Staff Report
SAN MARCOS — Lost River Film Fest has announced its schedule of new, independent films to be shown Feb. 5-8 at the Price Center, due to support from the San Marcos Arts Commission.
Opening night, Thursday, Feb. 5, consists of a film shot in the San Marcos area. This year, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, “LEADBELLY” kicks off the festival, with a biopic of blues icon Huddie Ledbetter, whose prowess for soulful, original music famously won him his freedom from chain gang imprisonment, stated a news release. The film was shot in the mid-1970s around San Marcos, Fentress and Uhland.
Friday, Feb. 6, programming includes: international narratives hailing from France, Canada, India, Italy and Africa; domestic short films; a documentary bloc; an LGBTQ-themed bloc; and the Texas Monthly-produced true-crime documentary, “A NIGHT IN WEST TEXAS.” This film chronicles a false murder charge faced by a gay Apache man, following the killing of a local priest in the 1980s. As Hays County contemplates adoption of a Conviction Integrity Unit, national expert Patricia Cummings — who led the same office for Philadelphia — will provide a question-and-answer segment after the film about systemic efforts to fix false criminal convictions.
Saturday, Feb. 7, kicks off with “STEAL THIS STORY PLEASE,” a new documentary on Democracy Now, the independent news program that plays weekly on KZSM, San Marcos' community radio.
A special screening of EDDINGTON that afternoon will dovetail with a forum on the threat of data centers, hosted by regional advocates and that evening filmmaker Mabel Valdiviezo will accompany her documentary, “PRODIGAL DAUGHTER,” which follows her fleeing from Peru to the U.S. as a punk-rock video artist during the Fujimori dictatorship.
Sunday, Feb. 8, is dedicated to new Texas cinema, boasting 48 films recently produced in the Lone Star State, with nearly every bloc featuring question-and-answer opportunities with directors afterward.
The festival takes place both at Price Center and the film school at Texas State University, largely composed of diverse medleys of short films, including the Best of the Fest bloc with Lost River organizers' favorites from 2026 submissions at 12:30 p.m. and the Scary Texas bloc, featuring a host of horror flicks, at 2:30 p.m. The fest culminates with a 7:15 p.m. screening of “THE INQUISITOR,” the new biography of trailblazing stateswoman Barbara Jordan.
Although Lost River prides itself as one of the most affordable film festivals in the state, Hays Free Press readers are nonetheless able to enjoy a 20% discount on badge and ticket purchases by using the code "HaysFreePress" at www.TheLostRiverFilmFest.org.
