The 9th annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival rolled out double the red carpet for its annual Opening Night festivities. The actual red carpet took its customary position at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for Love, Cecil, a documentary tribute to legendary photographer, diarist, and award-winning costume designer Cecil Beaton. At Rice Cinema, a much different premiere screening took place for Bodied, a searing social satire set in the brutal world of battle rap.

Following the glamorous stroll down the red carpet at MFAH, Opening Night attendees enjoyed a pre-screening reception inside the MFAH Pre-Columbian Gallery that featured catering by Brennan’s of Houston. Guests mingled together as they enjoyed Shrimp Chippewa (shrimp and grits), Creole Crudo Pompano, Gumbo Ya Ya Chicken & Andouille, Brennan’s famous bananas foster, and New Orleans-style pralines.

After the pre-screening reception, guests briskly made their way to the Brown Auditorium as the 2017 Houston Cinema Arts Festival’s launch was imminent. HCAF Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz, HCAS board member and distinguished local attorney Mark Wawro, Tara Khanna of the Texas Film Commission, and filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland provided introductory marks to the packed auditorium. Following the screening, an intimate and thoughtful Q&A session was conducted between Lisa Vreeland and international style icon Lynn Wyatt.

Down the road at Rice Cinema, guests mingled in the STELLA Lounge as they patiently waited for the much-anticipated premiere of Bodied, local Houstonian filmmaker Joseph Kahn’s powerful film that has received rave reviews everywhere it has played. HCAS Advisory Board member Charles Dove, HCAS Executive Director Patrick Kwiatkowski and director Joseph Kahn helped introduce the film to the audience. Afterward, hip-hop icon Bun B hosted an insightful and wide-ranging conversation with Kahn about his film. The culmination of the evening was a special performance from local Houston battle rappers Scotty Raps and Liven Learn of H-Town Rap Battle that scintillated the crowd and left mouths agape as guests were able to experience the deft mastery and acute precision of the battle rap art form firsthand. Dough Beezy, the group’s creator and host, introduced the battle rap performance.

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The red carpet attendees at MFAH included Lynn Wyatt, Susie Criner, Cerón and Todd Fiscus, Oliver Halkowich, Patrick Kwiatkowski, Marian Luntz, Dan Jacobs, Rick Ferguson, Carlos and Hunab Villanueva, Amber Livingston and David Garcia, Gordon and Vicky Wight, Roz and Alan Pactor, Carrie Potter, Francisco Molina and Daniela Clementi, Shannan Leigh Reeve, Chelsea Belmont, Elizabeth Nunez, Ryan Martin, Katie Cokinos, Malcolm Daniel, Darryl Morrison, Joe and Linda Trevino, HCAF17 guest artists Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Joseph Kahn, Wayne Gilbert, Andrew Sherburne, Barbara McCullough, Cressandra Thibodeaux, Zefrey Throwell, and Michael Zahs.

ABOUT HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY (HCAS)

Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting innovative films, media installations, and performances that celebrate the artistic process and enrich Houston’s culture and urban vitality. Created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and philanthropist Franci Neely, it organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing, and literary arts. The Festival celebrates the diversity of the arts in Houston and elevates the city’s film and arts scene. Houston Cinema Arts Society sponsors include premiere sponsor Houston First Corporation, signature sponsor Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, and featured sponsor Levantine Films. HCAS is also supported in part by the Franci Neely Foundation; the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance; an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works; the Brown Foundation; and a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. The 2017 Houston Cinema Arts Festival takes place from November 9-13, 2017.