Austin.com

(Austin, TX) ? Austin Film Society today announced its Texas Documentary Tour will feature the 2005 documentary IN A NUTSHELL: A PORTRAIT OF ELIZABETH TASHJIAN in the month of June. The film, whose subject is driven by her passion for nuts to turn her home into a nut museum, will screen Wednesday, June 14, at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 409 Colorado Street. The film's director and producer Don Bernier will be in attendance to answer audience questions after the film. "One would have to say that filmmaker Don Bernier is another hero in the life of Elizabeth Tashjian," AFS Director of Programming Chale Nafus said. "He obviously fell in love with the artist-philosopher and her story since he spent three years gathering archival materials, interviewing Elizabeth?s friends, supporters, and enemies, and filming the elderly woman throughout the recent events of her life." Yet if Don Bernier?s documentary had ended with Elizabeth?s rise to fleeting fame on late-night talk shows and her increasing estrangement from many of her neighbors, then we would simply have the story of another American eccentric, a less spooky GREY GARDENS. Instead, Elizabeth Tashjian?s life took a decidedly more poignant and unsettling turn . "What might have devolved into one more sad story about 'aging in America' is actually saved by both Bernier and Tashjian. There are moments when one may get teary-eyed, but Elizabeth?s sweet smile, unruffled voice, and bright eyes always put us back into a hopeful mood. Bernier has performed a wonderful artistic and humanistic service by preserving Ms. Tashjian?s life, work, and thoughts. This is indeed a film as beguiling and surprising as its subject." Tickets are $4 for AFS members and students with current IDs and $6 for non-members. Tickets for AFS members and non-members may be purchased by phone at 512/322.0145 or online, beginning Monday, at www.austinfilm.org. Tickets at the student rate can only be purchased inside the theater on the night of the screening. Online ticket sales close at 3 p.m. on the day of the screening. Remaining tickets will be available inside theater on night of the screening. Cash only please. Co-sponsored by the Austin Chronicle and the Radio-Television-Film Department of the University of Texas at Austin. The AFS Texas Documentary Tour is made possible in part by support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division. Photos (300 dpi) available upon request. Austin Film Society promotes the appreciation of film and supports creative filmmaking by screening rarely seen films, giving grants and other support to emerging filmmakers, and providing access and education about film to youth and the public. Through Austin Studios, which AFS opened in 2000 in partnership with the City of Austin, AFS helps attract film development and production to Austin and Texas. Gala film premieres and the annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards raise funds as well as awareness of the impact of film on economy and community. The Austin Film Society is ranked among the top film centers in the country and recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and Directors Guild of America. For more information on Austin Film Society, visit www.austinfilm.org.