Mending Circle

Monday 28, Yarborough Branch Library

I look up “mending” on Google, and the first websites that pop up are the Minecraft Wiki and Dungeons & Dragons’ Fandom site. But mending is no fantastical concept used only in building simulators or tabletop role-playing. In truth, one of the best sustainable practices a conscientious citizen can pick up is the ability to repair their clothes. Austin Public Library holds a meet-up for all those making sure their wearables don’t become garbage-pile material, with beginners and experts both welcome. “Bring your favorite garments that need some tender loving care,” says APL, “and our friendly community of fellow menders will be there to offer guidance and support.”   – James Scott

The Keep

Monday 28 & Wednesday 30, Alamo Lakeline, South Lamar, Village

There’s an urban legend in film buff circles that, a few years ago, during a major retrospective of the films of Michael Mann, the great director turned up to tech check every movie from 1981’s Thief to 2015’s Blackhat. Every film, that is, except for one: 1983’s The Keep, his sophomore effort and his bitterest disappointment. Hampered by the death of visual effects supervisor Wally Veevers and then butchered by Paramount executives, it’s a fraction of the film that Mann envisioned. But that fraction is still a strange, dark monument: a horror that contends with the idea of picking the lesser evil as a German Wehrmacht Unit in occupied Romania finds itself caught between SS fanatics and an ancient spirit trapped within a castle’s stone walls. Those themes are given real depth by a heavy-hitter cast including Scott Glenn, Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne, and Ian McKellen. Rarely screened for the last four decades (outside of one memorable 35mm showing at the Alamo Drafthouse over a decade ago), now Mann’s flawed masterpiece returns in 4K courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome.   – Richard Whittaker

Shhhinema for the People

Tuesday 29, Hyperreal Film Club

Background context: This is Hyperreal’s mystery movie night, primarily programmed by two people I consider trash experts, aka Ziah Grace and Morgan Hyde. Tickets cost around $5, but you more than get your money’s worth as exemplified in previous picks like John Waters’ A Dirty Shame or last week’s tokusatsu tale The Super Inframan. However, attendance is heavily encouraged for this upcoming edition – which may be the series’ curtain call – as Grace and Hyde have outdone themselves with their next bewitching pick. Per Grace: “It is truly a once in a lifetime theatrical experience … the craziest movie either of us have ever seen.”   – James Scott

Murder Ballads

Tuesday 29, BookPeople

Multiple Best of Austin-winning radio host Laurie Gallardo leads a spirited discussion of Katy Horan’s new book, a delightfully macabre collection of illustrated murder ballads, or narrative folk songs with dastardly deeds as the central focus. For this one, the Literary Witches author chose 20 to illustrate and explore, including “Delia’s Gone” and “The Death of Queen Jane,” and the book offers sources for recordings so you can listen along. Fans of true crime, history, and music will not want to miss this one.   – Kat McNevins

Seizure!

Tuesday 29 & Saturday 3, AFS Cinema

Like its Canuxploitation series sister feature Deadline, Oliver Stone’s directorial debut features a horror writer living through his own terrifying subject material. Though its theatrical release in the U.S. was limited – only playing on New York’s 42nd Street – by 2014 it got a DVD and Blu-ray transfer from Scorpion Releasing, whose Instagram bio states that their “business is bringing cult classics to Blu-ray… and business is booming!” Or maybe it isn’t, seeing as their last post was for a Blu-ray release of DeSade in March 2022. In any case, Seizure! screens in beautiful DCP at still-booming cult film supporter AFS Cinema, giving everyone in Austin a taste of star Jonathan Frid’s intoxicating nightmares.   – James Scott

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Wednesday 30, Hyperreal Film Club

Holy best Batman movie ever, Batman! Long hailed as the ultimate caped crusader flick, and with good reason, Mask of the Phantasm holds some all-time greats in the Bat-verse. Kevin Conroy as Batman, the voice of a generation and maybe the only man who perfectly balances Bruce with his heroic alter ego. Mark Hamill’s gleefully unhinged Joker. A moody Gotham setting that aptly tackles the gangster roots of Batman’s detective origins. And a femme fatale whose steely edge and soft core will knock your socks off and rip your heart to shreds. From the team that elevated Saturday morning cartoons to high art, Phantasm is a crowning jewel in the animated superhero sphere.   – Cat McCarrey

Walpurgisnacht

Wednesday 30, Tiny Minotaur Tavern

Austin’s premier fantasy bar, the Tiny Minotaur, is perhaps the only place in town where you can celebrate the obscure ancient European holiday of Walpurgisnacht. Weren’t feeling the recent Easter spirit? Perhaps you’d instead like the “Halloween of springtime” with “seasonal treats and hexes” on offer, per Tiny Minotaur’s Instagram. Despite this witchy tenor, the legend of Saint Walpurga, a nun in 8th-century Germany, is quite the opposite. She was canonized as a saint for her conversion of early Germans to Christianity, and for battling pests, rabies, whooping cough, and witchcraft itself, according to Wikipedia. In parts of Europe, people commemorate Walpurgisnacht, also known as Saint Walpurga’s Eve, in her honor, lighting bonfires to ward off evil or making pilgrimages to her tomb. However, despite these Christian origins, Walpurgisnacht is also linked with the pagan May Day festivals of Northern Europe, which all involved bonfire lighting as well. Perhaps opt for non-flammable lighting here, though – a windy wildfire season is upon us.   – Lina Fisher

On Trend/Off Balanced: A Panel on Fashion and Sustainability

Wednesday 30, Contemporary Austin Jones Center

With tariffs increasing the costs of many fast fashionistas’ favorite sources of inexpensive pieces, this talk couldn’t be more timely. In conjunction with Contemporary exhibit “HOST: Tenant of Culture” and following a screening of doc Brandy Hellville and the Cult of Fast Fashion, panelists Miranda Bennett, Christa Marie Clark, Emily Fenves, and Jimmy Gallo speak with moderator Allison Miller about how fashion can be both trendy and environmentally sustainable. They’ll highlight local efforts to interrupt and reduce waste and give guests inspiration to be thoughtfully chic.   – Kat McNevins

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Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.