The sixth annual Harry Dean Stanton Festival returns June 10-12, for a jam-packed weekend celebrating the long-spanning career of the Kentucky-born actor. Having started in February 2011 at the historic Kentucky Theatre, the event has branched out significantly over the past five years, now hosting multiple events at different venues throughout downtown Lexington.
Festival creator and organizer Lucy Jones notes that the event is the longest running annual film festival in honor of a living actor. The event seeks to educate the public on the variety of works within Stanton's cinematic catalog while serving as reminder of the actors Lexingtonian roots – and curating a super fun weekend at the same time.
In the first time the fest has chosen to "theme" its weekend festivities, this year's installment of the festival will be 1970s-themed, with each featured Stanton film picked from the best of his '70s cuts.
“That's the first sort of experiment where we're gonna mix it up and see what happens,” said Jones. “I'm excited because I feel like a lot of his film roles in the '70s have been sort of overlooked, so we're really kind of digging in and finding the best of the forgotten classics of that era.
“What I'm most excited about is sharing films that really didn't wide release at the time, but that are incredible, or sort of the greatest films of that era,” she said.
True to that theme, this Saturday, June 11, The Green Lantern will host a special evening in what has become a traditional party format for the annual fest – a film screening followed by live music from the local band Palisades (with special guests), playing a set of covers that are line with the theme of a Stanton cult classic. This year's party will center on the 1979 TV movie "Flatbed Annie: Female Truckers" – the bar will be decked out as a '70s truck stop, and local acts Palisades and The Binders will join forces to play a set of 1970s lady-empowerment rock and roll following an 8 p.m. screening of the movie.
Local videographer Patrick Drury sat down to chat with Palisades' Scott Whiddon about the music that will be featured at this year's Green Lantern event in the video below.
Even with its Kentucky roots and heritage, The Harry Dean Stanton fest routinely draws die-hand fans from out-of-town every year.
“There have been people that have come from as far away as Seattle. The year that Harry was actually here, we had people come from Washington state and Pennsylvania and Florida and California,” said Jones, “but we also try to keep things very local and appeal to the people here.”
While the festival has a tendency to attract a number of earnest fans, Jones notes that a familiarity with Harry Dean's work isn't required to enjoy oneself at the festival's numerous events, “You don't have to be a die-hard Harry Dean fan in order to attend. The festival is for anyone who loves film and community and wants to celebrate the talent that has emerged from Kentucky.”
Jones is hopeful to create fans of Stanton throughout the duration of the festival and thrives on using it as vehicle to widen his audience, “My favorite response to the festival is 'I didn't know who Harry Dean was when I first started coming but now he's one of my favorite actors!' It's almost impossible to not have that reaction once you are exposed to his work.”
The closing night of the fest will feature a screening of John Huston's film “Wise Blood,” based on the 1952 novel by Flannery O'Connor. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with special guest, actor Brad Dourif, who acts opposite Stanton in the film.
“Many people know [Dourif] best for his role in 'Deadwood,' but he has a career that goes back to 1975 when he was nominated for an Academy Award for 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest,'” said Jones. “There are very few actors who have worked with as many legendary directors or inhabited as many diverse roles as Harry Dean Stanton, but Brad Dourif is one of them.” The Q&A will be moderated by Entertainment Weekly's Clark Collis, host of SiriusXM radio show “Entertainment Weirdly.”
This year’s event features screenings of six different films featuring Stanton – many of them free and open to the public. Full schedule below.
Friday, June 10:
8 p.m.: “Cisco Pike” drive-in at Break Room at Pepper Distillery (screening begins at dusk). Parking is limited and will begin at 8 p.m. Described by fest organizers as a " a criminally overlooked snapshot of the wild times Los Angeles music scene of the early 1970s," the film stars Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, and (of course!) Harry Dean Stanton. FREE.
Saturday, June 11:
2 p.m.: Screening of “92 in the Shade” at the Farish Theater. This film stars Stanton and Warren Oates, and follows the exploits of rival fishing guides in Key West, Florida, and will be followed by a Q&A with Oates' son Timothy Oates. FREE.
4 p.m. Screening of “Straight Time” at the Farish Theater. This film follows a career criminal played by Dustin Hoffman who is determined to go straight after his latest stint in prison. FREE.
8 p.m.: Trucker Night at the Green Lantern, featuring a screening of “Flatbed Annie and Sweetie Pie: Lady Truckers,” classic truck driving tunes, and a live set of 1970s female-driven rock performed by The Binders and Palisades. Film screening is free; live music portion will have an $8 cover.
Sunday, June 12:
2 p.m.: Screening of “Alien” at the Farish Theater. FREE.
7 p.m.: Screening of “Wise Blood” at the Kentucky Theatre followed by a Q&A with Brad Dourif, moderated by Entertainment Weekly's Clark Collis. $10.