Dallas Video Festival

Though it's called the Dallas Video Festival, the nontraditional showcase of films is not just for those created by local artists or to works on VHS.

The event started July 31st and goes through Aug. 5th at the Dallas Theater Center.

Single screenings are $5 per day and an all-day pass is $10-$15.00. A festival pass is $45.00.

For more information, call 214-428-8700 and for a schedule go to videofest.org.

The festival is a mix of wacky personalities and unforgettable films.

Dallas, Texas is home to one of the oldest and largest video festivals in the U.S. The movies are matchless and oh-so-alluring and are considered "smart films" with a mind of their own.

Co-founder Bart Weiss, 54, has seen all the screenings and makes recommendations on the above listed website.

In 1986 Weiss and Melissa Berry collaborated to present a weekend of video programming titled "Video as a Creative Medium." That weekend of creative art evolved into the Dallas Video Festival which became official in 1987. The Video Association of Dallas (VAD) was formed in 1989 as a 501©(3) nonprofit media arts organization.

Weiss says the festival is not just about video, either.

"It was as moments go, electric," says writer Michael Granberry of the year1996 and the Dallas Video Festival. "Mr. Weiss is a big believer in video which in many ways has guided his own life."

More than 250 titles from 13 countries are being screened this year, the 20th anniversary of the event.

Weiss taught at a college in West Virginia where the students were so poor many couldn't afford bus fare to campus much less Super 8 film, Granberry writes. Two years ago Weiss was featured at Americans for the Arts Annual Convention.

On Weiss' website he describes the festival: "Video has evolved into a technically beautiful, flexible, accessible and often clandestine medium that works like magic in the hands of artists and storytellers and provides a powerful tool for social change in the hands of media activists."

According to Director David Lowery, this year's content reflects the rebellious mixed media ideology better than ever.

The Dallas Theater Center is located at 3636 Turtle Creek Boulevard.