Alamo Drafthouse and Paramount Theatre Select Movies to Stream at Home

Austin is shut down, leaving its fun-loving residents at home and unable to enjoy many of their favorite activities. But as the community comes together – by staying apart – to slow the spread of COVID-19, beloved local businesses like Alamo Drafthouse and The Paramount Theatre are innovating in order to offer programming to movie fans while their cinemas are closed.

AFS Cinema will show its curated lineup of independent films with virtual screenings throughout April. Programmers and guests will introduce selections to recreate the experience of seeing these movies at AFS Cinema. “Bacurau,” a Brazilian political drama that won at the Cannes Film Festival, “Fantastic Fungi,” a eye-opening documentary about the microcosm of the fungi kingdom, docu-thriller “The Infiltrators, which tackles the topic of detainment by Border Patrol, “And Then We Danced,” a drama about performers in the Eastern European country of Georgia and Chinese Neo-Noir crime epic “The Wild Goose Lake” are all currently screening.

More releases will come each week. The current and upcoming releases are listed at austinfilm.org/screenings and include a link to purchase tickets.

The Paramount has enlisted film programmer Stephen Jannise, who curates the theater’s famed Summer Classic Film Series, to put together a weekly list of double features and how to stream them. Their kicking off with Family Week, offering film pairings for people stuck at home with kids. Double features include: “Babe” (1995) and “Whale Rider” (2002), “Hugo” (2011) and “A Trip to the Moon” (1902), “A Little Princess” (1995) and “The Secret Garden” (1993), “Little Women” (1994) and “Little Women” (2019), “Mary Poppins” (1964) and “Saving Mr. Banks” (2013), “Pete’s Dragon” (2016) and “Christopher Robin” (2018) and “The Red Balloon” (1956) and “Up” (2009).

For descriptions of all these movies and information on how to stream them, as well as upcoming curated lists of double features, visit the Paramount’s Quaranscreen Film Series page.

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Meanwhile over at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, some traditions won’t die – even in a global pandemic. Their Alamo-at-Home initiative includes continued programming for their long-running Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday series.

“Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday aren’t just film series – they’re communities,” Senior Director of Programming and Promotions Sarah Pitre says in a press release. “Even though our theater doors are currently closed, it’s vital that we continue to foster these communities, because they are truly the heart of the Alamo Drafthouse.”

The series, which shows obscure selections and cult favorites from subgenres and microgenres that may leave you scratching your head but that you may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. Both series will now be part of Alamo’s Virtual Cinema which offers online screenings of independent, Alamo-selected films. There’s already a list of movies available for at-home viewing. Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday will be included, with screenings added for each on alternating weeks.

Terror Tuesday kicks off virtually March 31 with skin-crawling classic “Centipede Horror,” a 1982 film by director Keith Li starring lots of – you guessed it – centipedes. Weird Wednesday starts virtually on April 8 with a 4K restoration of “Godmonster of Indian Flats,” a 1973 film about a hideous giant mutant sheep that goes on a rampage in the American West.

Although these films may steal your appetite, Alamo has published the recipe for one of their favorite snacks, Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower, to make your Alamo-at-Home experience complete.