Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

Media Credit: Leslie hope "What I See," a documentary from the Thin Line Film Festival, focuses on Cambodian children who are forced to work for money to survive.

Media Credit: Leslie Hope The film "What I See," was one of the first movies shown at the Thin Line Film Festival.

Josh Butler, an NT alumnus and one of the key players behind the Thin Line Film Festival, has big plans for Denton.

"We have an opportunity to be cutting edge and celebrate documentaries in a way no one else does," Butler said at the festival's opening reception at Hannah's restaurant, at 111 W. Mulberry St. "I hope this is something that the Denton community can rally behind and be proud of."

The second annual Thin Line Film Festival will take over Denton from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28 to celebrate documentary films as an entertaining art form.

The festival, named for the "thin line" between fact and fiction and other extremes like life and death or love and hate, is presented by Texas Filmmakers, a nonprofit organization based in Denton.

The Academy Award-nominated film "La Corona," a film about a beauty pageant in a Colombian women's prison, and the highly acclaimed "What I See When I Close My Eyes," a short film about a Cambodian city's 20,000 street kids and the organization trying to help them, kicked off the festivities Wednesday night at Campus Theater, just one of the many Denton venues that will show films or host activities.

Lisa Stabler from the American Film Institute Dallas, another of Thin Line's many partners, thought both films set a very high intellectual precedent for the rest of the festival.

"They were two very thought-provoking films with different international concepts," Stabler said. "Both did a great job of showing life outside the bubble of the United States."

Leslie Hope, director of "What I See When I Close My Eyes," flew from Los Angeles to attend the screening on Wednesday and visited Hannah's for the festival's opening reception.

"Seeing these kids and how Friends International was helping them really moved me," Hope said. "I wanted to help, but I just felt like nothing I could do was enough. I just know how to make movies, so that's what I did."

Many feature films screening this weekend have already generated some of their own buzz.

Butler expects "Wiener Takes All: A Dogumentary," a film about the world of competitive dachshunds, to be among the bigger crowd-pleasers of the festival.

Other films topping people's "must-see" lists include "Reserved to Fight," the stories of four young veterans trying to reintegrate into society after returning home from front-line combat in Iraq, and the world premiere of "Interrogate This: Psychologists Take on Terror," a film that questions human rights, ethics and the use of psychologists to interrogate terror suspects.

Chris Starnes, a radio, television and film junior, and Luke Tatum, an English freshman, are already big fans of "Nerdcore Rising," a film about the new hip-hop movement "nerdcore" and MC Frontalot, the genre's biggest star.

"Nerdcore is like hip-hop without the standard lyrics," Tatum said. "For example, one of MC Frontalot's songs is about data encryption."

The film follows MC Frontalot on his first national tour, but the real stars of the film are his fans - a motley crew of hackers, gamers, bloggers and podcasters.

A short film by radio, television and film seniors Ashley Beane and Rachel Horvath will be featured in the second shorts compilation. Their film is about the life of Pops Carter, an 89-year-old musical icon who has lived and performed in Denton since the '60s.

"Pops is a talented musician who is almost unappreciated," Beane said. "He played with great musicians of his day and he could've had everything but he wanted a simple life."

NT will play a major role this year as it hosts the Between the Lines industry conference, presented by the Dallas Producer's Association. Professionals from around the state will meet Friday and Saturday at NT's Radio, TV, Film & Performance Building to share the knowledge they have collected through years of experience.

The festival will also feature non-film events like Thin Line Wine Fest, presented by Greenhouse Restaurant & Bar and Trumer Pils, which will be held from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Thin Line Lounge, at 222 W. Hickory St.

The Thin Line Lounge, presented by Hot Pixel Action, will also be open every night of the festival until 2 a.m. with refreshments, music and special activities.

"Our sponsors have been amazing," Butler said. "They have gone above and beyond this year and turned this event into something truly special."

For more information about ticket prices, the schedule of events and movie times, visit the festival's Web site at thinlinefilmfest.com.

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