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Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery Partners with Concordia University for Benefit Screenings of “Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes”

November 5 event set to raise money for victims of the Bastrop wildfires and provide first look at soon-to-open theater

AUSTIN, TX – Oct. 8, 2012 — On Monday, November 5, Concordia University Texas students and Austin-area residents can get a sneak peek of the soon-to-open Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery, all while supporting victims of the Central Texas wildfires.
The theater – which will officially open for business on November 9 –has partnered with Concordia University to host benefit screenings of “Bastrop: Rising From the Ashes”, a feature-length documentary created by two students which chronicles the aftermath of the Central Texas wildfires.
Attendees at the November 5 event will get one of the first chances to see the film on the big screen, with the option to watch on Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery’s DFX screen – one of the largest in the state of Texas – or in the theater’s premium dine-in auditoriums. All ticket sales from the event will go to All About Families, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support to the families affected by the fires.
“We are a community-focused theater, and so honored to have the opportunity to help our neighbors affected by the fires,” said Mark McLaughlin, General Manager, Galaxy Moviehouse & Eatery. “There really couldn’t be a better way for us to unveil the theater, and we look forward to an going relationship with Concordia and finding ways to really build community together.”
“Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes” was created after Concordia University student James Headrick witnessed the devastation first-hand while filming the volunteer efforts of 120 students who took part in a television home-makeover project.
Over the course of seven months, Headrick and classmate David Reece worked to produce the documentary, interviewing countless families who lost their homes to the fires, and chronicling the rebuilding efforts that brought the community together in the face of tragedy.
“It was really a passion project for both David and myself,” said James Headrick, the film’s producer and Concordia University student. “Our hope is that this film allows us to not only help affected families share their stories, but to get back on their feet as they continue to rebuild their lives.”
General admission and dine-in tickets for the event can be purchased for $7.50 and $12, with advanced purchase tickets available at discounted prices of $5 and $10 through October 22. Showtimes start at 6:30 pm, with a late showing at 9:15 pm. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Various departments from Concordia will be on site promoting events and programs of interest to the community. The filmmakers will also be available for questions.
“Having The Trails open across from Concordia’s campus provides a great opportunity for partnerships,” said Chris Beck, Association Vice President for External Relations. “We’re excited to have Galaxy [replace with Moviehouse and Eatery if you prefer] support our students and give back to the community. It’s an extension of Concordia’s commitment of demonstrating servant leadership.”
For more information, or to purchase your tickets, please visit Concordia.edu/MovieNight.

“Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes” premiered in Bastrop, TX at the Bastrop Opera House! We were amazed at the turn out, as we sold out the screening almost an hour before the advertised start time, and ended up running a second showing. The response was equally exciting as attendees told us their own stories and talked about how the film related to their own life.

The film was featured on KXAN last Friday and several interviews of attendees were included on Monday and Tuesday broadcasts! We consider ourselves truly blessed to have had the opportunity to make this film and blessed by the incredible amount of support from the community!

We will have an additional screening on November 1st, at the Galaxy theater in North Austin on FM 620. In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter on the right, to get notified when online DVD orders become available!

The feature film on the Bastrop Wildfires will premiere on September 3rd at the Bastrop Opera House!

Our team has been hard at work filming and editing the film and we can’t wait to share it with the Central Texas community. We are hoping that the film will bring awareness to the continuing needs of the Bastrop wildfire victims.

The screening will be open to the public, and the doors will open at 5pm for refreshments provided by the Bastrop Film Commission. The screening will begin at 6pm. A Q&A session

We’ve been looking through some of the footage we’ve shot out in Bastrop, and can’t wait to premier the film in September.  Here’s some raw footage from two interviews we shot about a month back.  These two families lost everything in the fires and are still struggling to get by.

We completed our first day of production today, and are even more excited about the road ahead.  We spent our day scouting locations, filming b-roll, and caught an interview at Bastrop State Park. It’s still heart breaking every time we visit a property where a home once stood and the property we visited today, was no different. Some slabs have been totally cleared off, but this one still had much of the ashes and debris left.  In just a few moments of walking around, you start to see pieces of what their lives once were. Piles of broken dishes where the kitchen once stood, a half-burned shred of a quilt, a bunch of marbles melted together… The list goes on and on.  The footage we captured today was incredible, and we look forward to capturing more of these moments and pieces over the next few months.

Click photos for a larger view, and head over to our Facebook Page for even more pictures

Here’s a new way to keep up with “Bastrop: Rising from the Ashes”.  Join our email newsletter for exclusive content, project updates, and advance notice about the premier in September!

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This past weekend I had the great opportunity to travel out to Bastrop with Aristo Movement to go meet with a great organization called All About Families.  All About Families is an awesome organization that started shortly after the Wildfires to provide connections for the needs that victims may have.

While in Bastrop, we went out to visit two families that had been affected by the fires. The first person we talked with was a man who had a very unique and devastating story to share. He had sold his home the week before the fire and was making final preparations to move the following Tuesday. Since he and his wife had signed all the paperwork and closed on the home, they did the usual tasks such as cancelling utilities and cancelling their homeowners insurance. The fires swept through his neighborhood that weekend and destroyed everything but a shed on his property, including all their boxed up belongings which were in the garage. However, the tragedy doesn’t stop there. The following week, they received a notice from the company who bought the house that they would not be honoring the contract. This left the couple with no home, no belongings, and no insurance. With two mortgages on the home, the couple has been left with very few options on how to continue living their life. FEMA provided them a trailer to live in on the property, but even having that is being threatened as they were informed last week that they would have to start building within thirty-days or it would be removed from the property. The wife is working full-time at Lowes at minimum wage, while the husband continues to work for a major airline with hopes of receiving his retirement in a few months, which also isn’t guaranteed.

It’s moments like these where I am totally humbled and reminded just how important this documentary is.  As time passes, the media moves on to other world events, and people begin to think that the disaster is over and the people have been taken care of.  There are still hundreds of people who need help, and have uncertain futures because they lost almost everything. I recorded the interview and  a bunch of footage around the property.   I hope to have a short clip of it up this next week to share online. Be sure to like our page on Facebook to keep up with the progress on the documentary.

There are hundreds of families still in need in Bastrop, TX.  Visit the All About Families website to get connected to help directly support and provide for those still in need.

Concordia University Texas sent over 120 students to help out with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build in Bastrop, Texas to help a family rebuild after the tragic wildfires over Labor Day weekend 2011.  It was while filming this project that the inspiration for this larger documentary was found.

This short film was shot in December 2011 while working on another project for Concordia University Texas. This shows a limited view of the damage caused by the fires.