Trey Edward Shults To Open 2019 Houston Cinema Arts Festival with WAVES

The Houston Cinema Arts Society is pleased to announce that Trey Edward Shults will open the 2019 Houston Cinema Arts Festival with a screening of his highly-anticipated new film Waves at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston on Thursday, November 14.

The Houston Cinema Arts Festival will take place from November 14 - 18 at 10 cultural venues around the city - threading all of Houston's arts through film, curated by Artistic Director Jessica Green.

At HCAF15, Houston-born filmmaker Trey Edward Shults debuted his intimate family drama Krisha at Opening Night at the Museum of Fine Arts. The stirring feature film, which stars Shults's aunt Krisha Fairchild in the titular role, garnered critical praise for Shults, including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at SXSW that year.

Now, HCAF19 marks the triumphant return of Shults to the Houston Cinema Arts Festival - serving as a homecoming for the young filmmaker whose star in Hollywood has risen like a meteor since his first HCAF appearance. His new film Waves - the featured Opening Night film at MFAH - had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August and was later screened at Toronto International Film Festival, garnering waves of critical praise in the process.

Set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, including Sterling K. Brown, Reneé Elise Goldsberry, Lucas Hedges, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell and Alexa Demie, Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family - led by a well-intentioned but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss. Ultimately, Waves is a heartrending story about the universal capacity for compassion and growth even in the darkest of times.

Immediately following the screening, Shults will be joined on stage by rap legend Bun B, who will have a conversation with the director about the film's themes and his rapid-fire evolution as a filmmaker that will cap off the first day of the 2019 Houston Cinema Arts Festival. The program will be followed by an afterparty with DJ Flash Gordon Parks

Waves premieres in New York and Los Angeles the following day, Friday, November 15.