Sherman's March

AFS Cinema is bringing Sherman's March back to the screen on Sunday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 23. It's a new 4K restoration of Ross McElwee's 1986 documentary, which runs 158 minutes—so you'll want to clear a good chunk of your afternoon or evening for it.

On the surface, the film is about the lingering effects of William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea on the American South. McElwee set out to record how that Civil War campaign still echoes across the region, but as he filmed, the movie started to drift. He was going through a breakup at the time, and the camera began to follow his own life as much as the history he was chasing. He ends up turning his eye from one battleground to another: love. It's a diaristic piece of filmmaking that doesn't stay on one track, moving between the historical and the personal.

The result is a wry meditation on two of the modern age's greatest conundrums, women and the American South. Critics have described it as a groundbreaking feat of diaristic filmmaking. The New York Times called it "a wonderfully goofy, pertinent movie," Slant called it "a brilliant meditation on the Civil War's shaping of the South," and the Chicago Reader described it as "multilayered, funny, and consistently engaging."

There are two dates to choose from: Sunday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 23, with screenings at 2 PM and 6 PM each day. Tickets are $15 for the evening shows and $12 for the matinees, which are available Monday through Friday for shows before 5 PM. AFS MAKE and WATCH members get $4 off, and LOVE and Impact Circle members see it for free. There are also discounts for AISD educators and local high school and college students at the box office with a valid school ID. You can find the cinema at 6406 N I-35 Suite 3100, Austin, TX 78752.