Austin favorites, Jay and Mark Duplass, screened their new film Jeff Who Lives At Home, follow up to much loved Cyrus, at the Austin Film Festival. Reinforcing their great talent in creating comedies with a lot of heart and real emotion, the film follows what seems like the typical slacker character and turns him into an unexpected hero. Starring two of television’s busiest and best loved comedic actors, Jason Segel and Ed Helms, the films plays with the idea of fate and tells a great story about family and humanity.

The Descendants, Alexander Payne’s follow-up film after the wildly loved and nominated Sideways, is without a doubt one of the clear standout films of 2011. Sure to be recognized come awards season, it holds what is perhaps the single best performance of George Clooney’s extensive career. It is original, heart-felt and an all-around perfectly crafted story about family and love.

Union Square, closing night film at the Austin Film Festival, is a unique kind of film with equal parts charm and flaws. While Mira Sorvino shows depth and complexity as grief-stricken, spontaneous Lucy, the film suffers from a plot that is both too simple to make an impact and too complicated to provide many answers. It is a film with potential that ultimately leaves unsatisfied.

James Franco’s Sal is a slow-paced, indie piece that requires a certain artistic mindset to appreciate. While lead actor Val Lauren shines brightly in what is often a very quiet role, Franco’s directing style takes some getting used to. Filmed almost entirely in extreme close-ups, Sal examines the last day of one-time teen idol Sal Mineo’s life in 1976.

Like Crazy, Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is one of the most realistic and beautiful love stories in recent film history. Unlike traditional rom-coms or overly dramatic romance films, it speaks about the ups and downs of young love and the consequences of decisions made while under the love spell. A greatly relatable story to watch with a loved one.

We're always grateful when filmmakers take a moment out of their schedule to share their stories with TMP. This week at the Austin Film Festival we were able to sit down with Writer/Director/Actor Blayne Weaver and a few cast members from his new film '6 Month Rule'.

If you're an aspiring screenwriter you probably wonder about whether or not you should enter screenwriting contests. If you do decide to go that route it's easy to get overwhelmed with the number of contests that exist -- I know I do. Well, next year when you start sending your screenplay out into the world you may not want to forget to enter it into the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition.

Butter, opening night film at the 2011 Austin Film Festival, is much like the city of Austin itself: incredibly fun but weird. A political satire masked under a story of butter carving rivals in Iowa. It is the first feature for screenwriter Jason Micallef, 2008 winner of the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship, and director Jim Field Smith of She’s Out of my League fame.