4 films to look out for from the 2024 Houston Cinema Arts Festival

By Jay Collura and Arman Saxena     11/19/24 10:59pm

The 2024 Houston Cinema Arts Festival, which ran from Nov. 7 to 17, showcased a vibrant array of films with unique storytelling and artistic vision. Here are four of this year’s festival standouts, each offering a distinct and memorable cinematic experience.

“Boys Go to Jupiter”

Watching “Boys Go to Jupiter” was the happiest I have been watching a movie all year. Animator Julian Glander’s debut feature follows Billy 5000, a high-schooler on winter break as he hustles to save up $5,000 to become fully independent. The film is an animated hang-out with a cast of increasingly quirky characters that all contribute to the film's ruminations on friendship, hustle culture and doing what you love. The script feels incredibly informed by internet humor in a way that isn’t obnoxious but rather endearing, creating a sequence of jokes, songs and characters that are just fun to be around. This is all bolstered by an all-star cast of alternative comedians who understand their assignments perfectly, including current SNL cast member Sarah Sherman and former SNL writer Julio Torres. 

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The animation is also surreal and stilted in a beautiful, indie-video-game-esque way. By using doughy character designs and an isometric perspective, the viewer can soak in the vibes of the film. The result is a movie that might not be for everyone but a delight for those who are keyed into the film’s influences. 

— Jay Collura

“La Cocina”

A lot is going on in “La Cocina”, Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios’s fourth feature film. Ruizpalacios’s latest is set at “The Grill”, a Times Square tourist trap restaurant, and depicts a day in the kitchen, exploring workers’ struggles and identities. Across its 139-minute running time, the film comments on the immigrant experience in America, class, consumerism and masculinity. 

The movie begins by introducing Estela, an immigrant who begins to work at the “The Grill” after receiving a recommendation from another chef, Pedro. As Estela gets her bearings, the film shifts to explore the relationship between Pedro and Julia, a member of the waitstaff, as they are suspected of taking money from one of the restaurant’s registers the night before. 

At its best, “La Cocina” is a very sharp critique that uses cinematic intensity to its advantage — there is an incredibly impressive long take near the midpoint of the film that does just this. However, “La Cocina” seems to have bitten off a little more than it can chew, as not all of its threads feel complete. Certain scenes and ideas definitely feel overcooked and add little. 

Regardless, the overall effectiveness of the story is not lost — “La Cocina” is generally enthralling and poignant, and definitely worth watching. If you missed it at the festival, the film will be screening on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. 

—Jay Collura

“Me”

Austin-based filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt has one of the most immediately recognizable styles in animation — he makes incredibly sad movies about stick figures. This juxtaposition between Hertzfeldt’s hilariously unrealistic style and the supremely existential human stories that he tackles makes his work sublime, heady and hysterical. 

“Me” continues the thematic threads Hertzfeldt has woven throughout his career, with his new pseudo-musical short taking aim at the pandemic, narcissism and obsession. It follows a man who invents a machine that allows people to talk to their future selves, enabling everyone to ignore the injustice surrounding them. 

A straight line can be drawn from the film's events to real life, but Hertzfeldt’s use of music, color and imagery make it feel impactful and innovative. It forces the audience to reflect on their COVID experience and the dangers of living outside the current moment. The breezy 22-minute runtime makes it an incredibly easy piece to recommend, though I recommend familiarizing yourself with some of Hertzfeldt’s other work available on YouTube before approaching this.  

— Jay Collura

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” 

The latest feature from Zambian-born filmmaker Rungano Nyoni (of the BAFTA-winning “I Am Not a Witch”), “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” earned Nyoni the Best Director award from Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, the first of many accolades the writer-director has collected for her work on this film. 

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” follows Shula, who stumbles on the dead body of her uncle. As funerary events unfold and the family comes together, secrets and tensions boil to the surface, culminating in unexpected ways. 

In this deeply unique feature, Nyoni uses black comedy and surrealist elements to excavate family trauma and Zambian middle-class realities through a firmly feminist lens. Model, philanthropist and entrepreneur Susan Chardy is fantastic in her first credited acting role, anchoring the film with heart, humor and justifiable rage. If you are part of an immigrant family, you may relate to the specifics of the dynamics, tensions and ideologies here — for better or worse. 

— Arman Saxena

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