WES ANDERSON HOMECOMING SOIRÉE

Join Arthouse Houston for this rare in-person evening with Wes Anderson, celebrating his remarkable 30-year filmmaking career. Wes is returning to Houston, where his life and journey in film began, for this one-night-only event benefiting the preservation of the Historic Garden Oaks Theater and the founding of a new Arts & Film Center.

The evening will include a "Founders Experience", followed by a reception for all with charcuterie and wine by City Kitchen and Dionysus Imports,  live music by the Kelly Doyle Trio, and a silent auction. The film  program begins with a personal introduction by Wes Anderson and  screening of five of his short films, selected by Wes. Starting with the  short film that launched his career, Bottle Rocket, which was later adapted into his first feature film 30 years ago.

Followed by: Castello Cavalcanti, Hotel Chevalier, The Swan, and The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner.

Donors  at the "Founders Experience" level will be treated to a meet-and-greet  with Anderson and friends before the show, including a celebratory toast  and signed show poster. Tickets are very limited at this donor level.

Your ticket to this program is a donation and part of Arthouse Houston's Big Picture Series. Your donation will directly help the effort to preserve one of our few  remaining historic cinemas and found a new cultural hub where cinema,  live performance, production, and education converge. The restored  Garden Oaks can help incubate future generations of homegrown filmmakers  like Wes Anderson!

Top-Tier Founder Donors at $100K-$5MM will have naming rights within the new Arts & Film  Center & four (4) complimentary Founders Experience tickets to this event.

When: Friday, July 17, 2026

6:00 PM: Q&A with Wes Anderson for Founders Experience ticket holders

7:00 PM: Doors Open, Reception & Live Music

7:30 PM: Welcome, Auction, and Intro by Wes Anderson, followed by a screening of selected shorts

Where: Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

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Thank you to Big Picture Series season sponsor Gwen Richard. As well as event sponsors: CityKitchen, Dionysus Wines, Criterion Collection, Houston  Film Commission, Texas Commission on the Arts, Independent Media Arts  Foundation, and the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs.

Friends of River Oaks Theatre, DBA Arthouse Houston, is a 501 (c)(3) community arts nonprofit. All amounts contributed to  this fund are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law as charitable  donations

For questions, please email info@arthousehtx.org