RULES1) One ballot per person, per envelope!No exceptions!2) Name, address, and phone mustbe filled in to be counted.(For verification purposes only; we do not sharethis information with anyone.)3) No photocopied ballots.4) Restaurants may not collect ballotsand send them in en masse.This info must be complete for your ballotto be counted.NameAddressPhoneE-mailIn an average month, how many times do you eat atrestaurants (not fast food)?the austin chronicle READERSRESTAURANTPOLL 2010Fill out this paper ballot, and:MAIL it to:<strong>The</strong> <strong>Austin</strong> <strong>Chronicle</strong> Restaurant PollPO Box 49066, <strong>Austin</strong>, TX 78765HAND-DELIVER it to:4000 N. I-35, <strong>Austin</strong>, TX 78751ORVOTE ONLINE at:austinchronicle.com/restpollBallots must be postmarked, submitted online,or hand-delivered to our offices by Monday,April 19. Results will be published in the May 21 issue.BEST OTHER STUFFNew Restaurant (opened in 2009-10)Chef (Specify chef name and restaurant name.)Chef name:Restaurant name:Service/Best WaitstaffFull-Service Bakery/Pastry ShopGrocery StoreEthnic MarketPatio/BiergartenStreet Food (Specify dish and vendor name.)Street food dish:FAVORITE RESTAURANTS(List up to three.)1)2)3)BEST DISHES(List restaurants at which the best of these are found.)Bon appétit!Tofu DishDim SumBowl of PhoAmerican BreakfastMexican BreakfastSandwichBEST ETHNIC/SPECIALTY RESTAURANTMexican (non-Tex-Mex)Tex-MexTaqueriaCentral/South AmericanItalianStreet food vendor:DecorRomantic Dinner SpotSunday BrunchFast FoodTakeoutDeliveryAppetizersBreadCajun/CreoleWine ListBarbecueDessertMiddle EasternMixologistHamburgerIce CreamIndianBeer SelectionSteakGelatoChineseBuffetComfort FoodChicken-Fried SteakChile-Pepper DishFrench FriesHot DogLocal ChocolateCoffeePizzaEnchiladasJapaneseKoreanThaiVietnameseOther AsianHappy Hour/Free or Cheap Deal(Specify deal and restaurant name.)Happy Hour/Deal:Restaurant name:Late Night/All NightChips and Hot SauceVegetablesAmericanPlace to Take KidsTacoChicken DishVegetarian/Natural FoodPlace to Take ParentsSoupWild-Game DishFrenchRestaurant Within 60 Miles of <strong>Austin</strong>Salad/DressingSeafood DishBargain (Specify dish and restaurant name.)Dish:Other Ethnic (German, Cuban, etc.;specify type and restaurant name.)Type:Place We Wish Were Still OpenAny Other Restaurant Worth NotingPub GrubRestaurant name:Restaurant name:Food EventBagelsSushiVeggie BurgerVegetarian Dishaustinchronicle.com/restpoll46 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E APRIL 9, 2010 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
screens48KATRINA’S COLLATERAL DAMAGE(THINK FOUR-LEGGED AND FURRY)AFS Documentary Tour presents ‘Mine’BY N ORA ANK RUMSince Geralyn Pezanoski’s documentary Mine won theDocumentary Feature Audience Award at the 2009 South bySouthwest Film Festival, the film has won Best Feature at theSan Francisco DocFest and has been picked up by the PBSIndependent Lens series. It’s doing pretty well for a tear-jerkerabout pets left behind during Hurricane Katrina, but it stillmeets resistance, both from animal lovers who don’t wantto see pets suffer and from skeptics who ask, “Why make amovie about the animals when you could make a movieabout the people?” <strong>The</strong> story of New Orleans’ pets, however,is the story of the people. Mine is a window into a systemthat allowed for pets to be ripped from people’s arms, left todie, and later returned not to their bereaved families butoftentimes to entirely new people. It’s also about people allover the country who reached out to help and the prejudices,misunderstandings, and bureaucracies that sometimesturned them against one another. Ultimately, however, it’sabout the undeniable healing that pets bring to people’slives. So watch it, animal lovers – those tears will be (mostly)happy ones.<strong>Austin</strong> Jewish Film Festival 50 Stephanie Rothman 51 TV Eye76 Film Listings<strong>Austin</strong> <strong>Chronicle</strong>: How did this projectget started?Geralyn Pezanoski: After Katrina, I knewthat I wanted to respond in some way. Iwas actually already on a commercial jobso by the time that finished, it was aboutfive weeks after Katrina. … What I foundwas all the people had finally been evacuated,but there were still these pets there.I ended up connecting with the HumaneSociety of Louisiana and they said: “Hey,can you come and help us? We were supposedto have our big fundraiser inNovember, and we obviously can’t do thatnow.” So I decided to go down and film forthem to create a series of fundraisingPSAs. [After] about six weeks, I came backand edited the PSAs … and then just kindof went back to my life and thought I wasdone with that.But one sort of fateful thing kept mehooked into it, which is that I had decided tofoster one of the dogs that I met when I wasdown there, and in February [2006] I got aletter from the rescue organization saying,“Her owners never came forward, she’syours, you can adopt her.” Right around thattime, I heard the first whisper of a story ofsomeone wanting their pet back and meetingresistance around that. … Having that coincidewith being told that Nola’s ownersweren’t coming forward, and then hearing thestory, I thought, “What do I really know?” Ithink within a week I was on a plane to NewOrleans again.AC: <strong>The</strong> film really brings home the traumapeople experienced in having to abandontheir pets.GL: People were once victimized by thestorm, and of course people of a lower economicstatus in society are the ones who sufferthe most in a catastrophe like this, so Ifelt like people were sort of being double victimizedbecause of that – and open to beingADVENTURES IN IBERIAAFS Essential Cinema: Viagem a Portugal:Contemporary Portuguese CinemaManoel de Oliveira was born in 1908,A Talking Picturewhich makes his inclusion in any conversationabout contemporary cinema(Um filme falado)something of a jaw-dropper. But therehe is, still plugging away, more or less apicture a year, at the ripe old age of101. Two of his films bookend the<strong>Austin</strong> Film Society’s short new series,Viagem a Portugal: ContemporaryPortuguese Cinema. 1997’s Voyage tothe Beginning of the World marksMarcello Mastroianni’s last screen appearance (he plays a film director lamenting his ageand a Portugal advancing so fast as to become unrecognizable), while Mastroianni’s formerparamour Catherine Deneuve pops in for the provocative 2003 film A Talking Picture, an onthe-nosetitle, to be sure. And that’s for the best, really: de Oliveira has a straightforwardvisual style that teeters toward fustiness, but his dialogue – at once ambling and ambitious– is the real draw. Three more films round out the series, including Our Beloved Month ofAugust (co-presented with Cine las Americas), a funny and engaging fact/fiction hybrid rootedin rural Portugal’s native musical and cultural traditions.– Kimberley Jonesscrutinized in a way that Idon’t know if most of uswould hold up [under]. …During the first six weeks Iwas down there, therewere only rescuers in thecity, and there was a lot ofjudgment, because whenpeople saw the conditionsthe animals were left in –they weren’t actually left in Minethose conditions, but theyended up in those afterthe flooding and everything. … I think thatled to a lot of the very emotional decisionsnot to return pets, that idea that none ofthese people deserved to have their animalsback because they failed them in such ahuge, monumental way. But those rescuerswho did get a chance to talk to people andhear people’s stories – how they really didn’twant to leave them and were trying againstVIAGEM A PORTUGALCONTEMPORARYPORTUGUESE CINEMA<strong>The</strong> series runs Tuesdays at 7pm at theAlamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Admission isfree for AFS members and $6 for nonmembers.For more info, visit www.austinfilm.org.April 13: Voyage to the Beginning of theWorld (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo)(1997) D: Manoel de OliveiraApril 20: Aguas Mil (April Showers)(2009) D: Ivo FerreiraApril 27: Our Beloved Month of August(Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto)(2008) D: Miguel GomesMay 4: Noite Escura (In the Darknessof the Night) (2004) D: João CanijoMay 11: A Talking Picture (Um filme falado)(2003) D: Manoel de Oliveiraall odds to get back in the city – then theyreally understood.AC: I’m curious how you got people to talk toyou, especially those like Tiffany Mansfield,who must have known she might appear as abad guy since she didn’t want to return aKatrina dog.GL: I think I went into it understanding bothsides, and I think she felt that. <strong>The</strong>re weresome times when I would go into an interviewexpecting to find a bad guy, and I don’tthink I ever did.AC: Before I saw the movie, I was warned thatno one can watch it without melting into apuddle of tears.GL: This is sort of the catch-22 of making afilm about animals, because the obviousaudience of animal people are so sensitivethat they’re afraid they can’t watch it. … Ihad a lot of people come up to me at screeningsand say, “I really want to watch it, but Ineed you to tell me it’s gonna be okay.” …<strong>The</strong>y all afterward tell me they’re really gladthey did. When you take on an animal youknow what you’re opening yourself up to. It’sthat deep connection that you’re going to feeland then this inevitable heartbreak. It’s partof being a pet guardian. … So I think that’swhat the film is. You experience thosemoments of joy and then those heartbreakingmoments. I feel like the movie is prettyequal parts of those.AFS Documentary Tour presents Mine on Wednesday,April 14, 7pm, at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz.Tickets are $4 for AFS members and $6 for the generalpublic. For more info, see www.austinfilm.org.a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m APRIL 9, 2010 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 47
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