If the recent AI explosion in cinema has proved anything, it’s that there’s nothing better than real stunts in movies. But there’s a lot more to making a great action sequence than taking and pretending punches. Austin Action Fest is a film fest that celebrates stunt work on the screen and gives you a chance to get literally hands-on through their Advanced Texas Stunt Intensive, a daylong workshop covering every aspect of action filmmaking from wire training to gun manipulation. Plus, of course, actual screenings, including the world premiere of sci-fi beat-’em-up Predecessor of Phantoms, plus more features and shorts from every action genre. As the organizers say, as long as there is either kickin’, stabbin’, chasin’, shootin’, or jabbin’, they don’t discriminate. – Richard Whittaker
