Roadside Cinema: 2002 Spring Film Festival Opens with "Almost Famous" Feb. 7

Texas A&M International University's Spring Film Festival: "Roadside Cinema" will take viewers on a winding journey through the hills and valleys of the human mind, as shown through the lens of the camera. The trip begins with the award-winning film "Almost Famous," Thursday, February 7 at 7 p.m. in Bullock Hall 101. The showing is free and open to the public.

Almost Famous (2000), written and directed by Cameron Crowe, is a love letter to rock and roll music and the story of a high-school student who is recruited by Rolling Stone Magazine to chronicle the road tour of a rising rock band in the 70s. Crowe won Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen at the 2001 Oscars for his semi-autobiographical story.

The film is a dramatic yet funny tale that is as much a coming-of-age story as a road movie. Newcomer Patrick Fugit offers a fresh, realistic performance as the young author who learns about himself in the backstage of rock and roll. The turmoil that an older generation felt is also present and adds depth to what might have been a single layer story. Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson and Billy Crudup round out the cast, offering rich performances that make the film more than believable.

The film is rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity.

After the show, there will be 15 to 30 minutes of commentary and questions and answers, led by Dr. Sean M. Chadwell and Dr. William J. Nichols II, both assistant professors in the College of Arts and Humanities, and series creators.

The next film in the series will be shown on Thursday, February 14 and is entitled "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." This road trip involves a transvestite and two drag queens in a trek across Australia to a cabaret gig. It is deliciously funny with wicked, campy dialogue.

For more information on the "Roadside Cinema," 2002 Spring Film Festival, contact either Drs. Chadwell or Nichols by phone, 326.2471, 326.2610, visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 418C, room 421B or visit the festival's website: http://www.tamiu.edu/~wnichols/road.htm.

Office hours for the University are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu