5 Movies You Need to See at Fort Worth’s Film Festival — Your Lone Star Film Guide

Fort Worth’s biggest film festival begins this week in Sundance Square. The Lone Star Film Festival is featuring more than 150 movies, panel discussions, parties, celebrity appearances and more. Returning for its 13th year, there are more film screenings than ever so we’ve narrowed it down to the top five must-see movies of the year. The festival runs from this Wednesday, November 13 through Sunday, November 17.

Here are the top films to see at the 13th annual Lone Star Film Festival. All five are showing at AMC Theater:

Grand Isle

Friday, November 15 at 9:30 pm

Directed by Stephen S. Campanelli, Grand Isle follows a young father charged with murder who must prove his innocence through recalling a very twisted and dark night of events. Starring Nicholas Cage as Walter and Kelsey Grammer as Detective Jones, this thriller was written and produced by DFW-native Iver Jallah. Cage plays a trigger happy ex-Marine while KaDee Strickland plays his seductive wife. Luke Benward comes into the picture to help repair a fence and ultimately finds himself in a very strange situation.

A Hidden Life

Saturday, November 16 at 6:30 pm

Written and directed by Austin-native Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life is a biographical, war drama that follows Austrian unsung hero Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector who refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer (August Diehl) is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive.

Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story

Wednesday, November 13 at 6 pm

Directed by Chris Hanna, this Tony Romo biopic is one documentary to see at the festival this week. It follow former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his path to stardom. The film chronicles Romo’s life in Burlington, Wisconsin and his journey to becoming quarterback of the Cowboys. Including interviews with Romo, his parents, grandparents and friends, the documentary gives a deeper look into Tony Romo and his life before he turned into one of the Cowboys’ most memorable quarterbacks.

Just Mercy

Sunday, November 17 at 8:30 pm

Starring Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Tim Blake Nelson, Just Mercy is an exciting, star-powered addition to the festival lineup. The film follows world-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner (Foxx) whom he fought to free. Director Destin Daniel Cretton is also known for collaborating with Larson on The Glass Castle and Short Term 12.

Netflix v. The World

The festival is premiering the new documentary Netflix v. The World to the world. The film follows “the story of how a tiny, broke Silicon Valley startup slew giants of the movie rental world, warded off Amazon and forced movie making and distribution into the digital age.” Directed by Shawn Cauthen and written by Gina Keating, the film stars Kate Mara, Denzel Washington, Robert Redford and more big industry names as themselves. The doc charts Netflix’s two decade rise and transformation of home entertainment.