62 September 18 - 24, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Contents | ReadeRs’ PiCks | shoPPing & seRviCes | aRts & enteRtainment | Food & dRink | sPoRts & ReCReation › BEST FILM DIRECTOR(S) Greg Kwedar & Clint Bentley Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley may not be household names, but this filmmaking duo is making serious waves in the industry. Kwedar is originally from Fort Worth, while Bentley is a transplant from Florida who now calls Dallas home. Last year, the pair co-wrote the Oscar- nominated film Sing Sing, which Kwedar directed. The film explores the role theater plays in the lives of inmates in the titular New York prison. They are following that film’s success with Train Dreams, adapted from a Denis Johnson novella, with Bentley directing. Already acquired by Netflix and with positive reviews from the Sundance Film Festival, Train Dreams is as one to watch when awards season rolls around. › BEST BREAKOUT STAR Mckenna Grace Though just 19, Mckenna Grace is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. The Grapevine native has had roles in the two most recent Ghostbusters movies and is in a prime position to ascend to movie stardom. Over the next 12 months, Grace is set to appear in the Bob Odenkirk action flick Nobody 2, the Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Scream 7. If all that was not enough, she has also been cast in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping. › BEST LOCALLY MADE FILM Abundant Any film that gets audiences excited about giving up an organ deserves to be recognized. Donald Griswold’s documentary Abundant captures kidney donors telling their stories on stage at the Majestic Theater, while also cutting to interviews with donors, recipients and experts who have witnessed this act of extreme altruism. It’s a feel-good story about people giving up their kidneys for strangers, and it explores what prompts individuals to make this choice. The film’s website includes a link for anyone interested in becoming a donor after seeing it. › BEST MOVIE PODCAST There Are Too Many Movies The hosts of There Are Too Many Movies have carved a space for themselves in the crowded landscape of movie podcasting. Chris Collins, Josh Rodriguez and Alex Wilshin are North Texans who became friends in high school and share a love of discussing films. Bracingly irreverent, refreshingly casual and legitimately funny, each week they take turns discussing what they have been watching before diving into a longer discussion about a specific film. They avoid being just another “film bro” podcast by delivering insightful critiques and analysis to their reviews, all without ever taking themselves too seriously. They are also active in the local film community, doing their part to keep North Texas filmmaking humming. › BEST MURALIST Stephanie Sanz You’ve likely seen muralist and illustrator Stephanie Sanz’s colorful visions around North Texas. From Fort Worth to Oak Cliff and all the way up in Grapevine for the immersive art experience of Meow Wolf, her vibrant, feminist works, inspired by her Panamanian upbringing, have illuminated the urban grayscale in DFW. Sanz continues to make us proud from afar, too. She’s in demand across the state, as her brush has been commissioned to stroke the walls of Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Austin. › BEST MINIATURE ART SHOW The Shed Show The Shed Show started as a passion project for curator Jillian Wendel when she was an art student at the University of North Texas. In August 2024, she transformed her backyard shed in Denton into a miniature gallery, hosting pop-up art exhibitions showcasing local artists. The rotational space is a testament to “tiny but mighty.” Passion meets purpose at The Shed Show, proving good art doesn’t have to hang on the walls of the Dallas Contemporary. Keep an eye on The Shed Show’s Instagram page for the next exhibit. Follow on Instagram @theshedshow_ › BEST UNCONVENTIONAL ART SPACE Nature of Things Tessa Granowski opened her new gallery space, Nature of Things, inside a small home on an Oak Lawn side street, with a debut show doubling as a tribute to Texan writer Dave Hickey. Because of zoning laws, Granowski was forced to shutter her art house for the foreseeable future. But the longtime curator wouldn’t let the concept die. In July, she debuted the second Nature of Things gallery inside the upstairs loft at the Texas Theatre, featuring art relating to the Texas blues and Lightnin’ Hopkins. It appears that for the time being, Nature of Things will remain a free- flowing, nomadic concept that could take over any Dallas space at any moment. › BEST COMEDY TIKTOKKER Kay Poyer Kay Poyer has a pistol for a tongue, and she fires fast. The TikTok comedian perfectly balances humor with pointed, poignant criticisms of modern society in punchlines delivered so swiftly you don’t realize they’ve hit until the next one is coming at you. If we had a dollar for every lifestyle influencer calling Big D home, we’d be the city’s sixth billionaire. But if we had a dollar for every Dallas influencer making Arts & Entertainment Courtesy Stephanie Sanz Stephanie Sanz // BEST MURALIST
