If the changing temperature is any indication, fall is here and with it comes the annual Austin Film Festival. It is a Texas tradition to tease us with every falling degree, so in the spirit of tradition comes a preview of the standouts and quiet marvels the Austin Film Festival has to offer.

The festival, which runs from Oct. 20-27, is opening with the film “Butter,” an aptly titled comedy starring Jennifer Garner. In the movie, Garner’s character decides to step out from behind her husband’s shadow and compete in an Iowa town’s butter-carving tournament. Sure to be high in gender quarrels as well as cholesterol, “Butter” is on the tip of everyone’s tongues.

This year’s centerpiece film is “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” with co-writer/director Jay Duplass introducing the film. Jeff (Jason Segal) is a dreamer. However, his form of escapism involves slacker track pants, pot shenanigans and his mom’s couch.

The movie really kicks off when Jeff’s mother (Susan Sarandon) sends him out on an errand. Jeff views the task as a sign to investigate the odd phone calls he has been receiving. Throw his hedonistic brother Pat (Ed Helms) into the mix and you get an oddball comedy of coincidences that ends up illuminating the importance of familial relations.

Closing night features “Union Square” with actress Mira Sorvino as a special guest at the screening. Sorvino plays Lucy, the wild blast from the past her sister Jenny (Tammy Blanchard) has been trying to escape since the day she packed up and left the Bronx. This reunion forces them to reevaluate the separate worlds they built, hidden truths and the tumultuous family they cannot escape.

In addition to the festival’s main attractions, many notable films will be represented at this year’s Austin Film Festival. “Deadheads,” the uncanny take on the classic horror genre, follows two zombies on a quest to find lost love while being hunted down by bounty hunters.

“Martha Marcy May Marlene” features breakout star Elizabeth Olsen’s dizzying spiral into paranoia after escaping from an abusive cult. Also, “Coriolanus” takes Shakespeare’s play about a vengeful fallen general and makes this modern day equivalent eerily relevant. And worry not, weary war movie fanatics, the Bard’s signature purple fountains fill the streets in this one.

As for Oscar bait, Alexander Payne’s film “The Descendants” follows Matt King (George Clooney) as he becomes the sole trustee to a vastly undeveloped Hawaiian property. At the film’s core is a tale of secrets and family conflicts, with Clooney delivering a notably mature performance. Also encouraging Oscar talk is “The Artist,” a black and white film paying homage to the unexpected turbulence of the silent era.

Highlighting everything from early movie premiers to documentaries to independent films, the Austin Film Festival is sure to showcase the very best in the film world.