Looking the Part at the Marfa Film Festival

By Chris Frey
May 20, 2010

Situated on a high plateau in the Chihuahuan Desert nestled amongst three mountain ranges is Marfa, Texas a sleepy west Texas town that continues to increase in popularity (and population) due largely to its alluring landscape and light but also, in part, to an evolving and unique arts scene. Last week along with filmmakers, journalists, actors and those looking for any excuse to visit this magical town, I joined Marfa’s 2,400+ (and growing) residents for the third Annual Marfa Film Festival. The festival opened on May 5th, with a joyous tribute to Cinco de Mayo complete with tequila toast and dancing to 15-piece Mariachi band Los Arrieros. The following four days brought over 60 films to the screen in two venues: the state of the art Crowley Theater and Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow at El Cosmico, a sprawling “trailer park” and campground complete with outdoor bar, meticulously refinished airstreams, yurts, plenty of hammocks and pillows for lounging under the clear night skies and of course a giant movie screen. This year’s festival highlight was Lou Reed who came accompanied by his wife, the artist Laurie Anderson. Reed premièred his first film, the documentary “Red Shirley.”

Marfa is home to The Chinati foundation, which continues to house and display artist Donald Judd’s minimalist work, along with other artists from that movement such as Dan Flavin and John Chamberlain. Judd moved his studio and large scale works to Marfa in the late 1970s inhabiting 340 acres of a former military base. Today, his minimal aesthetic is evidenced in many of the homes and businesses in town, some uninhabited but preserved just as Judd left them at the time of his death in 1994. When not attending films, festival attendees had a chance to wander the grounds of Judd’s foundation; day trip to Big Bend National Park; visit the original site of the James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor epic “Giant” (one of several films shot in Marfa, including, more recently, “There Will be Blood” and “No Country For Old Men”); recharge at the “Filling Station” for coffee or drinks; peruse the Marfa Book Company or sample the Food Shark, a trailer with delicious and eclectic offerings that sits parked under a enormous canopy along the railroad tracks lined with Judd inspired picnic tables. Evenings brought exclusive dinners for filmmakers and sponsors; drinks at the elegant Hotel Paisano or the retro Thunderbird Motel; or live music and backyard beers at Padre’s, not yet one year old, and the newest bar/restaurant/pool hall/music venue in town.

The Marfa vibe is laid back but still refined with references to Mexican and Texan culture. Mexican embroidered dresses, cowboy boots and straw hats for day are layered with ponchos, scarves and serape blankets for the cool desert evenings. The endless blue skies are a perfect backdrop for the vibrant flowers and cacti that line the streets and adorn the hair of young women in town. Vintage bicycles are left unlocked outside adobe homes while dogs roam off leash and everyone waves from cars as they pass by the one blinking traffic light in town. Marfa, reportedly named by a railroad engineer’s wife after the Russian character in a novel she was reading, is home to The Marfa Mystery Lights: glowing spheres that hover on the horizon about 10 miles outside of town and can be seen at night from the side of the highway. It is believed that the lights were first seen in 1883 and to this day are scientifically disputed but still not completely explained. See for yourself someday when you embark on a trip to gorgeous, remote west Texas. For now enjoy our Mexi-minimal, Marfa-inspired finings.