The following is a list of films shown at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival formerly held each December in Austin, Texas, and hosted by Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles.
Feature films are listed in bold. Trailers are listed in italics. All other items are annotated as appropriate.
Dec. 11-12, 2004
Dec. 10-11, 2005 [3]
Dec. 9-10, 2006 [4]
June 24–25, 2007
Dec. 8-9, 2007; Alamo Drafthouse at The Ritz, Austin, Texas
EXCLUSIVE CLIPS
Dec. 13-14, 2008; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
December 12–13, 2009: Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, Austin, Texas
The name derives from the film THX 1138, as this was the 11th edition of Butt-Numb-A-Thon and the celebration of Knowles' 38th birthday.
Dec. 11-12, 2010; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
Dec. 10-11, 2011; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
The name derives from the long-standing tradition of playing the 1985 movie Teen Wolf at BNAT, only to have the film burn or be destroyed before any significant portion is screened. Tim League, founder and CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse told Jeff Mahler (a longtime BNAT attendee whose love for Teen Wolf inspired its unsuccessful inclusion in the festival each year) that the film would be screened at BNAT13WOLF, but that due to scheduling demands the pristine 35mm print film they had found had to be cut into "literally thousands of pieces" and edited into the program whenever time was available. Clips that highlighted the entirety of Teen Wolf were then inserted into the sequences of themed trailers that preceded all of the feature films. The actual clips were in extremely small segments of less than two seconds each. Most often they were only a few frames in length - a hilarious image from the movie popping up and disappearing in a flash.
Dec. 8-9 2012; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
Dec. 7-8 2013; Alamo Drafthouse Ritz Austin, Texas
Dec. 13-14 2014; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
Dec. 12-13 2015; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
Held in the Holly Blain Memorial Theater
Dec. 10-11 2016; Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar Austin, Texas
Held in the Holly Blain Memorial Theater
Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, superhero, fantasy, horror, and action genres.
Slacker is a 1990 American independent comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Richard Linklater, who also appears in the film. Slacker was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.
Explosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The quartet originally played under the name Breaker Morant, then changed to the current name in 1999. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals—what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies"—and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows. They primarily play with three electric guitars and a drum kit, although band member Michael James will at times exchange his electric guitar for a bass guitar. The band has later added a fifth member to their live performances. The band's music is almost purely instrumental.
Harry Jay Knowles is an American former film critic and writer known for his website Ain't It Cool News (AICN). Knowles was a member of the Austin Film Critics Association until he was removed in September 2017 "by a substantial majority vote" of the organization following allegations of sexual assault.
The Quentin Tarantino Film Festival, or QT-Fest, was a semi-annual film and multimedia event held by the Austin Film Society in Austin, Texas and attended by film director Quentin Tarantino, where he screened a selection of his favorite films using prints he owns.
The Butt-Numb-A-Thon was a film marathon held in Austin, Texas every December from 1999 to 2016. It was hosted by Harry Knowles of the Ain't It Cool News website in celebration of his birthday. The festival showed 24 hours of vintage films as well as premieres.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiquette.
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions.
The Show with No Name is a public-access television cable TV show that aired in Austin, Texas, hosted by Charlie Sotelo and the mysterious "Cinco." Each show featured clips of TV, film and music ephemera along with commentary by the hosts and calls from a predictably unruly public-access television audience.
Terrell Alfred Braly is an American businessman.
Tim League is an American entrepreneur and film producer based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain and the founder of the film distribution company Drafthouse Films, where League has produced films including The ABCs of Death. He is also the co-founder of genre film festival Fantastic Fest, the entertainment merchandise entity Mondo, and the film distribution and production company Neon.
Drafthouse Films is a film distribution company based in Austin, Texas which releases "provocative, visionary and artfully unusual films new and old from around the world". It was founded in 2010 by Tim League, who had previously founded the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain. Drafthouse Films has released a variety of films since its inception.
Road to Hell is a 2008 action-fantasy film directed by Albert Pyun. It was inspired by Walter Hill's Streets of Fire and began shooting that same year in June at Los Angeles. Pyun states that the genesis of Road to Hell began when he and Paré attended a film festival in Spain.
Klown is a 2010 Danish comedy film directed by Mikkel Nørgaard, and written by and starring Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen. It was developed from the successful Danish television series of the same name, in which Hvam and Christensen play fictionalized versions of themselves.
Miami Connection is a 1987 independent martial arts film starring Y.K. Kim, who also wrote and produced the feature. Originally, the film was critically maligned and received poor box office return upon release. It remained unseen for decades until Drafthouse Films restored the film for a proper release in 2012. The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, limited-edition VHS, and various digital download options on December 11, 2012. Since then, the film has been better received by audiences and has garnered a cult following.
The FP is a 2011 American comedy film written and directed by Brandon and Jason Trost. The film focuses on two gangs, the 248 and the 245, fighting for control of Frazier Park. The gangs settle their disputes by playing Beat-Beat Revelation, a music video game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Gang member JTRO trains to defeat L Dubba E, the leader of a rival gang. The film also features Caitlyn Folley, Art Hsu, Nick Principe and Dov Tiefenbach.
Echoes of War is a 2015 American Western psychological thriller film written by Kane Senes and John Chriss and directed by Kane Senes. The film stars James Badge Dale as a Confederate soldier who returns home from the American Civil War, bringing his demons back with him. It also stars Ethan Embry, William Forsythe, Maika Monroe, Rhys Wakefield, Beth Broderick, Ryan O'Nan and Owen Teague.
Ogroff, also known as Mad Mutilator is a 1983 French slasher film written, directed by, and starring Norbert Moutier and Howard Vernon. Its plot follows an isolated backwoods lumberjack who attacks and murders people passing through his woods.
Giant Pictures is an American film distribution company founded by Nick Savva and Jeff Stabenau with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. The company releases feature films, documentaries and series on streaming platforms, with an emphasis on flexibility and customization for filmmakers. Since 2022 the company has owned and operated the Drafthouse Films label.
Sixth and Guadalupe is an under construction 66-story mixed-use skyscraper in Downtown Austin, Texas. On November 2, 2022, the building celebrated its topping out, making it the tallest building in Austin, surpassing The Independent. The tower is expected to be completed and delivered in 2023.