Despite a venue change (from uptown to the heart of downtown), the 2025 edition of the Dallas International Film Festival hasn’t shifted its thematic goals- that being the presentation of several strands of filmmaking, from Texas narratives to strong documentaries as well as an emphasis on international entries. All of these possibilities are on display for the next 7 days, and not only is the line-up a promising one, but full of filmmaker Q&A’s, short films, and mingling events sprinkled throughout a program that’s both easy to navigate and well scheduled for word-of-mouth permeation. If you miss one film, there are other chances to see it. Also, this is the first year the organization has been named an Oscar Qualifying Film Festival which surely will bolster the roster for filmmakers looking to nudge their way into a broader spotlight.
One of these hopefuls is Cole Webley’s Omaha. Starring John Magaro (of recent Past Lives and September 5 fame) as a haggard father packing up his two children (wonderfully portrayed by Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis) and scurrying them on a road trip for unknown reasons, Omaha portends its possibly downbeat ulterior motives in wondrous ways. Choosing to push reality to the side and focusing on the mundane beauties of togetherness (plus lots of poop talk), the film excels in capturing the free form wildness of childhood. Flying a kite on an expansive landscape…. eating ice cream along the roadside before it melts… tossing your hair around and singing your heart out to a song on the radio….. all of these seemingly innocent moments are given hefty emotional weight in Omaha as the road trip becomes an excuse to simply exist.
Written by Robert Machoian with a very specific rhetoric about a certain law that Nebraska enacted in 2008, Omaha walks a thin line between suspended drama and encroaching sadness. That the film never falters in presenting either emotion is proof that all the right decisions were made.
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Countless films have enabled action or drama carried out in real time. Even fewer have dared to attempt the technical high wire act of a single take. Cristian Tapa Marchiori tries both, and while more nuanced audiences can probably pick out the hidden edits within whip pans or sudden black interior shots, Gunman doesn’t lose anything in the bravura effort. And, if you’re like me, you’ll probably wonder out loud just how did they get that camera over the chain link fence in one shot, or transfer from a walking Steadicam shot to a fast-moving motorcycle dolly within 2 seconds.
Opening on a just released parolee named Pablo (Sergio Podeley) as his attempted robbery of a convenience store goes awry, he soon picks up with old members of the neighborhood gang who dangle an easy chore in front of him. Shoot up a local business for non-payment and walk away with 3 times what he would’ve scored with his dime-store holdup antics. Too good to be true, alas, and it’s not long before Pablo is fighting for his life to escape the neighborhood as various factions wage an internal war for power.
As a central character, Pablo isn’t very easy to root for, and the script is chock full of basic hardcore dialogue that certainly won’t win any screenwriting awards. However, the intensity of the aesthetic swing is incredible and after a shaky start, Gunman does eventually gain some heart as the local neighborhood (led by Ramiro Blas) come together and rise up in the hopes of regaining control from the gangs. Morphing into a sort of urban western, full of last stands and gunfight at the OK corral-like street shoot outs, I wished more of Gunman would’ve focused on the innocents who bravely choose to buck all the police and political protection and scream from the void that they exist with shotguns. This part of the film is where it shows the most teeth as a pointed stab at slum existence and class warfare.
Alas, it’s a small diversion before we’re back with the manic Pablo. Gunman doesn’t really want to be a strong statement against the embedded corruption of Mexican politics. And that’s okay. The tension around everything else makes this a film worth seeking out.
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Another film that examines class divide, albeit in a much more muted way, is Mariana Wainstein’s Linda. Borrowing ideas from the likes of Pasolini, Bunuel, and Kim Ki-young, Linda utilizes the ‘hot house help’ to shuffle up the sexual dynamics of a well-to-do family. This time it’s in Buenos Aries, but a subtle difference in this story lies in the way the dynamics play out. Linda (Eugenia Suarez) is pretty, but she’s not portrayed as an evil doer looking to upset the apple cart. She arrives to work as a maid in place of her aunt for a short time, and while all four members of the family household (young and old, male and female) fall for her, her character is most interesting for the way she doesn’t react. Sure, there’s a penis-grabbing shame session with the layabout Ceferino (Felipe Otano) and probably some actions that lead teenage daughter Mati (Minerva Casero) a bit too far, but the film speaks more about the cloistered desires and bored petulance of the family more so than a seductive outsider.
The 2025 Dallas International Film Festival runs through Thursday May 1st. Information and tickets can be found at diffdallas.org
Dallas Film Now. 