Frame of Mind’s 31st season schedule on KERA TV
KERA’s acclaimed television program, Frame of Mind, is returning for Fall 2023. Now in its 31st year on the air, the program features the best independent film and video from Texas-based filmmakers. For the second time, the locally produced series will be shared with PBS member stations across Texas, meaning more audiences than ever will have access to stories and films that make our state so unique. Even better, this year for the first time in the series’ history, Frame of Mind will be made available for streaming at video.kera.org.
“For over three decades, Frame of Mind has delivered distinct Texas stories into the homes of North Texas from very talented Texas filmmakers,” says Bill Young, Vice President of Television Programming at KERA. “Several films in this year’s lineup speak to our present and future by giving a deep understanding into our past. We are extremely excited to be able to share this year’s series with a statewide audience throughout Texas.”
Frame of Mind has grown into a multi-episode TV series, presented by KERA’s Art&Seek and produced by Bart Weiss, co-founder of Dallas VideoFest and the Video Association of Dallas. The 31st season will air Thursdays at 10pm starting October 5 through December 21.
This season will showcase a diverse range of Texas filmmakers as they explore various aspects of our rich Texan culture. The films highlight the joys of connecting with others, the distinctiveness of our vibrant heritage and provide viewers with a deeper understanding of the shared bonds and history of our state.
“For over 30 years, we have been showing the films of Texas filmmakers on Frame of Mind here in North Texas. We have shown the stories of joy, sorrow and the unique spirit of Texas, but only if you were in the footprint of KERA’s signal,” says Bart Weiss. “Now, the diverse stories of Texans, told by a diverse group of independent filmmakers, can be seen statewide. The films on Frame of Mind take us deeper into the stories of our neighbors, all done with unique styles and a Texas flair. Watch, and change your frame of mind.”
Take a look at this season’s schedule of Frame of Mind:
KERA (North Texas) – Thursdays at 10pm
Panhandle PBS – Saturdays at 10pm
PBS El Paso – Thursdays at 8pm
Texas Tech Public Media (Lubbock) – Thursdays at 7pm
EPISODE 1: Family Stories
Our first episode of Frame of Mind explores the unbreakable bond of families facing difficult circumstances.
Local Air Date: October 5 at 10 p.m.
Manos de Oro
Director: Merced Elizondo
Run Time: 33:25
Short film
Sergio, a former mechanic, is in the middle of a crippling battle with arthritis. When the opportunity to fix an old family-friend’s truck arises, Sergio begins a downward spiral towards denial and self-destructive behavior in an attempt to regain his identity as a working man with purpose. As a result, his struggling relationship with his son is put to the ultimate test.
Motherhood
Director: Benj Pocta
Run Time: 2:25
Experimental Documentary
A short experimental documentary exploring the bonds of caretaking.
A Brief and Passing Thing
Director: Judd Myers
Run Time: 13:26
Short Film
After failing to reconcile with her estranged daughter, an ailing matriarch has a surreal encounter that dissolves the line between life and death.
In the Forest of the Nisene Marks
Director: Jason Leal
Run Time: 7:30
Short Film
A father (30, deaf, playful) and mother (32, deaf, smart and practical) live off the grid in a forest cabin with their daughter Sophie (8, a CODA – child of Deaf Adults). The parents have creative spirits and work as clown street performers. The combination of having such interesting, creative parents and the responsibility of being the only hearing member of the family has allowed Sophie to begin developing telekinetic powers.
EPISODE 2: TEXAS ISSUES
This episode explores prevalent issues many people face in Texas.
Local Air Date: October 12 at 10 p.m.
Comadre
Director: Nicole Chi
Run Time: 18:24
Short Film
An elderly, Spanish-speaking nanny has dedicated her life to raising a young girl who is on the edge of adulthood. As her role in the child’s life comes to an end, she must start over and navigate the English-speaking world.
La Cosecha
Director: Samuel Díaz Fernández
Run Time: 12:44
Documentary
Nolvia Castillo immigrated to the United States from a small village in Chiriqui, Guatemala, where she remembers eating fresh fruits and vegetables. In her new home of Austin, Texas, Nolvia finds her independence through learning how to drive and deliver produce to her neighbors as part of a food distribution program by local nonprofits Go Austin/Vamos Austin and Urban Roots Farm. As filmmaker, Ai Vuong rides along with Nolvia, she also reflects on the significance of past meals with her parents. Together through food, they navigate the roads of their shared immigrant experience: that which we had, and thus hold on to, and that of what we create for the future.
Raúlrsalinas and the Poetry of Liberation: Un Trip
Directors: Anne Lewis and Laura Varela
Run Time: 24:56
Experimental Documentary
A split screen jazz and liberation film based on the words of “Un Trip through the Mind Jail” by raúlrsalinas, written in 1969 in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. The poem expresses a lived experience in La Loma (east Austin). The short explores contemporary issues: imprisonment in the jail machine, community destruction and gentrification, the overwhelming force of cultural memory in sanity and salvation, the need for societal transformation.
EPISODE 3: LOOKING FOR HOME
Local Air Date: October 19 at 10 p.m.
Looking for Home
Director: Alan Govenar
Run Time: 58 minutes
Documentary
In today’s uncertain world, what is the meaning of home? Over the course of four years, filmmaker Alan Govenar talked to over 60 people around the globe about the ever-evolving ways we think and feel about one of our most basic needs – from a college student in Buenos Aires to a homeless couple living in a makeshift tent in the woods, a hot dog vendor in New York City, an artist in Nairobi, and a man and woman whose unlikely relationship emerged during France’s COVID lockdown.
As global crises have left millions of people both bound to and displaced from their physical habitats, Looking for Home resonates across time and place, in search of a deeper meaning of home — a concept universally embraced, but which is now in an unprecedented state of flux.
EPISODE 4: PLACES IN TEXAS
These two films highlight towns throughout Texas that make the Lone Star state unique.
Local Air Date: October 26 at 10 p.m.
Echoes from the Hill
Directors: Lindell Singleton and King Hollis
Run Time: 38:14
Documentary
The Hill. Eight blocks. One and a half square miles. How a small Texas community founded by formerly enslaved persons grew to become a place of hope, triumph and love. Tense. Riveting. Funny. An American story.
Portal/Portales
Director: Eugene Martin
Run Time: 22 minutes
Documentary
A personal essay film that examines the connection between the filmmaker’s birthplace with the history of early America east and west.
EPISODE 5: THE ART OF TEXAS
Through painting, music, sculpture and self-expression, this compilation of films shows Texans’ unique vision of art.
Local Air Date: November 2 at 10 p.m.
Breaking the Code
Director: Michael Flanagan
Run Time: 46:30
Documentary
Born to rural Texas farmers in 1943, Vernon Fisher’s childhood exposure to painting was only as “something you did to houses.” By the 1980s, he was exhibiting alongside Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, establishing himself as one of the most important artists of the 20th century.
A Palette of Plenty
Director: Greg Bader
Run Time: 5:19 minutes
Documentary
In this original KERA production, we meet Dennis Gonzalez, an artist by every definition—painter, radio DJ and musician. Every day of his life, Dennis worked to pay his gifts forward, influencing every person who crossed his path.
Toward the Sun
Director: Andrew Hammond Kendall
Run Time: 3:37 minutes
Short Film
A surreal stop-motion music video, featuring music by Clint Niosi, about a dog’s nighttime journey through a nightmare and toward the morning.
I am Not the Norm
Director: Zariyah Perry
Run Time: 2:42
Experimental Documentary
A celebration story of black women showcasing individualities, but also a united common bond. The focus on the hair and the everyday activities they all share together shows they are simply more than just “their hair.”
EPISODE 6: THE WILD SIDE
Discover the wild side of Texas.
Local Air Date: November 9 at 10 p.m.
The Sidewalk Artist
Director: David Velez and Brandon Rivera
Run Time: 20:08
Documentary
A documentary film crew follows a man who leaves his mark on concrete sites in Cedar Hill, Texas.
Phantom 52
Director: Geoff Marslett
Run Time: 7:30
Animated Short
Tom Skerritt stars in this animated short film about a lonely trucker waiting for a reply on the CB radio. A ghost that haunts the lonely highways, and a whale that sings in a voice no other whale can even hear.
When AIDS Was Funny
Director: Scott Calonico
Run Time: 7:43
Experimental Documentary
Recordings of press conferences at the Reagan White House reveal the shocking indifference, and sometimes outright derision, which the administration dealt with the growing AIDS epidemic.
Falconer
Director: Micah Barber
Run Time: 15:54
Short Film
Dell’s Tavern is a bar by night and a church by day. This film showcases the faces that frequent both spaces.
What LBJ Really Said About Selma
Director: Scott Calonico
Run Time: 5:45
Experimental Documentary
Fifty years ago, a civil rights march began in Selma, Alabama. Nearly 600 people intended to walk to the state capitol in Montgomery, led by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where they would demand to speak with then-Gov. George Wallace about the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old who was shot by police the previous month.
EPISODE 7: CITY OF HATE
Local Air Date: November 16 at 10 p.m.
City of Hate
Director: Quin Mathews
Run Time: 58 minutes
Documentary
City of Hate reveals what Dallas was like more than 50 years ago before President John F. Kennedy’s visit and how the tragedy deeply affected residents in the city.
EPISODE 8: TEXAS STORIES
Explore an episode dedicated to a variety of Texas stories.
Local Air Date: November 23 at 10:30 p.m.
Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue
Director: Sai Selvarajan
Run Time: 17 minutes
Documentary
Every day, people find solace on a plank of wood and wheels. Whether a solitary pursuit or community bond, skateboarding offers a road to travel, edge to grind, and a challenge that bolsters grit and even, in some cases, saves lives. In his most personal film, director Sai Selvarajan finds the poetry and passion in sidewalk surfing – not in the pros, but in the person you may know, someone who is just trying to get by one session at a time.
The Blue Hour
Director: Laura Le
Run Time: 12:32
Short Film
A young photographer, lost in her creativity, finds solace through memories of her mother that reignite her love for the art again.
Phantom Pain
Director: Joseph Balderas
Run Time: 7:14
Short Film
A haunting memory is triggered in what was supposed to be a joyful occasion.
Manna
Director: Tonya Holloway
Run Time: 7:10
Short Film
When a desperate girl scours for food in the home of her abuser, she’s granted grace from an unlikely encounter with a little boy.
Funny Face
Director: Jude Hope Harris
Run Time: 15 minutes
Short Film
When country singer, Randy travels to take care of his sister Sophie as she recovers from facial feminization surgery, he meets her girlfriend, Morgan, for the first time. The three bond over family history, love, and an extremely chaotic home nurse.
EPISODE 9: MUSIC AND DOCS (LOCAL ONLY)
Explore an episode dedicated to a variety of Texas stories.
Local Air Date: December 14 at 10 p.m.
Wally Funk: Astronaut Candidate
Director: Leslie Ellen Oschmann
Run Time: 14 minutes
Documentary
A legend among female aviators, Wally Funk tested better than many of the male astronauts of the 60s. Eventually, she went to Russia for cosmonaut training and became a distinguished teacher and FAA investigator. This is her story.
Dallas Marvels
Director: Todd Kent
Run Time: 10 min
Documentary
A look back at a forgotten piece of Dallas pop culture from the 80s.
On The Road: Garrett Owen “Distance”
Director: Dane Walters
Run Time: 4 min
Music Video
Dallas artist Garrett Owen is the consummate artist, with a lyricism beyond his years and an inimitable playing style that has him earning new fans left and right. He joined our On The Road crew at the iconic Doug’s Gym in downtown Dallas for a performance of “Distance.”
KXT Live Session: The Old 97s “Big Brown Eyes”
Director: Dane Walters
Run Time: 4:30
Music Video
They’re a Dallas institution, and one of the hardest working bands in the biz. KXT welcomed the Old 97’s into the studio for a chat with Brad and performance of tracks from Most Messed Up, and two vintage fan faves, including “Nineteen.”
Outwest: Del Rio Dispatch #1
Director: Jono Foley
Run Time: 2 minutes
Short Film
Hunting, fishing and “wild” horses. Supper’s ready folks!
“They Don’t Make ‘Em Like Willie Anymore” by Blacksmith Rose
Director: Blacksmith Rose, K Foster & Karen Foster
Run Time: 3 minutes
Short Film
“They Don’t Make ‘Em Like Willie Anymore” is a “love letter” of appreciation for Texas singer-songwriter Willie Nelson’s music. At first glance you might think this is a music video, and you would be correct. But it’s also a succinct, multifaceted, video documentary because it’s about Willie’s music, the important role it’s played it people’s lives, and also shows how his influence has inspired visual artists throughout Texas who have created works of art that feature his image.
Paula Hutchison: A “Family Dollar” Portrait
Director: Ilknur Ozgur
Run Time: 9 minutes
Documentary
Artstillery Nonprofit documents the narrative of Paula Hutchinson. Miss Paula grew up on West Main Street in West Dallas. Miss Hutchinson shares the history of her community, the Baptist Church and the history of service members returning home after war and how families settled onto West Main Street.
On The Road: Quaker City Night Hawks “Tired of You Leaving”
Director: Dane Walters
Run Time: 3:43 minutes
Music Video
Purveyors of the finest boogie rock and keepers of the Fort Worth groove, Quaker City Night Hawks soar to new heights with their latest release, QCNH, and our On The Road crew caught vocalist and rhythm guitarist Sam Anderson performing a stripped-down version of “Tired of you Leaving” at Panther Island Pavilion.
Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy)
Director: Colette Copeland
Run Time: 5 minutes
Short Film
This work is about imagining a world of feminine power without the external forces and self-imposed restrictions that impede the ability to realize one’s full potential.
EPISODE 10: CITY OF HATE
Local Air Date: December 21 at 10 p.m.
City of Hate
Director: Quin Mathews
Run Time: 58 minutes
Documentary
City of Hate reveals what Dallas was like more than 50 years ago before President John F. Kennedy’s visit and how the tragedy deeply affected residents in the city.
