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Is it odd that a town that doesn't have an official movie theater is the host of film festival? Maybe. But that didn’t stop the organizers of the Round Top Film Festival from luring noted actors and filmmakers for screenings, panels and buzzy events that took over the town last fall. Movies were shown at Round Top Festival Institute while activations were held all throughout Round Top – a little bit of cinema glam designed to highlight the craft of moviemaking.
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You’ll have to wait until Nov. 12-15, 2026, for the third annual festival that celebrates independent storytelling. The festival also draws attention to Round Top and surrounding communities as great places for filming – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Hollywood.
Here are just some of the movies that have taken advantage of the picturesque, small-town backdrops and historical areas that the region has in abundance:
“The Tree of Life”: Terrence Malik’s 2011 existential contemplation on the meaning of life and faith used the Fayette County Courthouse and local square in La Grange for filming. Only 20 miles away in Smithville, neighborhoods were used to depict small town-life from the 1950s in this coming-of-age drama starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessia Chastain.
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“The Lost Husband”: In this 2020 romantic drama, a young widow ad her two children move to her estranged aunt’s goat farm in Central Texas for a fresh start. Starring Leslie Bibb (“The White Lotus”) and Josh Duhamel (“Transformers”), the film used several area locations including a farm in Round Top as the primary town.
“Love & Death”: La Grange’s historic downtown square was used to create events of 1980 in this HBO true-crime limited series starring Elizabeth Olsen (“Silent House”) and Jess Plemons (“Bugonia”). Most notably, the Cottonwood Inn was used for the 2023 series. The motel, by the way, also was featured in an episode of the AMC series “Fear the Walking Dead.”
“The Sound of the Willow”: A young music teacher helps a young girl learn to talk and sing again after a devastating illness. In the 2025 faith-based drama that stars Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”), La Grange’s old red schoolhouse at Fayetteville ISD was used as a location. Local school children also were recruited as extras.
“ICK”: The 2024 science-fiction horror-comedy movie starring Brando Routh (“Superman Returns”) and Mena Suvari (“American Beauty) used downtown Brenham as a shooting location. In August 2023 streets were temporarily closed for Houston-based director Joseph Kahn for filming.
“Rooster”: First-time director Mills McQueen used locations in Brenham for this dark comedy about a debt-strapped Austin salesman who borrows his neighbor’s prized rooster, which dies, igniting a feud that spirals out of control. The movie stars Grant Gustin (“The Flash”) and Tom Pelphrey (“Task”); it was shot in 2025 and currently in post-production for an upcoming release date.
Is it odd that a town that doesn't have an official movie theater is the host of film festival? Maybe. But that didn’t stop the organizers of the Round Top Film Festival from luring noted actors and filmmakers for screenings, panels and buzzy events that took over the town last fall. Movies were shown at Round Top Festival Institute while activations were held all throughout Round Top – a little bit of cinema glam designed to highlight the craft of moviemaking.
You’ll have to wait until Nov. 12-15, 2026, for the third annual festival that celebrates independent storytelling. The festival also draws attention to Round Top and surrounding communities as great places for filming – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Hollywood.
Here are just some of the movies that have taken advantage of the picturesque, small-town backdrops and historical areas that the region has in abundance:
“The Tree of Life”: Terrence Malik’s 2011 existential contemplation on the meaning of life and faith used the Fayette County Courthouse and local square in La Grange for filming. Only 20 miles away in Smithville, neighborhoods were used to depict small town-life from the 1950s in this coming-of-age drama starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessia Chastain.
“The Lost Husband”: In this 2020 romantic drama, a young widow ad her two children move to her estranged aunt’s goat farm in Central Texas for a fresh start. Starring Leslie Bibb (“The White Lotus”) and Josh Duhamel (“Transformers”), the film used several area locations including a farm in Round Top as the primary town.
“Love & Death”: La Grange’s historic downtown square was used to create events of 1980 in this HBO true-crime limited series starring Elizabeth Olsen (“Silent House”) and Jess Plemons (“Bugonia”). Most notably, the Cottonwood Inn was used for the 2023 series. The motel, by the way, also was featured in an episode of the AMC series “Fear the Walking Dead.”
“The Sound of the Willow”: A young music teacher helps a young girl learn to talk and sing again after a devastating illness. In the 2025 faith-based drama that stars Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”), La Grange’s old red schoolhouse at Fayetteville ISD was used as a location. Local school children also were recruited as extras.
“ICK”: The 2024 science-fiction horror-comedy movie starring Brando Routh (“Superman Returns”) and Mena Suvari (“American Beauty) used downtown Brenham as a shooting location. In August 2023 streets were temporarily closed for Houston-based director Joseph Kahn for filming.
“Rooster”: First-time director Mills McQueen used locations in Brenham for this dark comedy about a debt-strapped Austin salesman who borrows his neighbor’s prized rooster, which dies, igniting a feud that spirals out of control. The movie stars Grant Gustin (“The Flash”) and Tom Pelphrey (“Task”); it was shot in 2025 and currently in post-production for an upcoming release date.
