The 32nd Annual Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference officially kicks off this October, and the festival just recently announced its first wave of films as well as two awardees.
The 2025 Writer’s Writer Awardees are Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar in recognition of their career-spanning achievements and latest film Train Dreams, an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella. Their previous collaboration, Sing Sing, was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. The AFF alumni first appeared at the festival in 2015 when they premiered their short film Dakota.
In programming news, AFF will screen Eternity, Hedda, Train Dreams, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery among others. Train Dreams, co-written by Bentley and Kwedar, follows Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) as he navigates early 20th-century America with his wife (Felicity Jones) and young children. Eternity, a Texas premiere, explores the afterlife where souls must choose their eternal destination within a week. Directed by David Freyne, the cast includes Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, and Callum Turner.
Hedda also receives its Texas premiere and sees Tessa Thompson as the titular Hedda in a reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play directed by Nia DaCosta. Familiar franchise Knives Out will premiere its latest installment, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, for the first time in Texas at AFF. Directed again by Rian Johnson with Daniel Craig reprising the role of Benoit Blanc, the film once again boasts a large cast of stars including Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, and Kerry Washington among many others.
Other films announced in the first wave include the world premiere of The Boy From St. Croix about basketball player Tim Duncan, You’re Dating a Narcissist! starring Marisa Tomei, and Miles Away written and directed by Jackie Quinones.
Film badges and passes for Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference are available now and the festival runs from October 23 to 30, 2025.
