Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Sep. 21

I know you’ve just been waiting and waiting for this day. VideoFest! It’s a big fun deal that’ll run through Sunday, mostly taking place at the Angelika Film Center with the notable exception of this evening.

The opening day festivities are happening at the Texas Theatre, where the first film up is Jean-Luc “Cinema” Godard’s newest, Film Socialisme, which was actually screened at Cannes last year. Here’s a trailer, but just a warning— it’s a total tease on warp speed. And also, for those whose French is rudimentary at best (as mine is), even viewing this movie with subtitles is going to be tough. Godard, ever the slippery sort, wrote them in the “Navajo English” of old Hollywood westerns. So instead of, “I’d like that ear of corn,” you’re going to get something like “You. Me. Corn.” The official synopsis is deliberately confusing; apparently this movie concerns vacationing Europeans, a whole bunch of pretty locations, and a lot of other stuff. None of this will stop me. I’ll be watching my favorite clip from Band of Outsiders all day for prep, but you should also check out Peter Simek’s detailed preview on FrontRow.

And though I can’t think of much that’s more serious than Godard, the TedxSMU talk at the Nasher is obviously up there. Melissa Chiu, director of the Asia Society Museum, and Jeremy Strick, the Nasher’s director, will discuss the state of arts in China and the effect the current political climate has on what artists are allowed to create.

For more to do tonight, including a free concert at the Granada featuring Fort Worth favorite Burning Hotels, go here.