, George Fuller, was more than game. A rock and roller himself, he and his wife also have a band that performs regularly, including at the festival, over the years.
Hubbard was on deck, but the storms were affecting outside stages, and the crowds were pushing up against what was permitted at the time. Do they move everyone into the historic McKinney Courthouse on the Square, which is now a performing arts venue? Do they wait out the storm? It all got sorted in the end, and some people got a bit more religion from this one than they expected, including myself.
What a fantastic festival Waco is. I am an entertainment lawyer by day, so the Film Distribution tips and techniques panel Saturday evening was definitely on the agenda. The closing night after-party was at a local brewpub, with grill your own brats and s’mores stations and a mechanical bull. I did not ride, but many enthusiastically did. And the awards brunch was quite delightful as well. Artistic Director Samuel Thomas and Operations Director Louis Hunter gave credit where credit was due, and were given massive props for their efforts as well.
For a grassroots DIY festival where they literally haul couches into art studios for screenings, this is one of the best I’ve ever attended. It’s nationally ranked by more than one source. The big winner was Chandler Riggs, best known as Carl on The Walking Dead, whose romantic dramedy Breakup Season received a couple top awards (it’s reviewed elsewhere on this site). He and many of the other filmmakers and creative teams (a large number showed up in Waco in support of their projects, and the networking was epic) were having a ball. This is definitely one I will attend again.
