Free screening of 'Tejano' Saturday

An Emmy Award-winning director will visit San Marcos Saturday for a free screening of his new, smash-hit, indie thriller "Tejano" at 8:30 p.m. on AquaBrew’s back patio. 

Filmmaker David Blue Garcia will accompany his knuckle-whitening, action-packed film, with lead actors Hector Uribe (of "No Country For Old Men") and Patrick Mackie, as well as production designer Ana Davidson, also in attendance.

"Tejano" follows Javi (Mackie), a South Texas farmhand whose grandfather Arturo (Uribe) suddenly becomes ill, obligating him to resort to the extreme: turning to a Mexican cartel to make some quick cash. But when the mafiosos break his arm and force him to smuggle a cast made of cocaine across the Mexican border, Javi tests just how far he will go for family.

The Calgary International Film Festival has described "Tejano" as “gorgeously shot, relentlessly-paced, and a very timely thriller about what desperate people will do under extreme pressure. At times shocking, violent, and unrelenting — but with a pitch-black sense of humor lurking beneath the surface … 'Tejano' marks the debut of an exciting new film-making voice.”

The special viewing of this Texas-shot film kicks off San Marcos Cinema Club’s countywide effort to register 50 potential film locations in 50 days on the Texas Film Commission website.

City Councilmember Lisa Prewitt, who will speak at Saturday’s screening about those efforts, said, “By enticing the TV/film industry to Hays County, we not only get to show off the unique assets and geography that our corner of Texas has to offer, but we can also potentially boost our local economy significantly, with particular benefit for our arts and cultural organizations.”

Councilmember Dr. Joca Marquez, who campaigned on film-friendly initiatives, and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra are both co-sponsors of the "Tejano" screening and announced their support of the 50-locations-in-50-days initiative. Judge Becerra is also partnering with Precinct 2 County Commissioner Mark Jones for a bipartisan proclamation next Tuesday to uplift the 50-locations-in-50-days effort.

A typical major expenditure by film-production crews is lodging and in San Marcos hotel-occupancy taxes fund the San Marcos Arts Commission, which then distributes grants to organizations like the Calaboose African American History Museum, Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos and Indigenous Cultures Institute, among many others.

A study commissioned by the Greater San Marcos Partnership found the total economic impact of the Motion Picture and TV Production industry in Hays and Caldwell counties from 2008 through 2016 surpassed $26 million.

The 50-locations-in-50-days effort will culminate with San Marcos Cinema Club’s annual 72-hour Film Race, a local filmmaking competition held over Labor Day weekend.

From there, the regional film society will focus on readying for their third annual Lost River Film Festival, Oct. 17-20. The Lost River Film Fest is a figurative cocktail of new, independent cinema, live music, burlesque, BMX, poetry performances, and more.