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Seven Just-Announced Films We're Stoked To See at The 2015 Dallas International Film Festival.

With yesterday's announcement of the films set to be screened at the 2015 Dallas International Film Festival, it became clear: The 10-days-long affair, which kicks off on April 9, is fast-approaching. Better still: This year's festival looks to be full of some heavy-hitters in addition to its usual mix of world and U.S. premieres, shorts film blocks, repertory screenings and local films.

Of special note is this year's focus on movies coming out of Germany (including one documentary entry about Dallas basketball icon Dirk Notwitzki), its repertory Blues Brothers screening (with director John Landis in attendance) and, what I'm most excited about, the fact that The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are being honored with the Tex Avery Animation Award presented by local animation studio Reel FX.

See Also: Win tickets to this year's fest!

Also worth mentioning is the fact the earlier-announced films already featured some big stars in their casts — Chris Evans, Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman, among them. Now, with the full lineup out — and featuring more than 165 films in total — it's safe to say that there's something for everyone here.

Still, here are the ones we're most stoked on.

Lone Star Holy War. This documentary attempts to examine the legendary 118-year-old football rivalry between UT-Austin and Texas A&M through interviews, analysis and archival footage.

The Look of Silence.
Director Joshua Oppenheimer's intense The Act of Killing was an incredibly hard-to-watch documentary, a film that dealt with Indonesian killing squad leaders actively participating in recreations of their most vivid massacres. The most terrifying thing about it was how glorified these killers were decades later, and how little remorse they felt for their actions. , meanwhile, centers around a man who confronts those men who killed his brother during these massacres. It's sure to be a movie that's talked about as the year goes on.

Love & Mercy. Here, John Cusack and Paul Dano play the older and younger versions of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson as he goes from the recording of the seminal Pet Sounds to middle age. It's a must-see for music fans and the early buzz is very strong.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot. Even Dallasites who aren't sports fans know who Dirk Nowitzki is. This documentary, produced in his native Germany, examines Dirk's relationship with his coach and mentor, Holger Geschwindner.

Playing It Cool. Every year, DIFF snags one really big movie that will debut in theaters just a few weeks later. This year, it's the Chris Evans vehicle Playing It Cool, which finds Captain America playing a screenwriter who has to write a romantic movie for a quick buck. The catch is that he doesn't believe in love! Luckily, Evans is charming and funny enough to maybe pull this one off.

Raiders! the Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. This is the documentary about the kids who, against all odds, managed to recreate Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark scene for scene — except for that one shot involving the Flying Wing explosion. Now all grown up, these men reunite with their cast and crew to finally finish their fan film once and for all.

Turbo Kid. I know everything about this trailer screams artificial '80s nostalgia. But is that so bad? Set in the post-apocalyptic then-future of 1997, this one seems to be a Mad Max Junior-esque story with gratuitous violence and humor. That's always the right combination for a midnight movie.

The Dallas International Film Festival runs April 9-19. Head here for schedule and ticket information.

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