If you love movies- not just watching them, but talking about them, quoting them, arguing about them, then Austin is your go-to city.
Because once again, the Texas Film Awards are turning the capital into something that feels suspiciously like Hollywood, just with more boots and fewer paparazzi barricades. On March 5, the annual celebration returns to Troublemaker Studios, where so many great Texas films have been made and celebrated.
Austin Film Society Powers Texas Cinema
The event is hosted by the Austin Film Society, founded by filmmaker Richard Linklater.
Since the mid-1990s, AFS has distributed nearly $3 million in grants to more than 700 Texas-based film projects, helping turn Austin into a serious creative hub for filmmakers who want independence without leaving the state.
The Texas Film Awards serve as its biggest fundraiser- but they also double as a reminder that Texas talent has global reach.
Texas Film Awards Honor Industry Legends
This year’s inductees include filmmaker Julian Schnabel, actors Sydney Chandler and Sonny Carl Davis.
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The presenter lineup reads like a festival marquee:
Oscar Isaac presenting to SchnabelGabriel Luna introducing a special anniversary tributeLinklater presenting alongside producer Mike BlizzardNoah Hawley returning to the stageA 25-Year Tribute to a Texas-Made Classic
And then there’s the moment that’s going to hit millennials right in the childhood.
The awards will include a 25th anniversary tribute to Spy Kids, the Robert Rodriguez-created franchise that proved a family blockbuster could be made in Texas and still take over the world.
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Directed by Robert Rodriguez and filmed at Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Spy Kids wasn’t just a kids’ movie, it was a moment!
It showed that Texas filmmakers didn’t need to move to Los Angeles to create a global franchise.
And personally? It’s one of my all-time favorites. Gadget-packed backpacks, spy parents, over-the-top villains, and the one device I’ve always wanted.
Let’s get to work on that, scientists!
Seeing it honored 25 years later, in the same city where it was created, feels less like nostalgia and more like a victory lap.
Austin Keeps Proving Texas Has Film Power
Past Texas Film Awards honorees include Matthew McConaughey, Renée Zellweger, and Ethan Hawke, names that stretch far beyond state lines. But the magic of the Texas Film Awards isn’t just the celebrity roll call. It’s the reminder that Austin isn’t trying to copy Hollywood, it’s built its own version.
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Gallery Credit: Johnny Thrash
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