Gilda Radner in “Love, Gilda” (Photo courtesy of the Estate of Gilda Radner)
The following is a press release from the Tribeca Film Festival:
The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will open its 17th edition with the world premiere of LOVE, GILDA on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. CNN Films presents the feature length documentary – produced by 3 Faces Films in association with Motto Pictures – which opens a window into the world of celebrated Emmy® and Grammy® award-winning comedian Gilda Radner who became a cultural icon the moment audiences first laughed with her on Saturday Night Live’s debut episode. A trailblazer for female comedians, her impact on the entertainment industry has endured almost four decades. The film will premiere opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the city she called home when she catapulted to fame. Tickets for Opening Night go on sale on March 20 at www.tribecafilm.com/festival. The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18-29.
LOVE, GILDA is directed and produced by Lisa D’Apolito with the support of the Gilda Radner estate. The film is a true autobiography of a pioneering woman, told in her own words and in her own voice. It weaves together audiotapes, rare home movies, diary entries, and interviews with her friends and those inspired by her including: Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Cecily Strong; SNL original cast members Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, and Paul Shaffer; as well as Lorne Michaels (SNL creator and producer), Alan Zweibel (SNL writer), Stephen Schwartz (Broadway composer); Andrew Alexander (CEO of Second City), and long-time friend and actor Martin Short.
Gilda Radner captivated millions of television viewers as an original cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1975-1980. The popularity of her now classic comedic characters Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, and Lisa Loopner fueled the young talent to meteoric fame in television, movies, and on Broadway. After finding happiness in love with Gene Wilder she received the cruelest joke of all, cancer. Her fight against the disease served as an inspiration to people impacted by the illness to stay positive and to keep laughing no matter what challenges life brings you.
Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder in “Love, Gilda” (Photo courtesy of the Estate of Gilda Radner)
“As a Festival that has always supported women’s voices and is largely run by women we are incredibly proud to celebrate the inimitable voice of Gilda during the opening night of our Festival,” said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of the Tribeca Film Festival. “Gilda Radner was a powerful comedic force of nature who opened doors and thrilled audiences while becoming one of the most prolific comedians of a generation. Her cutting edge humor was only second to her dedicated leadership in cancer care with her eponymous Gilda’s Club.”
“LOVE, GILDA is the right film at the right time and the perfect way to open our Festival,” said Paula Weinstein, EVP of Tribeca Enterprises. “Gilda is a woman for the ages, an extraordinary talent in film, television, and theater who overcame her personal struggles to make us laugh, to make us cry. She understood the healing power of laughter not simply for her audience but in her own life as she struggled with cancer and lead the way for all of us to make the world a better place.”
First time feature filmmaker Lisa D’Apolito commented, “I fell in love with Gilda Radner while doing pro bono work at Gilda’s Club, the cancer support organization Gene Wilder founded in honor of Gilda, in Greenwich Village where I grew up. This started my journey to discover who Gilda was as a person and as a performer. Gilda inspired me and many other women with her remarkable spirit and unique talent that changed the world of comedy. I’m grateful and honored to share the extraordinary legacy of Gilda Radner at the Tribeca Film Festival.”
Gilda Radner in “Love, Gilda” (Photo courtesy of the Estate of Gilda Radner)
LOVE, GILDA brings audiences into the honest and whimsical world of a beloved performer, whose greatest role was sharing her story. The film is produced by Bronwyn Berry, Meryl Goldsmith, and James Tumminia, with Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn (Motto Pictures), Alan and Robin Zweibel, Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton (CNN Films) serving as executive producers.
Submarine is handling sales for the film.
The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 7.
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Snapchat: TribecaFilmFest About Tribeca Film Festival past opening nights:
Since its inception 17 years ago, Tribeca Film Festival has opened with a range of films, both narrative and documentary, that celebrate cinema and storytelling: 2017 – Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives (Documentary); 2016 – First Monday in May (Documentary); 2015 – Live from New York! (Documentary) with live performance from Ludacris; 2014 – Nas: Time is Ill-matic (Documentary) with live performance from Nas; 2013 – Mistaken for Strangers (Documentary) with live performance from The National ; 2012 – The Five-Year Engagement (Narrative); 2011 – The Union (Documentary) with live Elton John performance; 2010 – Shrek Forever After (Narrative); 2009 – Whatever Works (Narrative); 2008 – Baby Mama (Narrative); 2007 – SOS (Shorts program); 2006 – United 93 (Narrative); 2005 – The Interpreter (Narrative); 2004 – Raising Helen (Narrative); 2003 – Down with Love (Narrative); 2002 – About a Boy (Narrative) About the Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is the leading cultural event that brings visionaries and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. The Festival champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Now in its 17th year, the Festival has evolved into a destination for creativity that reimagines the cinematic experience and explores how art can unite communities. www.tribecafilm.com/festival
About the 2018 Sponsor
As Presenting Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, AT&T is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking through access and innovation, while expanding opportunities to diverse creators around the globe. AT&T helps millions connect to their passions – no matter where they are. This year, AT&T and Tribeca will once again collaborate to give the world access to stories from underrepresented filmmakers that deserve to be seen. AT&T Presents Untold Stories. An Inclusive Film Program in Collaboration with Tribeca, is a multi-year, multi-tier alliance between AT&T and Tribeca along with the year-round nonprofit Tribeca Film Institute.
The Tribeca Film Festival is pleased to announce its 2018 Signature Partners: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies’, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), BVLGARI, CHANEL, CHLOE WINE COLLECTION, ESPN, HEINEKEN, IBM, IWC Schaffhausen, National CineMedia (NCM), New York Magazine, Nutella, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Spring Studios New York, and TUMI.
The complete lineup of films has been announced for the 25th Annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals, which will take place in Austin, Texas, from March 9 to March 18, 2018. Some of the more high-profile films having their SXSW premieres include the apocalyptic thriller “A Quiet Place,” directed and co-written by John Krasinski and starring real-life spouses Krasisnki and Emily Blunt; “Boundaries,” written and directed by Shana Feste and starring Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer; “Paradox’, written and directed by Daryl Hannah and starring Neil Young;; and “Final Portrait,” directed by Stanley Tucci and starring Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer. “A Quiet Place” will be the opening-night film for the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.
In addition, the festival has announced Melinda Gates as the keynote speaker. She is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and recently launched Pivotal Ventures.
Other keynote speakers at the event include Darren Aronofsky (Film Keynote), Ta-Nehisi Coates (Convergence Keynote), Lyor Cohen (Music Keynote), Barry Jenkins (Film Keynote), Sadiq Khan (Convergence Keynote), Esther Perel (Interactive Keynote), and whurley (Convergence Keynote).
SXSW 2018’s featured speakers include filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Dell Technologies founder/CEO Michael Dell,; “Elvis Presley: The Searcger” executive producer Priscilla Presley and director Thom Zimny; Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater; futurist Ray Kurzweil; former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and shift7 founder Megan Smith;”Westworld” showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, fashion entrepreneur Rachel Zoe.
SXSW Conference programming is organized into 24 Tracks divided between Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence, presented in a variety of session formats. Continuing last year’s initiative, SXSW is offering expanded access to events for all registrants. Attendees will receive primary access to programming associated with their badge type but now also enjoy secondary entry to most other SXSW events.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Kate McKinnon and Taylor Schilling in “Family”
Family
Director/Screenwriter: Laura Steinel
When an emotionally stunted 30-year-old woman is tasked with watching her awkward and bullied 12-year-old niece for the week, she finds her life unfurling when the girl runs away to be a juggalo. Cast: Taylor Schilling, Bryn Vale, Brian Tyree Henry, Jessie Ennis, Blair Beeken, Matt Walsh, Allison Tolman, Eric Edelstein, Kate McKinnon, Fabrizio Guido (World Premiere)
First Match
Director/Screenwriter: Olivia Newman
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father. Cast: Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, Jared Kemp (World Premiere)
Jinn
Director/Screenwriter: Nijla Mu’min
A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving, black teenage Instagram celebrity explores her identity and sexuality in the midst of her mother’s conversion to Islam. Cast: Zoe Renee, Simone Missick, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Hisham Tawfiq, Kelly Jenrette, Dorian Missick, Ashlei Foushee, Maya Morales, Damien D. Smith (World Premiere)
The New Romantic (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Carly Stone
Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead. Cast: Jessica Barden, Hayley Law, Brett Dier, Timm Sharp, Avan Jogia, Camila Mendes (World Premiere)
Sadie
Director/Screenwriter: Megan Griffiths
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in a new man. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Sophia Mitri Schloss, John Gallagher Jr., Danielle Brooks, Tony Hale, Keith Williams, Tee Dennard (World Premiere)
Shotgun
Directors/Screenwriters: Hannah Marks, Joey Power
A young couple’s relationship develops quickly when one of them is diagnosed with a life-changing illness. Cast: Maika Monroe, Jeremy Allen White, DeRon Horton, Marisa Tomei, Sasha Lane, Joe Keery, Gina Gershon, Dean Winters, Olivia Luccardi (World Premiere)
Summer ’03
Director/Screenwriter: Becca Gleason
On her deathbed, Jamie’s grandmother leaves her with two pieces of information: one involves a baptism, the other a blowjob. This sets Jamie and her family on an emotional roller coaster ride while she falls for the wrong guy at the wrong time. Cast: Joey King, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Jack Kilmer, Erin Darke, Stephen Ruffin, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Logan Medina, June Squibb (World Premiere)
Thunder Road
Director/Screenwriter: Jim Cummings
Officer Arnaud loved his Mom. Cast: Kendal Farr, Jim Cummings, Nican Robinson, Jocelyn DeBoer, Macon Blair, Bill Wise, Jordan Fox, Chelsea Edmondson (World Premiere)
The Unicorn
Director: Robert Schwartzman, Screenwriters: Nick Rutherford, Kirk C. Johnson, Will Elliott
Facing the fourth year of their engagement, an indecisive couple is thrust into the most uncomfortable night of their lives by intentionally and unintentionally involving a third party in their relationship. Cast: Lauren Lapkus, Nick Rutherford, Lucy Hale, Beck Bennett, Dree Hemingway, Beverly D’Angelo, John Kapelos, Maya Kazan, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Kyle Mooney (World Premiere)
Write When You Get Work
Director/Screenwriter: Stacy Cochran
Write When You Get Work is a comedy of money and access, a NY love story set in the Bronx and at a pricey school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Years after they’ve parted ways, Jonny Collins pursues Ruth Duffy for love — and profit. Cast: Emily Mortimer, Finn Wittrock, Rachel Keller, Scott Cohen, Jessica Hecht, James Ransone, Andrew Schulz, Tess Frazer, Afton Williamson, Zarif Kabier (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
“Chi-Town” (Photo by Keifer Sykes)
Chi-Town
Director: Nick Budabin
An underdog basketball player from Chicago goes on a meteoric rise to become one of the best college point guards in the nation. But while he pursues dreams of the NBA, his success contrasts with the effects of gun violence on his friends back home. (World Premiere)
Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable
Director: Sasha Waters
Freyer Artist. Iconoclast. Man of his time. All Things are Photographable is a revealing documentary portrait of the life and work of acclaimed photographer Garry Winogrand – the epic storyteller in pictures of America across three turbulent decades. (World Premiere)
The Gospel of Eureka
Directors: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, Screenwriter: Donal Mosher
Faith, love and civil rights collide on voting day in a small Southern town that hosts a famous performance of the last days of Christ and an infamous gospel drag show. The new documentary by the award winning directors of October Country. (World Premiere)
¡Las Sandinistas! (Nicaragua, United States)
Director: Jenny Murray
¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality. (World Premiere)
People’s Republic of Desire (China)
Director: Hao Wu
In China’s popular live-streaming showrooms, three millennials – a karaoke singer, a migrant worker and a rags-to-riches comedian – seek fame, fortune and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as in their real lives. (World Premiere)
Social Animals
Director: Jonathan Green, Screenwriters: Carol Martori, Jonathan Green, Peter Garriott
A daredevil photographer, an aspiring swimsuit model, and a midwest girl next door are all looking for the same things from their Instagram accounts––a little love, acceptance and, of course, fame––and they’ll do just about anything to get it. (World Premiere)
This One’s For The Ladies
Director: Gene Graham
This One’s For The Ladies explores the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious accounts from women and men who find love and community in the underground world of exotic dancing. (World Premiere)
TransMilitary
Directors: Gabriel Silverman, Fiona Dawson, Screenwriters: Jamie Coughlin, Gabriel Silverman
At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect. (World Premiere)
Weed The People
Director: Abby Epstein
Weed the People captures the uplifting and heart-wrenching struggles of families who treat their cancer-stricken children with marijuana, some with astonishing results. (World Premiere)
The World Before Your Feet
Director: Jeremy Workman
For over 6 years, Matt Green, 37, has been walking every street in New York City – a total of more than 8000 miles. The World Before Your Feet tells the
story of one man’s unusual quest and the journey of discovery, humanity, and wonder that ensues. (World Premiere)
HEADLINERS
John Krasinski and Noah Jupe in “A Quiet Place” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures).
A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski, Screenwriters: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski, Producers: Platinum Dunes
If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you. Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds (World Premiere)
Blockers
Director: Kay Cannon, Screenwriters: Brian Kehoe, Jim Kehoe, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Eben Russell
When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. Cast: Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon (World Premiere)
Boundaries
Director/Screenwriter: Shana Feste
Laura and her troubled son Henry are forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing, carefree father Jack across country after being kicked out of a nursing home. Cast: Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Lewis MacDougall, Bobby Cannavale, Kristen Schaal, Dolly Wells, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Fonda (World Premiere)
Paradox
Director/Screenwriter: Daryl Hannah
A loud Poem. A whimsical western tale of music and love. Cast: Neil Young, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick, Anthony LoGerfo, Tato Melgar, Willie Nelson, Charris Ford, Dulcie Clarkson Ford (World Premiere)
Final Portrait (United Kingdom, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Stanley Tucci
Final Portrait is the story of the touching and offbeat friendship between world renowned artist Alberto Giacometti and American writer and art-lover James Lord, based on Lord’s memoir. Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud (North American Premiere)
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Abbi Jacobson in “6 Balloons” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
6 Balloons
Director/Screenwriter: Marja Lewis Ryan
Over the course of one night, a woman drives across LA with her heroin addict brother in search of a detox center, with his two year old daughter in tow. Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Charlotte Carel, Madison Carel, Jane Kaczmarek, Dewan Owens, Tim Matheson, Jen Tullock, Maya Erskine, Heidi Sulzman (World Premiere)
All Square
Director: John Hyams, Screenwriter: Timothy Brady
A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend’s son and gets the bright idea to take bets on his youth league baseball games; only to realize he’s killed what’s pure about the sport as the games turn ugly when money is on the line. Cast: Michael Kelly, Josh Lucas, Pamela Adlon, Tom Everett Scott, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Harris Yulin, Yeardley Smith, Jesse Ray Sheps, Jay Larson, Craig Walker (World Premiere)
Anchor and Hope (Spain)
Director/Screenwriter: Carlos Marques-Marcet
When the best friend of a bohemian lesbian couple agrees to be their surrogate, the three friends set out on an unconventional journey to start a family. Cast: Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin, David Verdaguer, Geraldine Chaplin (North American Premiere)
A Bluebird in My Heart (Belgium, France)
Director/Screenwriter: Jérémie Guez
Attempting to lead a quiet reformed life, an ex-con finds refuge in a motel run by a single mother and her daughter Clara. The peace and freedom he has found in this safe haven disappears when Clara is assaulted, forcing him to face his old demons. Cast: Roland Moller, Veerle Baetens, Lola Le Lann, Lubna Azabal (World Premiere)
The Breaker Upperers (New Zealand)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami
Two women run a business breaking up couples for cash but when one develops a conscience their friendship unravels. Cast: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami, Celia Pacquola, James Rolleston, Ana Scotney
(World Premiere)
Fast Color
Director: Julia Hart, Screenwriters: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz
In this genre-bending supernatural drama, a woman is forced to go on the run when her extraordinary abilities are discovered. Years after having abandoned her family, the only place she has left to hide is home. Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Denham, David Strathairn (World Premiere)
First Light (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Stone
A close encounter with mysterious lights sends two teens on the run after one discovers she has extraordinary but dangerous powers. Cast: Stefanie Scott, Theodore Pelerine, Said Taghmaoui
(World Premiere)
The Legacy of the Whitetail Deer Hunter
Director: Jody Hill
The great hunter Buck Ferguson and his trusted cameraman Don set out for an epic weekend adventure to reconnect with Buck’s young son. Cast: Josh Brolin, Danny McBride, Scoot McNairy, Montana Jordan (World Premiere)
Neurotic Quest for Serenity (Brazil)
Directors/Screenwriters: Paulinho Caruso, Teodoro Poppovic
Kika is going through a lot. She’s a famous actress. She has millions of fans. She’s about to star in a post apocalyptic soap opera. And she has obsessive compulsive disorder. Cast: Tatá Werneck, Vera Holtz, Bruno Gagliasso, Daniel Furlan (North American Premiere)
Outside In
Director: Lynn Shelton, Screenwriters: Lynn Shelton, Jay Duplass
An ex-con struggling to readjust to life in his small town forms an intense bond with his former high-school teacher. Cast: Jay Duplass, Edie Falco, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz
(U.S. Premiere)
Support The Girls
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski
The general manager at a highway-side ‘breastaurant’ has her incurable optimism and faith–in her girls, her customers, and herself–tested over the course of a long, strange day. Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Shayna McHale, James LeGros, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, John Elvis (World Premiere)
Unlovable
Director: Suzi Yoonessi, Screenwriters: Mark Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith, Charlene deGuzman
A sex- and love-addicted woman learns what real intimacy is when she starts making music with a reclusive man. Cast: Charlene deGuzman, John Hawkes, Melissa Leo, Paul James, Ellen Geer, Gigette Reyes (World Premiere)
A Vigilante
Director/Screenwriter: Sarah Daggar Nickson
A once abused woman, Sadie (Olivia Wilde), devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers while hunting down the husband she must kill to truly be free. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, CJ Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Jusy Marte (World Premiere)
Who We Are Now
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Newton
Beth, recently released from prison, tries to get custody of her son again and find her way back into the outside world, along the way realizing who she is isn’t about where she’s been, it’s about where she’s going. Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto, Jess Weixler, Jimmy Smits, Jason Biggs, Lea Thompson, Scott Cohen, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, J. Mallory McCree (U.S. Premiere)
Wild Nights With Emily
Director/Screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek
Molly Shannon plays Emily Dickinson in Wild Nights With Emily, a humorous drama. This independent film explores her vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years — most notably Emily’s lifelong romantic relationship with another woman. Cast: Molly Shannon, Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas, Al Sutton (World Premiere)
Wildling
Director: Fritz Bohm, Screenwriters: Fritz Bohm, Florian Eder
A blossoming teenager uncovers the dark secret behind her traumatic childhood. Cast: Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, James Le Gros, Troy Ruptash, Arlo Mertz, Aviva Winick (World Premiere)
You Can Choose Your Family
Director: Miranda Bailey, Screenwriter: Glen Lakin
A seventeen-year-old boy blackmails his father after discovering his secret second family. Cast: Jim Gaffigan, Logan Miller, Anna Gunn, Samantha Mathis, Alex Karpovsky, Hayes MacArthur, Michelle Hurd (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
“Agave: Spirit of a Nation” (Photo by Nate Pesce)
Agave: The Spirit of a Nation (Mexico, United States)
Directors: Nicholas Kovacic, Matthew Riggieri, Screenwriter: Chantal Martineau
In Mexico, families have passed down the tradition of distilling agave for generations and now, this once obscure Mexican drink is everywhere. Discover, how one delicate plant has carried the weight of a nation and the people trying to protect it. (World Premiere)
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Director: Robert Bader, Screenwriters: Robert S. Bader, Dick Cavett
The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on The Dick Cavett Show. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the Cavett Show. (World Premiere)
Alt-Right: Age of Rage
Director/Screenwriter: Adam Bhala Lough
In the first year of Trump’s Presidency, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an Antifa activist, combats the rise of the Alt-Right movement, while Richard Spencer, an Alt-Right leader, fights to gain ground, culminating in a tragic showdown in Charlottesville. (World Premiere)
The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man
Director: Tommy Avallone, Screenwriters: Tommy Avallone, Max Paolucci
One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend. (World Premiere)
Brewmaster
Director/Screenwriter: Douglas Tirola
Brewmaster follows a young ambitious New York lawyer who struggles to chase his American dream of becoming a brewmaster and a Milwaukee-based professional beer educator, as he attempts to become a Master Cicerone. (World Premiere)
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Director: Dana Adam Shapiro
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution is the never-before-told story of Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely-loyal den mother of the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. (World Premiere)
The Dawn Wall (Austria, United States)
Directors: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer
Legendary free climber Tommy Caldwell tries to get over heartbreak by scaling 3000ft of an impossible rock face: the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. (North American Premiere)
From All Corners (Japan)
Director: Ryusuke Okajima
Fuyuki Shimazu, the cardboard picker and artist, creates wallets made from used cardboard which he picks up from 25 countries. His wallets travel around the world to advocate the concept of “upcycling” which is the mind beyond recycling or re-use. (World Premiere)
Getting Over
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Charnick
A man discovers a box of interviews with his father, a lifelong heroin addict who died of AIDS in 1997. What he finds will uncover generations of family secrets, forcing him to redefine his own past, doubt his present, and question his future. (World Premiere)
Nossa Chape (Brazil, Colombia, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
Nossa Chape tracks the rebuilding of the Chapecoense football club in Brazil after an airplane carrying the team crashed on November 28th, 2016, and left all but three of the players dead. (World Premiere)
Operation Odessa
Director: Tiller Russell
The stranger-than-fiction true story of a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy, and a Cuban spy who teamed up in the early 90’s to sell a Soviet submarine to the Cali Carte. (World Premiere)
Take Your Pills
Director: Alison Klayman
Every era gets the drug it deserves. In America today, where competition is ceaseless from school to the workforce and everyone wants a performance edge, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are the defining drugs of this generation. (World Premiere)
Time Trial (United Kingdom)
Director: Finlay Pretsell
Time Trial takes us into the final races of cyclist David Millar’s career, leading to his last encounter with the Tour de France. The film reveals how the human spirit is driven by forces deeper than success and glory. (North American Premiere)
VISIONS
Cory Michael Smith in “1985” (Photo by Dutch Rall)
1985
Director/Screenwriter: Yen Tan
A young man goes home for the holidays and struggles to reveal a distressing secret to his loved ones. Cast: Cory Michael Smith, Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis, Jamie Chung, Aidan Langford, Ryan Piers Williams (World Premiere)
Don’t Leave Home
Director/Screenwriter: Michael Tully
An American artist’s obsession with a disturbing urban legend leads her to an investigation of the story’s origins at the crumbling estate of a reclusive painter in Ireland. Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, David McSavage, Karrie Cox (World Premiere)
Elizabeth Harvest (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Sebastian Gutierrez
Elizabeth Harvest is a science fiction reimagining of the French folktale of Bluebeard, in which a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives is confronted by a new wife trying to avoid the fate of her predecessors. Cast: Abbey Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, Dylan Baker (World Premiere)
Friday’s Child
Director/Screenwriter: A.J. Edwards
Fresh out of foster care at age 18, a young drifter turns to petty crime to survive, and discovers an impossible love in an unlikely friend. Cast: Tye Sheridan, Imogen Poots, Jeffrey Wright, Caleb Landry Jones (World Premiere)
Meow Wolf: Origin Story
Directors: Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller, Screenwriters: Jilann Spitzmiller, Morgan Capps, Christina Procter
A group of artists, punks, and weirdos create a subversive DIY collective to disrupt the art establishment in Santa Fe, NM, which in the face of internal turmoil evolves into a cultural phenomenon on the path to becoming a global creative empire. (World Premiere)
More Human Than Human (Netherlands, United States)
Directors: Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting
More Human Than Human explores what it means to live in the age of intelligent machines. During this quest, the filmmaker finds out how much of his creativity and human values are at stake as he builds his own robot to replace himself as a filmmaker. (World Premiere)
Perfect
Director: Eddie Alcazar, Screenwriter: Ted Kupper
A young man with a violent past enters a mysterious clinic where the patients wildly transform their bodies and minds using genetic engineering. Cast: Garrett Wareing, Courtney Eaton, Tao Okamoto, Maurice Compte, Abbie Cornish, Martin Sensmeier, Sarah McDaniel, Chris Santos, Leonardo Nam, Regan ‘Busdriver’ Farquhar (World Premiere)
Pet Names
Director: Carol Brandt, Screenwriter: Meredith Johnston
When her ill mother urges her to take a vacation from her caretaking, grad-school-dropout Leigh invites her ex along on the camping trip. The two soon find that confronting old wounds during a weekend in the woods is anything but restful. Cast: Meredith Johnston, Rene Cruz, Stacy Parish, Chelsea Norment, Jake Bradley, Lilliana Winkworth, Christina Seo (World Premiere)
Profile
Director: Timur Bekmambetov, Screenwriters: Britt Poulton, Timur Bekmambetov, Olga Kharina
Looking to investigate recruitment techniques of ISIS to lure women into Syria, Amy Whitaker, a journalist, creates a Facebook profile of a Muslim convert. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, she experiences the process first hand. Cast: Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Morgan Watkins, Amir Rahimzadeh (North American Premiere)
Prospect (Canada, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote moon on the hunt for elusive riches. But there are others roving the moon’s toxic forest and the job quickly devolves into a desperate fight to escape. Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glover (World Premiere)
Relaxer (Netherlands, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Joel Potrykus
Y2K is approaching fast, but Abbie can’t get off the couch until he beats an unbeatable level on Pac-Man. Cast List: Joshua Burge, David Dastmalchian, Andre Hyland, Adina Howard, Amari Cheatom (World Premiere)
Rukus
Director: Brett Hanover, Screenwriters: Brett Hanover, Alanna Stewart, Rukus
A hybrid of documentary and fiction, Rukus is a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds.
Thy Kingdom Come
Director: Eugene Richards
A cancer patient mad at God; a Klansman seeking redemption; a mother blamed for her baby’s death; an elderly woman never not in love; a priest who doesn’t pass judgment, who listens: Interwoven, unscripted stories of life in a small mid-America town. Cast: Javier Bardem, Callie Eldred, Tasia Moore, Joshua Collins, Adam Watters, Samantha Jo Chism Watters, Melvin Kemp, Melvin Cook, Kathryn Von Glahn, Eric Eudy (World Premiere)
Wild Honey Pie! (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Jamie Adams
Gillian and Oliver have reached the Seven Year Itch moment in their Marriage, being of the melodramatic persuasion they itch till their relationship bleeds! Cast: Jemima Kirke, Alice Lowe, Sarah Solemani, Brett Goldstein, Joanna Scanlon, Richard Elis, Dan Clark, William Thomas (World Premiere)
Wobble Palace
Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko, Screenwriters: Story by Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko
A week before the 2016 election, a couple on the verge of a nervous break-up decide to split their home over the weekend and test the waters of independence. Cast: Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Jack Kilmer, Paige Elkington, Caroline Hebert, Casey Jane Ellison, Vishwam Velandy, Janiva Ellis, Kim Ye, Elisha Drons (World Premiere)
EPISODIC
Henry Winkler and Bill Hader in “Barry” (Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)
Barry
Director: Bill Hader, Screenwriters: Alec Berg, Bill Hader
Barry features Bill Hader as a low-rent hitman from the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene. Cast: Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan (World Premiere)
Condor
Directors: Lawrence Trilling, Andrew McCarthy, Screenwriters: Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg
Inspired by Paramount’s Sydney Pollack 1975 political thriller Three Days of the Condor. Condor follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he stumbles onto a terrible plan that threatens millions of lives. Cast: Max Irons, William Hurt, Leem Lubany, Mira Sorvino, Brendan Fraser, Bob Balaban, Angel Bonnani, Katherine Cunningham, Christina Moses, Kristen Hager
(World Premiere)
Krypton
Directors: Colm McCarthy, Ciaran Donnelly, Screenwriters: Cameron Welsh, Damian Kindler and David S. Goyer, Story by David S. Goyer, Ian Goldberg
What if Superman had never existed? Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather, is faced with a conflict: Save Krypton? Or let it be destroyed in order to secure the future of his grandson-to-be?
Cast: Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Aaron Pierre, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, Blake Ritson, Ian McElhinney, Shaun Sipos, Colin Salmon (World Premiere)
The Last O.G.
Director: Jordan Peele, Screenwriters: Jordan Peele, John Carcieri
The Last O.G. is a show about humanity, second chances and redemption. Morgan plays Tray an ex-con who is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he returns to the free world after 15 years in prison. Cast: Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Allen Maldonado, Tiffany Haddish, Joel Marsh Garland, Gino Vento, Natalie Carter, Taylor Mosby, Ryan Gaul (World Premiere)
Vida
Directors: Alonso Ruizpalacios, So Yong Kim
Vida is about two estranged Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn’t be more different. Circumstances force them to return home where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity. Cast: Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Chelsea Rendon, Carlos Miranda, Maria Elena Laas (World Premiere)
Warriors of Liberty City
Directors: Evan Rosenfeld, Andrew Cohn
Warriors of Liberty City from showrunner Evan Rosenfeld follows a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a youth football program founded by an unlikely mentor: Luther Campbell, better known as Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew. Cast: Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Lavalrick Lucas, Jr., Lavalrick “Dread” Lucas, Sr. , George Harris, Jr. , George Harris, Sr., Barry Jenkins, Herbert Ritchie, Chatarius “Tutu” Atwell, Jr., Robert “Lamont” Beneby, Jr. (World Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Benjamin Dickey and Alia Shawkat in “BLAZE” (Photo by Steve Cosens)
BLAZE
Director: Ethan Hawke, Screenwriters: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen
The story of an unsung country music legend who gave up paradise for the sake of a song.
Cast: Benjamin Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Wyatt Russell, Jenn Lyon, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Richard Linklater
Elvis Presley The Searcher (Film 1 and 2)
Director: Thom Zimny
The documentary focuses on Elvis Presley as a musical artist. It explores how he accumulated his influences, deconstructs why his sound and his style were so revolutionary and examines the creative and personal struggles that preceded his death. (World Premiere)
Heavy Trip (Finland)
Directors: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Screenwriters: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Aleksi Puranen, Jari Olavi Rantala
A young man is trying to overcome his fears by leading the most unknown heavy metal band in to the hottest metal festival of Norway. The journey includes heavy metal, grave robbing, Viking heaven and an armed conflict between Finland and Norway. Cast: Johannes Holopainen, Minka Kuustonen, Max Ovaska, Antti Heikkinen, Samuli Jaskio, Chike Ohanwe, Ville Tiihonen (World Premiere)
If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd
Director: Stephen Kijak
The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd; The Greatest American Rock Band Ever. We fly beyond Free Bird to celebrate the life & times of leader Ronnie Van Zant, from boogie-woogie beginnings in Jacksonville’s Shantytown to a tragic end in a Mississippi swamp. (World Premiere)
Making the Grade (Ireland)
Director: Ken Wardrop
A feel-good musical journey of piano playing from absolute beginner through to accomplished pianist. (North American Premiere)
Milford Graves Full Mantis
Directors: Jake Meginsky, Neil Young (Co-Director)
Milford Graves Full Mantis weaves blistering performance footage from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. with a sublimely restrained, intimate glimpse into a world-renowned jazz percussionist’s singular voice and complex cosmology. (World Premiere)
The Potential of Noise – Conny Plank (Germany)
Directors: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Screenwriters: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Zisak Riemann
Movie about Conny Plank, the famous German music producer. (North American Premiere)
Rapture
Directors: Sacha Jenkins, Ben Selkow, Geeta Gandbhir, Steven Caple Jr., Marcus A. Clarke, Gabriel Noble
Rapture showcases the definitive impact of hip hop on global culture. Over 8 episodes featuring Nas, Dave East, T.I., Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, 2 Chainz and Just Blaze. (World Premiere)
Ruben Blades Is Not My Name (Panama)
Director/Screenwriter: Abner Benaim
Ruben Blades Is Not My Name portrays one of Latin America´s most beloved singer-songwriters in a journey across his 50-year career. In an intimate way, the film gives us a chance to get to know the artist, his music, and the stories behind them. (World Premiere)
A Tuba To Cuba
Directors: T.G Herrington, Danny Clinch, Screenwriter: T.G Herrington
A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba; Where, through the universal language of music, dark and ancient connections between our people will be reveal the roots of jazz. (World Premiere)
GLOBAL
Hopakuli in “A Little Wisdom”
A Little Wisdom (Nepal)
Director: Yuqi Kang
See he world through the eyes of five-year-old Tibetan novice monk Hopakuli and share in his joys and sorrows as he endures the rigors of monastic life. A Little Wisdom endeavors to tell a story of children who find happiness through religious life. (North American Premiere)
Martyr (Lebanon)
Director/Screenwriter: Mazen Khaled
A young man’s tragic death at Beirut’s seaside causes his friends to grapple with loss and to partake in his community’s rites and ceremonies, exposing the city’s schisms and its society’s fault lines. Cast: Carol Abboud, Hamza Mekdad, Mostafa Fahs, Hady Bou Ayash, Rachad Nassereddine, Rabih el Zaher, Raneem Mourad (North American Premiere)
Number 37 (South Africa)
Director/Screenwriter: Nosioho Dumisa
Number 37 is the story of Randall, wheelchair bound, playing a cat and mouse game blackmailing a powerful criminal whilst evading a sadistic loan shark who will kill him and his girlfriend if his loan is not paid back by the end of the week. Cast: Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, David Manuel, Sandy Schultz, Deon Lotz, Danny Ross, Amrain Essop, Elton Landrew, Jeff Moss (World Premiere)
Rush Hour (Mexico, Turkey, United States)
Director: Luciana Kaplan
Rush Hour is an intimate approach to personal stories of three commuters who spend hours of their lives going from home to work and back, reflection a common reality shared by billions of people. (U.S. Premiere)
Team Hurricane (Denmark)
Director/Screenwriter: Annika Berg
Team Hurricane – Radical Girls in an Ordinary World is a punk chick flick that mixes documentary material with highly stylized fiction. Cast: Eja Penelope Roepstorff, Ida Glitre, Ira Rønnenfelt, Maja Leth Bang, Mathilde Linnea Daugaard Jensen, Mia My Elise Pedersen, Sara Morling, Zara Munch Bjarnum (U.S. Premiere)
Theatre of War (Argentina)
Director/Screenwriter: Lola Arias
Theatre of War is an essay on how to represent war, performed by former enemies. British and Argentinian veterans of the Falklands war come together to discuss, rehearse and re-enact their memories 35 years after the conflict. (U.S. Premiere)
Virus Tropical (Colombia)
Director: Santiago Caicedo
Born in a not-so-conventional family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mold. With a unique feminine vision of the world, she will have to fight against prejudice and struggle for her independence. Cast: María Cecilia Sánchez, Alejandra Borrero, Diego León Hoyos, Martina Toro, Mara Gutiérrez, Camila Valenzuela, María Parada
FESTIVAL FAVORITES
“American Animals” (Photo courtesy of The Orchard)
American Animals (United States, United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Bart Layton
The unbelievable but true story of four young men who mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious art heists in US history. Cast: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier
Chef Flynn
Director: Cameron Yates
Chef Flynn captures the coming of age of a prodigy chef, as he navigates a sea of sudden fame, bullying, and his mother’s camera.
Constructing Albert (Estonia)
Directors: Laura Collado, Jim Loomis, Screenwriter: Laura Collado
In the world of haute cuisine, the name Adrià is synonymous with creativity. Constructing Albert is a portrait of the younger brother Albert as he strives to establish his own reputation in the world of international haute cuisine after elBulli.
Damsel
Directors/Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
An affluent pioneer ventures deep into the wilderness of the American West to join his fiancée. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Robert Forster, Joe Billingiere
Eighth Grade
Director/Screenwriter: Bo Burnham
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school—the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year—before she begins high school. Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan
First Reformed
Director/Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
The pastor of a small New England church (Ethan Hawke) spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried) in this taut, chilling thriller. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, Michael Gaston, Philip Ettinger, Victoria Hill
Generation Wealth
Director/Screenwriter: Lauren Greenfield
Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, Lauren Greenfield’s latest documentary bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream, and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism, and greed.
Half the Picture
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Adrion
Half the Picture is a feature length documentary about the dismal number of women directors working in Hollywood, featuring top female directors sharing their experiences in the industry.
Lean on Pete
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Haigh
From acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend; 45 Years), and based on the beloved novel by Willy Vlautin, comes Lean on Pete—a deeply moving story about love, loneliness, family, and friendship, told through the unique prism of one boy’s connection to a very special racehorse. Cast: Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Travis Fimmel
Narcissister Organ Player
Director/Screenwriter: Narcissister
This hybrid performance/documentary film explores how the artist’s complex family history, in particular her relationship with her mother, compelled her to create the masked, erotic performance character Narcissister.
Never Goin’ Back
Director/Screenwriter: Augustine Frizzell
Jessie and Angela, high school dropouts, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent’s due, they’re about to get fired and they’re broke. Now to avoid eviction and get to the beach, no matter what! Cast: Maia Mitchell, Cami Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Joel Allen, Kendal Smith, Matthew Holcomb, Atheena Frizzell, Spencer Rayshon, Marcus Mauldin, Liz Cardenas
On Her Shoulders
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Nadia Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi survivor of genocide and sexual slavery by ISIS. Repeating her horrific story to politicians, the media, and the United Nations, she must navigate bureaucracy, politics and sudden fame to get the world to listen.
Pass Over
Director: Spike Lee, Screenwriter: Antoinette Nwandu
Academy Award nominee and Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee captures the poetry, humor and humanity of this urgent and timely play about two young black men talking trash, passing the time, and dreaming of the promised land. A provocative riff on Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is written by newcomer Antoinette Nwandu. Cast: Jon Michael Hill, Julian Parker, Ryan Hallahan, Blake DeLong
The Rider
Director/Screenwriter: Chloé Zhao
After a tragic riding accident, a young cowboy, once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, is warned that his competition days are over. Back home, he struggles to find himself when he can no longer do what what gives him a sense of purpose. Cast: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Director: Morgan Neville
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? looks at children’s television host Mr. Rogers’ hard-fought campaign to influence generations of kids and adults in the ways of kindness.
SPECIAL EVENTS
“The Atomic Café” (Photo by Pierce Rafferty, Kevin Rafferty and Jayne Loader in Rolling Stone, 6/10/82)
The Atomic Café
Director: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty
The Atomic Cafe is a cult classic documentary from 1982. This is the 4K digital restoration. (World Premiere)
This Is Us
Director: Various
Everyone has a family. And every family has a story. This grounded, life-affirming dramedy reveals how the tiniest events in our lives impact who we become, and how the connections we share with each other can transcend time, distance and even death. Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley (World Premiere)
The winners of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival were announced at a ceremony hosted by Jason Manzoutkas on January 27 in Park City, Utah. The annual festival, which is presented by the Sundance Institute in Park City, runs from January 18 to January 28 this year.
Here is the complete list of winners:
Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane and Chloë Grace Moretz in “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (Photo by Jeong Park)
U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”
U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize: “Kailash”
World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: “Butterflies”
World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize: “Of Fathers and Sons”
U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Sara Colangelo, “The Kindergarten Teacher”
U.S. Documentary Directing Award: Alexandria Bombach, “On Her Shoulders”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting: Benjamin Dickey, “Blaze”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Filmmaking: “I Think We’re Alone Now”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature: Reinaldo Marco Green, “Monsters and Men”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling: “Three Identical Strangers”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking: “Minding the Gap”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking: “Crime + Punishment”
World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: Isold Uggadottir, “And Breathe Normally”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting: “Dead Pigs”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: “Time Share”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Valeria Bertuccelli, “The Queen of Fear”
World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: Sandi Tan, “Shirkers”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: “Our New President”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: “Genesis 2.0”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”
U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: “Burden”
U.S. Documentary Audience Award: “The Sentence”
World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: “The Guilty”
World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: “This Is Home”
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Christina Choe, “NANCY”
NEXT Audience Award: “Search”
NEXT Innovator Award: “Night Comes On” and “We the Animals” (TIE)
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize: Alfred P. Sloan Prize: “Search” (previously announced)
The following is a press release from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival:
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), presented by UGG®, announced today the highly anticipated lineup for the 33rd edition, which will run Jan. 31 to Feb. 10, 2018. The festival will offer a vast array of films representing 58 countries, 45 world premieres, and 53 U.S. premieres, along with tributes with the year’s top talent, panel discussions, and free community education and outreach programs.
OPENING NIGHT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqDUmVVfVWM
SBIFF 2018 will kick off the festival on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the historic Arlington Theatre with the world premiere of the public,written and directed by Emilio Estevez, starring Estevez, Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Taylor Schilling, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, Gabrielle Union, Jacob Vargas, Michael K. Williams, and Jeffrey Wright. The Opening Night Film is presented by Belvedere Vodka.
What begins as a nonviolent Occupy sit-in and ragtag act of civil disobedience quickly escalates into a standoff with local riot police, a no-nonsense crisis negotiator, and a savvy DA with lofty political ambitions.
Amidst dropping temperatures and flaring tempers on both sides of the lockdown, uncertainty looms around how the situation can be resolved without resorting to violence, while law enforcement officials and local media spin the facts to serve their own political agendas.
This David vs. Goliath story puts the spotlight on some of our nation’s most challenging issues: homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction, and sets the drama inside one of our last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.
Following the film, the Opening Night Gala, sponsored by Amazon Studios, will take place in the beautiful outdoor Paseo Nuevo Shops and Restaurants in downtown Santa Barbara. It will feature entertainment, food, libations, and a chance to celebrate the start of the 33rd SBIFF.
CLOSING NIGHT
The Festival will close Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Arlington Theatre with a to-be-announced film. The Closing Night Film is sponsored by Winchester Mystery House.
Following the film, the 33rd SBIFF will end with a final celebration at the Closing Night Party sponsored by Amazon Studios.
THE TRIBUTES
SBIFF has become an important showcase for Academy Award frontrunners, many of whom have arrived as nominees and gone on to win the Oscar. The 33rd SBIFF proudly celebrates some of the year’s finest work in film.
● Willem Dafoe will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award sponsored by Bella Vista Designs on Thursday, Feb. 1.
● Gary Oldman will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award, moderated by longtime friend, film historian, and award namesake Leonard Maltin on Friday, Feb. 2.
● The Virtuosos Award, presented by UGG®, will be awarded to Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Hong Chau (Downsizing), John Boyega (Detroit), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), and Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) on Saturday Feb. 3, moderated by Dave Karger.
● Saoirse Ronan will receive the Santa Barbara Award, presented by UGG®, on Sunday, Feb. 4.
● The Variety Artisans Awards, sponsored by Variety, will take place on Monday, Feb. 5, and will be moderated by Tim Gray. Honorees to be announced.
● The Outstanding Directors of the Year Award, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, will be Tuesday, Feb. 6. Honorees to be announced.
● Sam Rockwell will receive the American Riviera Award, sponsored by Bright Event Rentals, on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
All tributes take place at the historic Arlington Theatre with the exception of the Variety Artisans Award which will be at the Lobero Theatre, presented by Toyota Mirai.
THE PANELS
SBIFF has become renowned for creating smart, insightful panels that feature a who’s who in the world of filmmaking, including many Oscar contenders.
● Producers Panel will be on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m., moderated by Glenn Whipp.
● Writers Panel will be on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m., moderated by Anne Thompson.
● Women’s Panel will be on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m., moderated by Madelyn Hammond.
All panels take place at the Lobero Theatre, presented by Toyota Mirai. Panelists to be announced.
THE JURY
Films in several of the Festival’s film categories are in competition. These categories are viewed by a hand-selected group of industry professionals including: Jan Bijvoet, Geoffrey Cowper, Martin Gooch, Simon Helberg, Jesus Lloveras, Alan Marshall, Carol Marshall, Marc Meyers, José Novoa, Artie Schmidt, Leslie Zemeckis, Anthony Zerbe, and Arnette Zerbe. On the last day of the Festival, the award-winning films will be announced at the annual SBIFF awards breakfast.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND FREE SCREENINGS
Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies – Named for renowned nature cinematographer Mike deGruy, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies uses filmmaking to stimulate creative, confident, and culturally aware thinkers. The program is offered to 4,000 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students from throughout Santa Barbara County, and SBIFF provides free transportation to students from Title I schools. This year SBIFF is thrilled to present the critically acclaimed hit Coco, featuring co-director Adrian Molina, who will participate in a Q&A following the screenings with the students to discuss the craft of animated filmmaking. Sponsored by Montecito Bank & Trust, Patagonia, Santa Barbara Foundation, Union Bank, and Volentine Family Foundation.
Student Film Studies Program – Returning for its fourth year thanks to the generosity of Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, the national student film studies program will bring 30 undergraduate film students from across the country for a three-day symposium with a focus on film appreciation, criticism, and analysis. Sixty college students in Santa Barbara have the opportunity to take an 11-Day Film Festival course through Santa Barbara City College and Antioch University.
AppleBox Family Films – SBIFF will again screen animated feature frontrunners free to families on the weekends of the Festival with complimentary popcorn and refreshments. This year’s screenings will include Despicable Me 3 (10 a.m. on Feb. 3), Coco(10 a.m. on Feb. 4), and Boss Baby (10 a.m. on Feb. 10). Sponsored by Metropolitan Theatres.
10–10–10Student Screenwriting and Filmmaking Mentorship and Competition – In October, 20 high school and college screenwriters and filmmakers were accepted after a competitive application process before beginning a series of workshops, a table read, and a casting day. Since then, the ten writer/director teams and their crews have worked with industry mentors to produce short films that will be screened on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. at The Arlington Theatre, with an announcement of the winning scripts and films following the screening. Sponsored by Final Draft Inc. and generously supported by the Riordan Foundation.
Free Public Screenings – SBIFF will again offer critically acclaimed film screenings free to the public at the Lobero Theatre presented by Toyota Mirai everyday throughout the Festival.
Filmmaker Seminars – SBIFF will again present educational seminars that will be free to the public and will take place in the Visit the Santa Ynez Valley Lounge throughout the Festival at 11 a.m.
Super Silent Sunday –On Sunday, Feb. 4, SBIFF will present Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 silent film City Lights at the Arlington Theatre completely free to the public. Live accompaniment will be provided by Adam Aceto on the theatre’s Wonder Morton pipe organ. Super Silent Sunday is sponsored by Winchester Mystery House.
Youth CineMedia – SBIFF presentsa documentary film series produced entirely by teens involved in the Youth CineMedia program. Striving to help children transition away from gang life, drugs, and alcohol and into college and careers in music, photography, and video production, the organization offers creative tools, training, and support for underprivileged and at–risk teens. Free to the public with Q&A following on Saturday, Feb. 10.
FOCUS ON SANTA BARBARA
Support Santa Barbara – The community of Santa Barbara extends its heartfelt thanks to the firefighters and first responders whose extraordinary efforts helped protect the Santa Barbara South Coast during the recent Thomas Fire and Flood. We encourage visitors to show their support for area businesses by staying overnight, dining out, shopping and exploring the region’s myriad attractions during the festival.
Santa Barbara Filmmakers – The Santa Barbara filmmaking community continues to captivate and inspire audiences with this year’s impressive lineup. Santa Barbara filmmakers provide a diverse, thought–provoking series of features and shorts.
The “Stand Up” Award sponsored by ADL – The Santa Barbara Tri–Counties Region of the Anti–Defamation League will be sponsoring and presenting the “ADL Stand Up Award” to a dramatic film in the festival that represents an important addition to the efforts of the ADL “to secure justice and fair treatment for all.”
The Social Justice Award sponsored by Pacific Standard — Pacific Standard will be sponsoring and presenting The Social Justice Award to a special film that aligns with their mission to inform audiences on current social, economic, environmental, and political justice issues.
The Tribute Awards were once again specially designed by Santa Barbara’s own Daniel Gibbings Jewelry. The award is inspired by the iconic steeple of Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theatre, is handcrafted in metal, and is 24 karat gold–plated, with a custom marble base.
33rd Festival Poster Unveiled – Barbara Boros has designed the SBIFF poster each year for 15 years, this year highlighting the historic Arlington Theatre.
Official Festival Hub – The official festival hub will again be located at Hotel Santa Barbara, returning for their 15th year as supporters of SBIFF.
2018 FILMS
SBIFF features exciting, culturally enlightening, and entertaining programming and sidebars. 200+ films from around the world will be brought together to form an incredibly unique and diverse festival experience.
Below is the list of features and short films at the 2018 SBIFF. For the complete list of films, synopses, and other special events please visit www.sbiff.org.
23 WORLD PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS(listed alphabetically)
A Sniper’s War, USA, Ukraine, Russia
Directed by Olya Schechter
Acid Horizon, USA
Directed by Ivan Hurzeler
Broke: The Santa Barbara Oil Pipeline Spill of 2015, USA
Directed by Gail Osherenko
Chasing the Thunder, USA
Directed by Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin
The Doctor From India, USA
Directed by Jeremy Frindel
The End of Meat (Eine welt ohne fleisch), Germany
Directed by Marc Pierschel
The Independents, USA
Directed by Greg Naughton
Living in the Futures Past, USA
Directed by Susan Kucera
Making Babies, USA
Directed by Josh Huber
Metamorphosis, Canada
Directed by Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper
My Indiana Muse, USA
Directed by Ric and Jen Serena
¡Oh Mamy Blue!, Spain
Directed by Antonio Hens
Off the Menu, USA
Directed by Jay Silverman
One Last Night, USA
Directed by Anthony Sabet
the public, USA
Directed by Emilio Estevez
The Push, USA
Directed by Grant Korgan
Scotch: A Golden Dream, USA
Directed by Andrew Peat
Silicon Beach, USA
Directed by Max Gold
Threesome (Le trip à trois), Canada
Directed by Nicolas Monette
Waiting for the Drop: Rise of the Superstar DJs, USA
Directed by Alexei Barrionuevo
The War in Between, USA
Directed by Riccardo Ferraris
We Are Galapagos, USA
Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani
The White Orchid, USA
Directed by Steve Anderson
46 U.S. PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS(listed alphabetically)
3 Things (3 ting), Denmark
Directed by Jens Dahl
A Land Without Borders, Israel
Directed by Michael Alalu and Nir Baram
Adventures in Public School, Canada
Directed by Kyle Rideout
Before I Forget (Antes que eu me esqueça), Brazil
Directed by Tiago Arakilian
Beyond – An African Surf Documentary, Austria
Directed by Mario Hainzl
Beyond Dreams (Dröm vidare), Sweden
Directed by Rojda Serkersöz
Big Wata, Netherlands
Directed by Jan Paul Van der Velden
Bingo: The King of the Mornings (Bingo: O rei das manhãs), Brazil
Directed by Daniel Rezende
Black Kite, Canada, Afghanistan
Directed by Tarique Qayumi
The Butterfly Tree, Australia
Directed by Priscilla Cameron
Cardinals, Canada
Directed by Grayson Moore & Aidan Shipley
Catch the Wind (Prendre le large), France
Directed by Gaël Morel
Darling, Denmark
Directed by Birgitte Stærmose
Daybreak (Dita zë fill), Albania
Directed by Gentian Koçi
The Double Lover (L’amant double), France
Directed by François Ozon
Edie, UK
Directed by Simon Hunter
The Eternal Road (Ikitie), Finland
Directed by Antti-Jussi Annila
Euthanizer (Armomurhaaja), Finland
Directed by Teemu Nikki
The Faithful Son (La part sauvage), Belgium
Directed by Guérin van de Vorst
Fence Your Best, Israel
Directed by Liat Mer
Fifty Springtimes (Aurore), France
Directed by Blandine Lenoir
Filthy (Spina), Czech Republic, Slovakia
Directed by Tereza Nvotová
Get the Weed (Misión no oficial), Uruguay
Directed by Denny Brechner, Alfonso Guerrero and Marcos Hecht
Giant (Handia), Spain
Directed by Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi
Grace and Splendor (Donaire y esplendor), Panama
Directed by Arturo Montenegro
Grand Cru, Canada
Directed by David Eng
Guerrero, Mexico
Directed by Ludovic Bonleux
Imposed Piece (Opgelegd Werk), Belgium
Directed by Brecht Vanhoenacker
In Love and In Hate (Los que aman, odian), Argentina
Directed by Alejandro Maci
The Island, Israel
Directed by Adam Weingrod
The Last Suit (El último traje), Argentina
Directed by Pablo Solarz
Maracaibo, Argentina
Directed by Miguel Angel Rocca
Mary Goes Round, Canada
Directed by Molly McGlynn
Meditation Park, Canada
Directed by Mina Shum
Modified, Canada
Directed by Aube Giroux
The Order of Things (L’ordine delle cose), Italy
Directed by Andrea Segre
Sad Hill Unearthed, Spain
Directed by Guillermo de Oliveira
Secret Ingredient (Iscelitel), Greece
Directed by Gjorce Stavreski
Soviet Hippies, Estonia, Germany, Finland
Directed by Terje Toomistu
Sunshine That Can Move Mountains, China
Directed by Qiang Wang
Star Boys (Kaiken se kestää), Sweden
Directed by Visa Koiso-Kanttila
The Swan (Svanurinn), Iceland, Estonia, Germany
Directed by Ása Hjörleifsdóttir
The Unseen (Los últimos), Argentina
Directed by Nicolás Puenzo
Unwanted (T’padashtun), Kosovo, Netherlands
Directed by Edon Rizvanolli
Wall, Canada
Directed by Cam Christiansen
While We Live (Mens vi lever), Denmark
Directed by Mehdi Avaz
NON-PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS(listed alphabetically)
All You Can Eat Buddha, Canada, Cuba
Directed by Ian Lagarde
Angels Wear White (Jia nian hua), China, France
Directed by Vivian Qu
Arrhythmia (Aritmiya), Russia, Finland, Germany
Directed by Boris Khlebnikov
Back to Burgundy (Ce qui nous lie), France
Directed by Cédric Klapisch
Beartrek, USA, Canada, Indonesia, Peru
Directed by Chris Morgan & Joe Pontecorvo
Blue, Australia
Directed by Karina Holden
Borg vs. McEnroe, Sweden, Denmark, Finland
Directed by Janus Metz
Breath (Nafas), Iran
Directed by Narges Abyar
Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey, USA, Canada, China
Directed by Dave O’Leske
Elish’s Notebooks, Israel
Directed by Golan Rise
The Essential Link – The Story of Wilfred Israel, Israel
Directed by Yonatan Nir
Faces Places (Visages, villages), France
Directed by JR and Agnès Varda
The Future Ahead (El futuro que viene), Argentina
Directed by Constanza Novick
The Gospel According to André, USA
Directed by Kate Novack
Gutland, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium
Directed by Govinda Van Maele
Holy Camp! (La Llamada), Spain
Directed by Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo
Hotel Salvation (Mukti Bhawan), India
Directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani
Icarus, USA
Directed by Bryan Fogel
In Syria (Insyriated), Belgium, France, Lebanon
Directed by Philippe Van Leeuw
The Insult (L’insulte), Lebanon
Directed by Ziad Doueiri
Just Like Our Parents, Brazil
Directed by Laís Bodanzky
Killer Bees, USA
Directed by Ben & Orson Cummings
Kim Swims, USA
Directed by Kate Webber
Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy, USA
Directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer
The Line (Čiara), Slovakia, Ukraine
Directed by Peter Bebjak
Love Means Zero, USA
Directed by Jason Kohn
Miracle on 42nd Street, USA
Directed by Alice Elliott
Montana, Israel
Directed by Limor Shmila
Nelson Algren Live, USA
Directed by Oscar Bucher
Oh Lucy!, USA, Japan
Directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi
The Party, USA
Directed by Sally Potter
Point of No Return, USA
Directed by Quinn Kanaly & Noel Dockstader
The Quartette (Kvarteto), Czech Republic
Directed by Miroslav Krobot
Racer and the Jailbird (Le fidèle), Belgium
Directed by Michaël R. Roskam
Scaffolding (Pigumim), Israel, Poland
Directed by Matan Yair
Scary Mother, Georgia, Estonia
Directed by Ana Urushadze
Skid Row Marathon, USA
Directed by Mark Hayes
Sky and Ground, USA, Serbia/Montenegro, Macedonia, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Austria
Directed by Joshua Bennett & Talya Tibbon
Something New (Qualcosa di nuovo), Italy
Directed by Cristina Comencini
Soufra, Singapore, USA, Lebanon
Directed by Thomas A. Morgan
The Starry Sky Above Me, (Le ciel étoilé au-dessus de ma tête), France
Directed by Ilan Klipper
Streetlight Harmonies, USA
Directed by Brent Wilson
The Third Murder, (Sandome no Satsujin), Japan
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle (Tulipani: Liefde, Eer en een Fiets), Netherlands
Directed by Mike van Diem
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace, USA
Directed by Rich Gentile
Under the Tree (Undir Trénu), Iceland, Denmark, Poland & Germany
Directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson
Wife and Husband (Moglie e marito), Italy
Directed by Simone Godano
You Disappear (Du forsvinder), Denmark, Sweden
Directed by Peter Schønau Fog
SHORTS FILMS (listed alphabetically)
22 WORLD PREMIERES / 7 U.S. PREMIERES
72%, Spain – US Premiere
Directed by Lluis Quilez
Abroad, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Zayn Alexandar
Aeris, USA
Directed by Paul Castro Jr.
Afterwork, Spain, Peru, Ecuador – World Premiere
Directed by Luis Uson
The Artist & The Great Bear, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Jeff Mcloughlin
As Long As It Takes (Le temps qu’il faut), Canada
Directed by Abeille Tard
Audition, USA
Directed by Richard Van
Bargain, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Clifford Miu
Basha Man, China
Directed by Daniel Chein
Bigfoot’s Love Slave, USA
Directed by Heather Tom
The Cannonball Woman, (La femme canon), France, Switzerland, Canada – US Premiere
Directed by David Toutevoix and Albertine Zullo
Cascarón, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Casey McGarry
Catacomb, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Alex Z. Avila
Couch for Sale, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Takashi Doscher
Cowboy of Mount Laurier (Le cowboy du mont Laurier), Canada – US Premiere
Directed by Gabriel Vilandré
Crossing the Channel, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Ryan Slattery
Cuba: Music Revolution, USA
Directed by Juan Ponce de León
Dancing with Dragons, USA, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Mexico, Belize
Directed by Mark Romanov
Don’t Mind Alice, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Maude Apatow & Olivia Rosenbloom
The Driver Is Red, USA
Directed by Randall Christopher
Field Song (Canción de Campo), USA
Directed by Brad Bischoff
Fern, UK – US Premiere
Directed by Johnny Kelly
Ferryman at the Wall, USA
Directed by David Freid
Fingerprints, USA
Directed by Don Hardy
From Golf Course to Wetland, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Michael Love
Hide and Seek (Bújócska), Hungary
Directed by Gábor Benő Baranyi
Home Shopper, USA
Directed by Dev Patel
Hybrids, France
Directed by Florian Brauch, Kim Tailhades, Matthieu Pujol, Romain Thirion and Yohan Thireau
Keep Calm and Tampon, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Claudia Lonow
Killing Games: Wildlife in the Crosshairs, USA
Directed by Camilla H. Fox
The Last Man You Meet, USA
Directed by Chris Bone
Long Term Delivery, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Jake Honig
Los Comandos, USA
Directed by Joshua Bennett
Lunch Ladies, USA
Directed by J.M. Logan
Mariela, UK
Directed by Victoria Romero
Martien, Switzerland
Directed by Maxime Pillonel
Me, My Phone and I, USA
Directed by Luke Mullen
Mott Haven, USA
Directed by Kyle Morrison
Negative Space, France
Directed by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
Online Shopping, Iran
Directed by Ghasideh Golmakani
Out of the Ashes, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Hallie Brown
Poles Apart, USA
Directed by Paloma Baeza
Phototaxis, USA
Directed by Melissa Ferrari
The Red Flag, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Mike Winger
RFLKTR, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Matt K. Turner
Santa Claus, USA
Directed by Jeff Man
Sequin, Taiwan – US Premiere
Directed by Yachi Yang
Siren Song: Women Singers of Pakistan, USA, Pakistan, and India
Directed by Fawzia Afzal-Khan
Shadow Boxer (Skyggebokser), Denmark – World Premiere
Directed by Andreas Bøggild Monies
Shark Bight, USA – US Premiere
Directed by Stephanie Foster
The Shift, USA
Directed by Elivia Shaw
Simularity, USA
Directed by Ryan O’Nan
Soul of the City, USA – World Premiere
Directed by John Klein
Souls of Totality, USA
Directed by Richard Raymond
Space Butthole, USA
Directed by David Chai
The Take Off, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Ryan Kalil
The Tesla World Light, (Tesla: Lumière Mondiale), Canada
Directed by Matthew Rankin
Tigerstyle, United Kingdom, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Elliott Powell, Jordyn Romero, Paloma Young, Rachel Lattin, and Riani Singgih
The Tipping Point, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Danielle Cohen
Toward the North (Hacia el norte), USA
Directed by Elivia Shaw, Jessica Chermayeff, and Joshua Bennett
Towards the Sun (Hacia el sol), United Kingdom
Directed by Monica Santis
Two Balloons, USA – US Premiere
Directed by Mark C. Smith
Under Her Wing, USA
Directed by Keenan McGuckin
Undiscovered, USA
Directed by Sara Litzenberger
Virtually Yours, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Andrea Lithner
Wildlife and the Wall, USA
Directed by Ben Masters
You Are Here, United Kingdom
Directed by Nicholas Jones
Yours Sincerely, Lois Weber, USA
Directed by Svetlana Cvetko
ABOUT THE SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 32 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.
Sponsors of the 33rd SBIFF include: UGG®, Belvedere Vodka, Toyota Mirai, City of Santa Barbara, Amazon Studios, Dom Pérignon, ADL, Montecito Bank & Trust, Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, IMDB, Santa Barbara Foundation, Union Bank, Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation, Patagonia, Winchester Mystery House, Pacific Standard, Riordan Foundation, Lynda Weinman & Bruce Heavin, Volentine Family Foundation, and many more supporting through trade.
SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community through free programs like its 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, National Film Studies Program, AppleBox Family Films, 3rd Weekend and educational seminars. In June of 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. The theatre is SBIFF’s new home and is the catalyst for program expansion and marks the first time that Santa Barbara has had a 24/7 community center to expand their mission of educational outreach.
The following is a press release from Sundance Institute:
Sundance Institute showcases bold, independent storytelling at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, beginning with today’s announcement of feature films selected across all categories. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 18–28.
The Festival represents the flagship of the Institute’s public programs, which also include Festivals in London and Hong Kong and other screenings throughout the year. Sundance Institute supports independent artists with year-round programs, granting more than $2.5 million and convening 25 global residency Labs focusing on theatre, film, New Frontier and episodic content.
Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “The work of independent storytellers can challenge and possibly change culture, illuminating our world’s imperfections and possibilities. This year’s Festival is full of artfully-told stories that provoke thought, drive empathy and allow the audience to connect, in deeply personal ways, to the universal human experience.”
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “We’re proud of the diversity of this year’s lineup; emboldening broader, more inclusive independent voices is a crucial part of our work at the Festival and throughout the year. These stories might inspire or move us, even occasionally make us uncomfortable – but they can shift our perspectives, spark conversation and create change.”
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “These films and voices offer a creative lens to view our complex times. This is connected, relevant, global art that provides a fresh alternative to the noise dominating the cultural mainstream, and an inspiration for its future.”
For the 2018 Festival, 110 feature-length films were selected, representing 29 countries and 47 first-time filmmakers, including 30 in competition.These films were selected from 13,468 submissions including 3,901 feature-length films and 8,740 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 1,799 were from the U.S. and 2,102 were international. One-hundred feature films at the Festival will be world premieres. In 2017, the Festival drew 71,638 attendees, generated $151.5 million in economic activity for the state of Utah and supported 2,778 local jobs.
More lineup announcements, including Shorts, new-this-year Indie Episodic and New Frontier, are forthcoming; watch sundance.org/festival.
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Fruitvale Station, Patti Cake$, Swiss Army Man and The Diary of a Teenage Girl.
Jared Abrahamson, Evan Peters, Blake Jenner and Barry Keoghan in “American Animals” (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
American Animals / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bart Layton, Producers: Derrin Schlesinger, Katherine Butler, Dimitri Doganis, Mary Jane Skalski) — The unbelievable but mostly true story of four young men who mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious art heists in U.S. history. Cast: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier. World Premiere
BLAZE /U.S.A. (Director: Ethan Hawke, Screenwriters: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen, Producers: Jake Seal, John Sloss, Ryan Hawke, Ethan Hawke) — A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement; he gave up paradise for the sake of a song. Cast: Benjamin Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Charlie Sexton. World Premiere
Blindspotting / U.S.A. (Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada, Screenwriters: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Producers: Keith Calder, Jess Calder, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs) — A buddy comedy in a world that won’t let it be one. Cast:Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones. World Premiere. DAY ONE
Burden / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Heckler, Producers: Robbie Brenner, Jincheng, Bill Kenwright) — After opening a KKK shop, Klansman Michael Burden falls in love with a single mom who forces him to confront his senseless hatred. After leaving the Klan and with nowhere to turn, Burden is taken in by an African-American reverend, and learns tolerance through their combined love and faith. Cast:Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker, Andrea Riseborough, Tom Wilkinson, Usher Raymond. World Premiere
Eighth Grade/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bo Burnham, Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub) — Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school. Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton. World Premiere.
I Think We’re Alone Now / U.S.A. (Director: Reed Morano, Screenwriter: Mike Makowsky, Producers: Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fernando Loureiro, Roberto Vasconcellos, Peter Dinklage, Mike Makowsky) — The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse – until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship. Cast: Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning.World Premiere
The Kindergarten Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sara Colangelo, Producers: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler) — Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent. Based on the acclaimed Israeli film. Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, Anna Barynishikov, Michael Chernus, Gael Garcia Bernal. World Premiere
Lizzie / U.S.A. (Director: Craig William Macneill, Screenwriter: Bryce Kass, Producers: Naomi Despres, Liz Destro) — Based on the 1892 murder of Lizzie Borden’s family in Fall River, MA, this tense psychological thriller lays bare the legend of Lizzie Borden to reveal the much more complex, poignant and truly terrifying woman within — and her intimate bond with the family’s young Irish housemaid, Bridget Sullivan. Cast:Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jamey Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, Kim Dickens, Denis O’Hare. World Premiere
The Miseducation of Cameron Post / U.S.A. (Director: Desiree Akhavan, Screenwriters: Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele, Producers: Cecilia Frugiuele, Jonathan Montepare, Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub) — 1993: after being caught having sex with the prom queen, a girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center. Based on Emily Danforth’s acclaimed and controversial coming-of-age novel. Cast:Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr., Jennifer Ehle. World Premiere
Monster / U.S.A.(Director: Anthony Mandler, Screenwriters: Radha Blank, Cole Wiley, Janece Shaffer, Producers: Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver, Aaron L. Gilbert, Mike Jackson, Edward Tyler Nahem) — “Monster” is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student and aspiring filmmaker Steve Harmon. Charged with felony murder for a crime he says he did not commit, the film follows his dramatic journey through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison. Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson, Rakim Mayers, Jennifer Ehle, Tim Blake Nelson. World Premiere
Monsters and Men / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Reinaldo Marcus Green, Producers: Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Josh Penn, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Luca Borghese) — This interwoven narrative explores the aftermath of a police killing of a black man. The film is told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand. Cast: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams, Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan. World Premiere
NANCY/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Christina Choe, Producers: Amy Lo, Michelle Cameron, Andrea Riseborough) — Blurring lines between fact and fiction, Nancy becomes increasingly convinced she was kidnapped as a child. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing thirty years ago, reasonable doubts give way to willful belief – and the power of emotion threatens to overcome all rationality. Cast: Andrea Riseborough, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd, John Leguizamo. World Premiere
Sorry to Bother You / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Boots Riley, Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Charles King, George Rush, Jonathan Duffy, Kelly Williams) — In a speculative and dystopian not-too-distant future, black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe. Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler, Armie Hammer, Omari Hardwicke. World Premiere
The Tale/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jennifer Fox, Producers: Oren Moverman, Lawrence Inglee, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Sol Bondy, Simone Pero) — An investigation into one woman’s memory as she’s forced to re-examine her first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive; based on the filmmaker’s own story. Cast: Laura Dern, Isabel Nelisse, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Ellen Burstyn, Common. World Premiere
TYREL /U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva, Producers: Jacob Wasserman, Max Born) — Tyler spirals out of control when he realizes he’s the only black person attending a weekend birthday party in a secluded cabin. Cast: Jason Mitchell, Christopher Abbott, Michael Cera, Caleb Landry Jones, Ann Dowd. World Premiere
Wildlife/ U.S.A. (Director: Paul Dano, Screenwriters: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Producers: Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker) — Montana, 1960: A portrait of a family in crisis. Based on the novel by Richard Ford. Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp, Jake Gyllenhaal. World Premiere
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people and events that shape the present day. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Chasing Coral, Life, Animated, Cartel Land and City of Gold.
Fernando Serrano in ‘Bisbee ’17” (Photo by Jarred Alterman/4t Row Films)
Bisbee ’17 / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Robert Greene, Producers: Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott) — An old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past. Cast: Fernando Serrano, Laurie McKenna, Ray Family, Mike Anderson, Graeme Family, Richard Hodges.World Premiere
Crime + Punishment / U.S.A. (Director: Stephen Maing) — Over four years of unprecedented access, the story of a brave group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and one unrelenting private investigator who, amidst a landmark lawsuit, risk everything to expose illegal quota practices and their impact on young minorities. World Premiere
Dark Money / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kimberly Reed, Producer: Katy Chevigny) — “Dark money” contributions, made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, flood modern American elections – but Montana is showing Washington D.C. how to solve the problem of unlimited anonymous money in politics. World Premiere
The Devil We Know / U.S.A. (Director: Stephanie Soechtig, Producers: Kristin Lazure, Stephanie Soechtig, Joshua Kunau, Carly Palmour) — Unraveling one of the biggest environmental scandals of our time, a group of citizens in West Virginia take on a powerful corporation after they discover it has knowingly been dumping a toxic chemical — now found in the blood of 99.7% of Americans — into the local drinking water supply. World Premiere. THE NEW CLIMATE
Hal / U.S.A. (Director: Amy Scott, Producers: Christine Beebe, Jonathan Lynch, Brian Morrow) — Hal Ashby’s obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby’s uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce. World Premiere
Hale County This Morning, This Evening / U.S.A. (Director: RaMell Ross, Screenwriter: Maya Krinsky, Producers: Joslyn Barnes, RaMell Ross, Su Kim) — An exploration of coming-of-age in the Black Belt of the American South, using stereotypical imagery to fill in the landscape between iconic representations of black men and encouraging a new way of looking, while resistance to narrative suspends conclusive imagining – allowing the viewer to complete the film. World Premiere
Inventing Tomorrow/ U.S.A. (Director: Laura Nix, Producers: Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Laura Nix) — Take a journey with young minds from around the globe as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Watch these passionate innovators find the courage to face the planet’s environmental threats while navigating adolescence. World Premiere. THE NEW CLIMATE
Kailash / U.S.A. (Director: Derek Doneen, Producers: Davis Guggenheim, Sarah Anthony) — As a young man, Kailash Satyarthi promised himself that he would end child slavery in his lifetime. In the decades since, he has rescued more than eighty thousand children and built a global movement. This intimate and suspenseful film follows one man’s journey to do what many believed was impossible. World Premiere. DAY ONE
Kusama – Infinity / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Heather Lenz, Producers: Karen Johnson, Heather Lenz, Dan Braun, David Koh) — Now one of the world’s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism, and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art. World Premiere
The Last Race/U.S.A. (Director: Michael Dweck, Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw) — A cinematic portrait of a small town stock car track and the tribe of drivers that call it home as they struggle to hold onto an American racing tradition. The avant-garde narrative explores the community and its conflicts through an intimate story that reveals the beauty, mystery and emotion of grassroots auto racing. World Premiere
Minding the Gap / U.S.A. (Director: Bing Liu, Producer: Diane Quon) — Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship. World Premiere
On Her Shoulders / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandria Bombach, Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams, Bryn Mooser, Adam Bardach) — A Yazidi genocide and ISIS sexual slavery survivor, 23-year-old Nadia Murad is determined to tell the world her story. As her journey leads down paths of advocacy and fame, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action. International Premiere
The Price of Everything/ U.S.A. (Director: Nathaniel Kahn, Producers: Jennifer Blei Stockman, Debi Wisch, Carla Solomon) — With unprecedented access to pivotal artists and the white-hot market surrounding them, this film dives deep into the contemporary art world, holding a funhouse mirror up to our values and our times – where everything can be bought and sold. World Premiere
Seeing Allred/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sophie Sartain, Roberta Grossman, Producers: Roberta Grossman, Sophie Sartain, Marta Kauffman, Robbie Rowe Tollin, Hannah KS Canter) — Gloria Allred overcame trauma and personal setbacks to become one of the nation’s most famous women’s rights attorneys. Now the feminist firebrand takes on two of the biggest adversaries of her career, Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, as sexual violence allegations grip the nation and keep her in the spotlight. World Premiere
The Sentence/U.S.A. (Director: Rudy Valdez, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee) — Cindy Shank, mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement with a Michigan drug ring years earlier. This intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing’s devastating consequences, captured by Cindy’s brother, follows her and her family over the course of ten years. World Premiere
Three Identical Strangers/U.S.A. (Director: Tim Wardle, Producer: Becky Read) — New York,1980: three complete strangers accidentally discover that they’re identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever. World Premiere
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Nile Hilton Incident, Second Mother, Berlin Syndrome and The Lure.
Babetida Sadjo and Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson in “And Breathe Normally” (Photo by Ita Zbroniec-Zaj)
And Breathe Normally / Iceland, Sweden, Belgium (Director and screenwriter: Ísold Uggadóttir, Producers: Skúli Malmquist, Diana Elbaum, Annika Hellström, Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir, Inga Lind Karlsdóttir) — At the edge of Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, two women’s lives will intersect – for a brief moment – while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategize to get their lives back on track. Cast: Kristín Thóra Haraldsdóttir, Babetida Sadjo, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson. World Premiere
Butterflies / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik, Producers: Tolga Karaçelik, Diloy Gülün, Metin Anter) — In the Turkish village of Hasanlar, three siblings who neither know each other nor anything about their late father, wait to bury his body. As they start to find out more about their father and about each other, they also start to know more about themselves. Cast: Tolga Tekin, Bartu Küçükçağlayan, Tuğçe Altuğ, Serkan Keskin, Hakan Karsak. World Premiere
Dead Pigs / China (Director and screenwriter: Cathy Yan, Producers: Clarissa Zhang, Jane Zheng, Zhangke Jia, Mick Aniceto, Amy Aniceto) — A bumbling pig farmer, a feisty salon owner, a sensitive busboy, an expat architect and a disenchanted rich girl converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs float down the river towards a rapidly-modernizing Shanghai, China. Based on true events. Cast: Vivian Wu, Haoyu Yang, Mason Lee, Meng Li, David Rysdahl. World Premiere
The Guilty / Denmark (Director: Gustav Möller, Screenwriters: Gustav Möller, Emil Nygaard Albertsen, Producer: Lina Flint) — Alarm dispatcher Asger Holm answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman; after a sudden disconnection, the search for the woman and her kidnapper begins. With the phone as his only tool, Asger enters a race against time to solve a crime that is far bigger than he first thought. Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen, Omar Shargawi. World Premiere
Holiday / Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (Director: Isabella Eklöf, Screenwriters: Isabella Eklöf, Johanne Algren, Producer: David B. Sørensen) — A love triangle featuring the trophy girlfriend of a petty drug lord, caught up in a web of luxury and violence in a modern dark gangster tale set in the beautiful port city of Bodrum on the Turkish Riviera. Cast: Victoria Carmen Sonne, Lai Yde, Thijs Römer. World Premiere
06 Hollywood / U.S.A., Hungary (Directors: Elan Bogarín, Jonathan Bogarín, Screenwriters: Jonathan Bogarín, Elan Bogarín, Nyneve Laura Minnear, Producers: Elan Bogarín, Jonathan Bogarín, Judit Stalter) — When two siblings undertake an archaeological excavation of their late grandmother’s house, they embark on a magical-realist journey from her home in New Jersey to ancient Rome, from fashion to physics, in search of what life remains in the objects we leave behind. World Premiere. DAY ONE
A Boy, A Girl, A Dream. / U.S.A. (Director: Qasim Basir, Screenwriters: Qasim Basir, Samantha Tanner, Producer: Datari Turner) — On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers. Cast: Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good, Jay Ellis, Kenya Barris, Dijon Talton, Wesley Jonathan. World Premiere
An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn / United Kingdom, U.S.A. (Director: Jim Hosking, Screenwriters: Jim Hosking, David Wike, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Theodora Dunlap, Oliver Roskill, Emily Leo, Lucan Toh, Andy Starke) — Lulu Danger’s unsatisfying marriage takes a fortunate turn for the worse when a mysterious man from her past comes to town to perform an event called ‘An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn For One Magical Night Only.’ Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry, Craig Robinson. World Premiere
Clara’s Ghost / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bridey Elliott, Producer: Sarah Winshall) — Set over the course of a single evening at the Reynolds’ family home in Connecticut, Clara, fed up with the constant ribbing from her self-absorbed showbiz family, finds solace in and guidance from the supernatural force she believes is haunting her. Cast: Paula Niedert Elliott, Chris Elliott, Abby Elliott, Bridey Elliott, Haley Joel Osment, Isidora Goreshter. World Premiere
Madeline’s Madeline / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josephine Decker, Producers: Krista Parris, Elizabeth Rao) — Madeline got the part! She’s going to play the lead in a theater piece! Except the lead wears sweatpants like Madeline’s. And has a cat like Madeline’s. And is holding a steaming hot iron next to her mother’s face – like Madeline is. Cast: Helena Howard, Molly Parker, Miranda July, Okwui Okpokwasili, Felipe Bonilla, Lisa Tharps. World Premiere
Night Comes On / U.S.A. (Director: Jordana Spiro, Screenwriters: Jordana Spiro, Angelica Nwandu, Producers: Jonathan Montepare, Alvaro R. Valente, Danielle Renfrew Behrens) — Angel LaMere is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, she embarks on a journey with her 10 year-old sister that could destroy their future. Cast: Dominique Fishback, Tatum Hall, John Earl Jelks, Max Casella, James McDaniel. World Premiere
Search / U.S.A. (Director: Aneesh Chaganty, Screenwriters: Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian, Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Sev Ohanian, Adam Sidman, Natalie Qasabian) — After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her. A thriller that unfolds entirely on computer screens. Cast: John Cho, Debra Messing. World Premiere. WINNER: 2018 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize.
Skate Kitchen / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle, Screenwriters: Crystal Moselle, Ashlihan Unaldi, Producers: Lizzie Nastro, Izabella Tzenkova, Julia Nottingham, Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Rodrigo Teixeira) — Camille’s life as a lonely suburban teenager changes dramatically when she befriends a group of girl skateboarders. As she journeys deeper into this raw New York City subculture, she begins to understand the true meaning of friendship as well as her inner self. Cast: Rachelle Vinberg, Dede Lovelace, Jaden Smith, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, Kabrina Adams. World Premiere
We The Animals / U.S.A. (Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Screenwriters: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar, Producers: Jeremy Yaches, Christina D. King, Andrew Goldman, Paul Mezey) — Us three, us brothers, us kings. Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own. Cast: Raul Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Santiago. World Premiere
White Rabbit / U.S.A. (Director: Daryl Wein, Screenwriters: Daryl Wein, Vivian Bang, Producers: Daryl Wein, Vivian Bang) —A dramatic comedy following a Korean American performance artist who struggles to be authentically heard and seen through her multiple identities in modern Los Angeles. Cast: Vivian Bang, Nana Ghana, Nico Evers-Swindel, Tracy Hazas, Elizabeth Sung, Michelle Sui. World Premiere
PREMIERES
A showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated narrative films of the coming year. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Big Sick, Call Me By Your Name, Boyhood and Mudbound.
Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, and Leo James Davis in “A Kid Like Jake” (Photo by Jon Pack)
A Kid Like Jake / U.S.A. (Director: Silas Howard, Screenwriter: Daniel Pearle, Producers: Jim Parsons, Todd Spiewak, Eric Norsoph, Paul Bernon, Rachel Song) — As married couple Alex and Greg navigate their roles as parents to a young son who prefers Cinderella to G.I. Joe, a rift grows between them, one that forces them to confront their own concerns about what’s best for their child, and each other. Cast: Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd, Amy Landecker. World Premiere
Beirut/ U.S.A. (Director: Brad Anderson, Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy) — A U.S. diplomat flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home. Ten years later, he is called back to war-torn Beirut by CIA operatives to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind. Cast: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Shea Whigham, Dean Norris. World Premiere
The Catcher Was a Spy/ U.S.A. (Director: Ben Lewin, Screenwriter: Robert Rodat, Producers: Kevin Frakes, Tatiana Kelly, Buddy Patrick, Jim Young) — The true story of Moe Berg – professional baseball player, Ivy League graduate, attorney who spoke nine languages – and a top-secret spy for the OSS who helped the U.S. win the race against Germany to build the atomic bomb. Cast: Paul Rudd, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce, Paul Giamatti. World Premiere
Colette / United Kingdom (Director: Wash Westmoreland, Screenwriters: Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer, Producers: Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley) — A young country woman marries a famous literary entrepreneur in turn-of-the-century Paris: At her husband’s request, Colette pens a series of bestselling novels published under his name. But as her confidence grows, she transforms not only herself and her marriage, but the world around her. Cast: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Elinor Tomlinson, Aiysha Hart. World Premiere
Come Sunday/ U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Marston, Screenwriter: Marcus Hinchey, Producers:Ira Glass, Alissa Shipp, Julie Goldstein, James Stern,Lucas Smith, Cindy Kirven) — Internationally-renowned pastor Carlton Pearson — experiencing a crisis of faith — risks his church, family and future when he questions church doctrine and finds himself branded a modern-day heretic. Based on actual events. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen. World Premiere
Damsel/ U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Producers: Nathan Zellner, Chris Ohlson, David Zellner) — Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As Samuel, a drunkard named Parson Henry and a miniature horse called Butterscotch traverse the Wild West, their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Robert Forster, Nathan Zellner, Joe Billingiere. World Premiere
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot / U.S.A. (Director: Gus Van Sant, Screenwriters: Gus Van Sant (screenplay), John Callahan (biography), Producers: Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Mourad Belkeddar, Steve Golin, Nicolas Lhermitte) — John Callahan has a talent for off-color jokes…and a drinking problem. When a bender ends in a car accident, Callahan wakes permanently confined to a wheelchair. In his journey back from rock bottom, Callahan finds beauty and comedy in the absurdity of human experience. Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black. World Premiere
Futile and Stupid Gesture/ U.S.A. (Director: David Wain, Screenwriters: John Aboud, Michael Colton, Producers: Peter Principato, Jonathan Stern) — The story of comedy wunderkind Doug Kenney, who co-created the National Lampoon, Caddyshack, and Animal House. Kenney was at the center of the 70’s comedy counter-culture which gave birth to Saturday Night Live and a whole generation’s way of looking at the world. Cast: Will Forte, Martin Mull, Domhnall Gleeson, Matt Walsh, Joel McHale, Emmy Rossum. World Premiere
The Happy Prince / Germany, Belgium, Italy (Director and screenwriter: Rupert Everett) — The last days of Oscar Wilde—and the ghosts haunting them—are brought to vivid life. His body ailing, Wilde lives in exile, surviving on the flamboyant irony and brilliant wit that defined him as the transience of lust is laid bare and the true riches of love are revealed. Cast: Colin Firth, Emily Watson, Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Rupert Everett. World Premiere
Hearts Beat Loud/U.S.A. (Director: Brett Haley, Screenwriters: Brett Haley, Marc Basch, Producers: Houston King, Sam Bisbee, Sam Slater) — In Red Hook, Brooklyn, a father and daughter become an unlikely songwriting duo in the last summer before she leaves for college. Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner, Toni Collette. World Premiere
Juliet, Naked / United Kingdom (Director: Jesse Peretz, Screenwriters: Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor, Phil Alden Robinson, Evgenia Peretz, Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa) — Annie is the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan, an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe. When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s celebrated record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to an encounter with the elusive rocker himself. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby. Cast: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd. World Premiere
Ophelia / United Kingdom (Director: Claire McCarthy, Screenwriter: Semi Chellas, Producers: Daniel Bobker, Sarah Curtis, Ehren Kruger, Paul Hanson) — A mythic spin on Hamlet through a lens of female empowerment: Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet’s affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny. Cast: Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton, Devon Terrell. World Premiere
Puzzle / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Turtletaub, Screenwriter: Oren Moverman, Producers: Peter Saraf, Wren Arthur, Guy Stodel) — Agnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world – where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined. Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman, Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, Liv Hewson. World Premiere
Untitled Debra Granik Project/ U.S.A. (Director: Debra Granik, Screenwriters: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini) — A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. A small mistake tips them off to authorities sending them on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own. Cast: Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Jeff Korber, Dale Dickey. World Premiere
What They Had/U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Elizabeth Chomko)— Bridget returns home to Chicago at her brother’s urging to deal with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and her father’s reluctance to let go of their life together. Cast: Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Blythe Danner, Robert Forster. World Premiere
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
Renowned filmmakers and films about far-reaching subjects comprise this section highlighting our ongoing commitment to documentaries. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include An Inconvenient Sequel,The Hunting Ground, Going Clear and What Happened, Miss Simone?
Joan Jett in “Bad Reputation” (Photo by Kevin Kerslake)
Bad Reputation / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Kerslake, Screenwriter: Joel Marcus, Producers: Peter Afterman, Carianne Brinkman) — A look at the life of Joan Jett, from her early years as the founder of The Runaways and first meeting collaborator Kenny Laguna in 1980 to her enduring presence in pop culture as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer . World Premiere
Believer / U.S.A. (Director: Don Argott, Producers: Heather Parry, Sheena M. Joyce, Robert Reynolds) — Imagine Dragons’ Mormon frontman Dan Reynolds is taking on a new mission to explore how the church treats its LGBTQ members. With the rising suicide rate amongst teens in the state of Utah, his concern with the church’s policies sends him on an unexpected path for acceptance and change. World Premiere
Chef Flynn / U.S.A. (Director: Cameron Yates, Producer: Laura Coxson) — Ten-year-old Flynn transforms his living room into a supper club, using his classmates as line cooks and serving a tasting menu foraged from his neighbors’ backyards. With sudden fame, Flynn outgrows his bedroom kitchen and mother’s camera, and sets out to challenge the hierarchy of the culinary world. World Premiere
The Game Changers / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos, Screenwriters: Mark Monroe, Joseph Pace, Producers: Joseph Pace, James Wilks) — James Wilks, an elite special forces trainer and winner of The Ultimate Fighter, embarks on a quest for the truth in nutrition and uncovers the world’s most dangerous myth. World Premiere
Generation Wealth / U.S.A. (Director: Lauren Greenfield, Producers: Lauren Greenfield, Frank Evers) — Lauren Greenfield’s postcard from the edge of the American Empire captures a portrait of a materialistic, image-obsessed culture. Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, the film bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism and greed. World Premiere. DAY ONE
Half The Picture/ U.S.A. (Director: Amy Adrion, Producers: Amy Adrion, David Harris) — At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally. World Premiere
Jane Fonda in Five Acts/ U.S.A. (Director: Susan Lacy, Producers: Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin, Emma Pildes) — Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman’s singular journey. World Premiere
King In The Wilderness / U.S.A. (Director: Peter Kunhardt, Producers: George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt) From the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. remained a man with an unshakeable commitment to nonviolence in the face of an increasingly unstable country. A portrait of the last years of his life. World Premiere
Quiet Heroes/ U.S.A. (Director: Jenny Mackenzie, Co-Directors: Jared Ruga, Amanda Stoddard, Producers: Jenny Mackenzie, Jared Ruga, Amanda Stoddard) — In Salt Lake City, Utah, the socially conservative religious monoculture complicated the AIDS crisis, where patients in the entire state and intermountain region relied on only one doctor. This is the story of her fight to save a maligned population everyone else seemed willing to just let die. World Premiere
RBG / U.S.A. (Directors and producers: Betsy West, Julie Cohen) — An intimate portrait of an unlikely rock star: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers show how her early legal battles changed the world for women. Now this 84-year-old does push-ups as easily as she writes blistering dissents that have earned her the title “Notorious RBG.” World Premiere
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind /U.S.A. (Director: Marina Zenovich, Producers: Alex Gibney, Shirel Kozak) — This intimate portrait examines one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians. Told largely through Robin’s own voice and using a wealth of never-before-seen archive, the film takes us through his extraordinary life and career and reveals the spark of madness that drove him. World Premiere
STUDIO 54 / U.S.A. (Director: Matt Tyrnauer, Producers: Matt Tyrnauer, John Battsek, Corey Reeser) — Studio 54 was the pulsating epicenter of 1970s hedonism: a disco hothouse of beautiful people, drugs, and sex. The journeys of Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell — two best friends from Brooklyn who conquered New York City — frame this history of the “greatest club of all time.” World Premiere
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville, Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma) — Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred’s ideal of good neighbors? World Premiere. SALT LAKE CITY OPENING NIGHT FILM
MIDNIGHT
Danny McBride in “Arizona” (Photo by Cathy Kanavy)
From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Little Hours, The Babadook and Get Out.
Arizona / U.S.A. (Director: Jonathan Watson, Screenwriter: Luke Del Tredici, Producers: Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Ryan Friedkin, Danny McBride, Brandon James) — Set in the midst of the 2009 housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Cassie Fowler, a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder. Cast: Danny McBride, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Wilson, Lolli Sorenson, Elizabeth Gillies, Kaitlin Olson. World Premiere
Assassination Nation / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson, Producers: David Goyer, Anita Gou, Kevin Turen, Aaron L. Gilbert, Matthew J. Malek) — This is a one-thousand-percent true story about how the quiet, all-American town of Salem, Massachusetts, absolutely lost its mind. Cast: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Abra, Bill Skarsgard, Bella Thorne. World Premiere
Mandy / Belgium, U.S.A. (Director: Panos Cosmatos, Screenwriters: Panos Cosmatos, Aaron Stewart-Ahn, Producers: Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Elijah Wood, Nate Bolotin, Adrian Politowski) — Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, Bill Duke. World Premiere
Never Goin’ Back / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Augustine Frizzell, Producers: Toby Halbrooks, Liz Cardenas , James Johnston, David Lowery) — Jessie and Angela, high school dropout BFFs, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent’s due, they’re about to get fired and they’re broke. Now they’ve gotta avoid eviction, stay out of jail and get to the beach, no matter what!!! Cast: Maia Mitchell, Cami Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Joel Allen, Kendal Smith, Matthew Holcomb. World Premiere
Piercing / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nicolas Pesce, Producers: Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Schuyler Weiss, Jake Wasserman) — In this twisted love story, a man seeks out an unsuspecting stranger to help him purge the dark torments of his past. His plan goes awry when he encounters a woman with plans of her own. A playful psycho-thriller game of cat-and-mouse based on Ryu Murakami’s novel. Cast: Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Laia Costa, Marin Ireland, Maria Dizzia, Wendell Pierce. World Premiere
Revenge / France (Director and screenwriter: Coralie Fargeat, Producers: Marc-Etienne Schwartz, Jean-Yves Robin, Marc Stanimirovic) — Three wealthy married men get together for their annual hunting game in a desert canyon. This time, one of them has brought along his young mistress, who quickly arouses the interest of the other two. Things get dramatically out of hand as a hunting game turns into a ruthless manhunt. Cast: Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchede, Jean-Louis Tribes. Utah Premiere
Summer of ’84 / Canada, U.S.A. (Directors: Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann Whissell, Screenwriters: Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith, Producers: Shawn Williamson, Jameson Parker, Matt Leslie, Van Toffler, Cody Zwieg) — Summer, 1984: a perfect time to be a carefree 15-year-old. But when neighborhood conspiracy theorist Davey Armstrong begins to suspect his police officer neighbor might be the serial killer all over the local news, he and his three best friends begin an investigation that soon turns dangerous. Cast: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Grüter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer. World Premiere
SPOTLIGHT
The Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love from throughout the past year. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Lunchbox, Ida,Raw and The Lobster.
Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn in “Beast” (Photo by Kerry Brown)
BEAST / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Michael Pearce, Producers: Ivana MacKinnon, Lauren Dark, Kristian Brodie ) — In a small island community, a troubled young woman falls for a mysterious outsider who empowers her to escape from her oppressive family. When he comes under suspicion for a series of brutal murders, she learns what she’s capable of as she defends him at all costs. Cast: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Trystan Gravelle, Geraldine James, Charley Palmer Rothwell. U.S. Premiere
The Death of Stalin / France, United Kingdom, Belgium (Director: Armando Iannucci, Screenwriters: Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Producers: Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Kevin Loader) — The internal political landscape of 1950’s Soviet Russia through a darkly comic lens. In the days following Stalin’s collapse, his core ministers tussle for control; some want positive change, others have more sinister motives. Their one common trait? They’re all just desperately trying to remain alive. Cast: Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Friend, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs. U.S. Premiere
Foxtrot / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Samuel Maoz, Producers: Michael Weber, Viola Fügen, Eitan Mansuri, Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Michel Merkt) — Michael and Dafna are devastated when army officials show up at their home, announcing the death of their son Jonathan. While his sedated wife rests, Michael spirals into a whirlwind of anger only to experience one of life’s unfathomable twists, which rivals his son’s surreal military experiences. Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray.
I Am Not a Witch/ United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Rungano Nyoni, Producers: Juliette Grandmont, Emily Morgan) — After a minor incident, nine-year old Shula is exiled to a witch camp where she is told that if she escapes, she’ll be transformed into a goat. As she navigates through her new life, she must decide whether to accept her fate or risk the consequences of seeking freedom. Cast: Margaret Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri, Nancy Mulilo, Margaret Sipaneia. U.S. Premiere
The Rider / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao, Producers: Chloé Zhao, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Mollye Asher) — After a tragic riding accident, young cowboy and rising rodeo circuit star Brady Jandreau is told that his competition days are over. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of manhood in America’s heartland. Cast: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lily Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford. Utah Premiere
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Spurlock, Screenwriters: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock, Producers: Keith Calder, Jessica Calder, Spencer Silna, Nicole Barton, Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin) — Muckraking filmmaker Morgan Spurlock reignites his battle with the food industry – this time from behind the register – as he opens his own fast food restaurant. U.S. Premiere
KIDS
This section of the Festival is especially for our youngest independent film fans. Programmed in cooperation with Utah Film Center, which presents the annual Tumbleweeds Film Festival, Utah’s premiere film festival for children and youth. Films that have played in this category in recent years include My Life as a Zucchini, The Eagle Huntress and Shaun the Sheep.
A film still from “Lu Over the Wall” (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Lu Over the Wall / Japan (Director: Masaaki Yuasa, Screenwriters: Reiko Yoshida, Masaaki Yuasa, Producer: Eunyoung Choi) — Kai is a lonely teenage boy who lives in a small fishing village. One day, he meets and befriends Lu, a fun-loving mermaid whose singing is hypnotic to all who hear it. But the townspeople have always thought that mermaids bring disaster… World Premiere
Science Fair / U.S.A. (Directors: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Producers: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Jeffrey Plunkett) — Nine high school students from around the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair. World Premiere
White Fang / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Espigares, Screenwriters: Dominique Monfery, Philippe Lioret, Serge Frydman, Producers: Jeremie Fajner, Clement Calvet, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub) — An updated reimagining of Jack London’s classic novel, this thrilling tale of kindness, survival and the twin majesties of the animal kingdom and mankind traces the loving and magnificent hero White Fang, whose intense curiosity leads him on the adventure of a lifetime. Cast: Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Eddie Spears, Paul Giamatti. World Premiere
The Sundance Film Festival®
The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Boyhood, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Twenty Feet from Stardom, Life Itself, The Cove, The End of the Tour, Blackfish, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Super Size Me, Dope, Little Miss Sunshine, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious and Napoleon Dynamite. The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®. 2018 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, SundanceTV, and Chase Sapphire®; Leadership Sponsors – Adobe, Amazon Studios, AT&T, DIRECTV, Dropbox, Omnicom, Stella Artois® and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, GEICO, Grey Goose Vodka, High West Distillery, IMDbPro, Lyft, Unity Technologies and the University of Utah Health; Media Sponsors – Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Variety. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Look for the Official Sponsor seal at their venues at the Festival. sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Boyhood, Swiss Army Man, Manchester By the Sea, Brooklyn, Little Miss Sunshine, Life, Animated, Sonita, 20 Feet From Stardom, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre,Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
The following is a press release from the American Film Institute:
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the Presentations and Conversations lineups for AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi. Events include a conversation on directing with Christopher Nolan; a conversation with filmmaker Agnès Varda; a roundtable of documentary filmmakers presented by the Los Angeles Times; The Hollywood Reporter’s Indie Contenders Roundtable with eight standout artists; an in-depth conversation with director Patty Jenkins; a conversation on storytelling with Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung; and a conversation with Martin McDonagh and Sam Rockwell about THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, presented by Variety.
The complete AFI FEST program includes 137 films (93 features, 44 shorts), representing 53 countries, including 40 films directed/co-directed by women, 19 documentaries and 14 animated short films. The breakdown by section is: Galas/Tributes (6), Special Screenings (7), American Independents (11), New Auteurs (11), World Cinema (30), Midnight (3), Cinema’s Legacy (9), Retrospective (12), Youth and Family (2) and Short Films (44). This year’s program includes 14 official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® submissions, and 25 films featuring 76 AFI alumni.
PRESENTATIONS
Christopher Nolan on the set of “Dunkirk” (Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon)
CINEMATIC STORYTELLING: A CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Director/writer/producer Christopher Nolan discusses his latest film, DUNKIRK, centering on the British maneuvers from the land, sea and air as the military and civilians attempt to save 400,000 soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France, during World War II. A special 70mm film presentation of DUNKIRK will precede the discussion.
WORLD CINEMA MASTER IN CONVERSATION: AGNÈS VARDA
French auteur and AFI FEST 2013 Guest Artistic Director Agnès Varda sits down for a discussion of her career and her new film FACES PLACES (co-directed with French installation artist JR). The event begins with a screening of FACES PLACES. The event will be moderated by Serge Toubiana, President of UniFrance.
CONVERSATIONS
INDIE CONTENDERS ROUNDTABLE
Hear from a diverse panel of artists who have done standout work in independent film this year. Presented by The Hollywood Reporter and moderated by columnist and blogger Scott Feinberg, the panel will feature a 90-minute discussion with the artists about their careers and influences, as well as the challenges and rewards of working on indies. Panelists include Sean Baker (THE FLORIDA PROJECT), Richard Gere (NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER), Salma Hayek (BEATRIZ AT DINNER), Diane Kruger (IN THE FADE), Kumail Nanjiani (THE BIG SICK), Robert Pattinson (GOOD TIME), Margot Robbie (I, TONYA) and Lois Smith (MARJORIE PRIME). The roundtable is presented by The Hollywood Reporter and will be moderated by Scott Feinberg their lead awards analyst.
DOC ROUNDTABLE
Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang sits down with a panel of distinguished directors behind some of the most talked-about and acclaimed documentaries of the year. The panelists will include Evgeny Afineevsky (CRIES FROM SYRIA), Greg Barker (THE FINAL YEAR), Kasper Collin (I CALLED HIM MORGAN), Feras Fayyad (LAST MEN IN ALEPPO), Yance Ford (STRONG ISLAND), Bryan Fogel (ICARUS), Steve James (ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL), Amanda Lipitz (STEP) and Brett Morgen (JANE). The roundtable it presented by the Los Angeles Times.
ON DIRECTING: PATTY JENKINS
WONDER WOMAN director and AFI Conservatory alumna Patty Jenkins sits down for a moderated, in-depth discussion.
Sofia Coppola on the set of “The Beguiled” (Photo by Andrew Durham/CPi Syndication)
ON DIRECTING: SOFIA COPPOLA
Director/writer Sofia Coppola sits down to discuss her latest film, THE BEGUILED, set during the American Civil War and centering on an all-female Southern boarding school that takes in a wounded Union soldier, with unsettling results.
Andy Serkis on the set of “War for the Planet of the Apes.” (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox)
ON ACTING: BRINGING APES TO LIFE – ANDY SERKIS, TERRY NOTARY, MATT REEVES, JOE LETTERI
Actors Andy Serkis and Terry Notary, director Matt Reeves and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri of the critically acclaimed and visually stunning WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES sit down for a panel discussion on how performance capture and visual effects bring complex and emotional characters to life.
Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung (Photo courtesy of AP)
ON COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING: ANGELINA JOLIE AND LOUNG UNG
Director Angelina Jolie and writer Loung Ung discuss the artistic and cross-cultural collaboration that brought FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER to the screen. Based on Ung’s autobiography, the film centers on a young girl who must embark on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER is Cambodia’s official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission.
Jordan Peele (Photo by Justin Lubin)
CINEMA’S LEGACY: A CONVERSATION WITH JORDAN PEELE
GET OUT director/writer Jordan Peele sits down for an in-depth conversation about his film and the impact and legacy of GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967), the groundbreaking, Oscar® winner about an interracial romance starring Sidney Poitier that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER will screen following the conversation.
IN CONVERSATION: MARTIN MCDONAGH AND SAM ROCKWELL
Director/writer/producer Martin McDonagh and actor Sam Rockwell, who have a long relationship working together for both the stage and screen, sit down for a moderated discussion with Jenelle Riley of Variety on THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, a darkly comedic drama centering on a mother (Frances McDormand) who makes a bold move to find her daughter’s murderer, riling local law enforcement. The conversation is presented by Variety.
AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
AFI FEST takes place November 9–16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt. Free tickets will be available today on AFI.com/AFIFEST.
The Opening Night Gala will be MUDBOUND (DIR Dee Rees) on Thursday, November 9. The Centerpiece Galas will be CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (DIR Luca Guadagnino) on Friday, November 10; THE DISASTER ARTIST (DIR James Franco) on Sunday, November 12; and HOSTILES (DIR Scott Cooper) on Tuesday, November 14. On Saturday, November 11, Academy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris will be honored with a Tribute following a screening of WORMWOOD. On Thursday, November 16, Ridley Scott will be presented with a Tribute followed by the World Premiere and Closing Night Gala ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD.
This year, AFI FEST will present a retrospective of the work of Robert Altman (1925–2006), with screenings and discussions of 12 films: M*A*S*H (1970), MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974), NASHVILLE (1975), 3 WOMEN (1977), VINCENT & THEO (1990), THE PLAYER (1992), SHORT CUTS (1993), KANSAS CITY (1996), GOSFORD PARK (2001) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).
In addition, the American Independents, Cinema’s Legacy, Midnight, New Auteurs, Shorts and World Cinema sections have also been announced. More information about these sections is available via the 2017 Film Guide here.
New educational experiences taking place as part of the festival this year include an AFI FEST Storytelling Bootcamp for Los Angeles Unified School District students.
AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 14th consecutive year as presenting sponsor of the festival. An enduring champion of the motion picture arts, Audi nurtures new and established voices through its support of AFI FEST and beyond, including the Audi Fellowship for Women at the AFI Conservatory, a new full-tuition scholarship investing in the future of female directors in film and television.
Patron packages ensure reserved seats for Opening Night, and all proceeds benefit the educational programs of the American Film Institute. A limited number of individual tickets to Opening Night and other screenings are also made available at no charge thanks to the event sponsors. Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events.
As part of their membership benefits, AFI members will receive a complimentary AFI FEST Cinepass, which allows access to all regular screenings and special offers at this year’s festival. Additionally, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Express Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2017. Additional sponsors include AT&T; American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.
About the American Film Institute
Celebrating its golden milestone, the American Film Institute began its mission on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. Established by Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential mandate in the White House Rose Garden, AFI is America’s promise to educate today’s audiences and tomorrow’s artists. The Institute was anchored by a foundation of luminaries from the film community including Gregory Peck as Chair, Sidney Poitier as Vice Chair, George Stevens, Jr., as Director and CEO with board members Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Jack Valenti.
In 1969, AFI opened the Center for Advanced Film Studies, now called the AFI Conservatory, an elite MFA program whose inaugural class included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. The program’s acclaimed film and television alumni include
Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Julie Dash, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, David Lynch and Robert Richardson, among others.
In addition to the AFI Conservatory, AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI AWARDS, honoring the most outstanding movies and TV series of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, and youtube.com/AFI.
About AFI FEST presented by Audi
A program of the American Film Institute, AFI FEST presented by Audi is a celebration of global cinema and today’s Hollywood — a showcase for the best festival films of the year and an opportunity for master filmmakers and emerging artists to come together with audiences in the movie capital of the world. Celebrating its 31st edition, AFI FEST is the only festival of its stature that is free to the public. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for both Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®. This year’s edition takes place November 9–16, 2017. Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFI.
About Audi
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. The Audi Group is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. In 2016, AUDI AG delivered about 1.871 million Audi automobiles and broke all-time company sales records for the seventh straight year in the U.S. Visit www.audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.
The following is a press release from the American Film Institute:
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the films that will be featured in the World Cinema, Midnight and Youth and Family sections at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi.
The World Cinema section showcases the most celebrated international films of the year and features 30 films from 39 countries. The section includes 13 official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® entries: A CIAMBRA (DIR Jonas Carpignano), A FANTASTIC WOMAN (UNA MUJER FANTASTICA) (DIR Sebastián Lelio), FOXTROT (DIR Samuel Maoz), HAPPY END (DIR Michael Haneke), HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS (DIR François Girard), IN THE FADE (AUS DEM NICHTS) (DIR Fatih Akin), THE INSULT (L’INSULTE) (DIR Ziad Doueiri), LOVELESS (NELYUBOV) (DIR Andrey Zvyagintsev), NEWTON (DIR Amit V Masurkar), ON BODY AND SOUL (TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL) (DIR Ildikó Enyedi), SPOOR (POKOT) (DIR Agnieszka Holland), THELMA (DIR Joachim Trier) and WAJIB (DIR Annemarie Jacir).
The festival’s Midnight section will enthrall and petrify audiences with three international, genre-bending films: GOOD MANNERS (DIR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra), LET THE CORPSES TAN (DIR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani) and V.I.P. (DIR Park Hoon-Jung).
AFI FEST is proud to offer Youth and Family Programming for the next generation of storytellers and moviegoers, with the films THE BREADWINNER (DIR Nora Twomey) and MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER (DIR Hiromasa Yonebayashi). At these screenings, AFI FEST will host students from several public middle and high schools across Los Angeles County for educational experiences. MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER will also screen for the festival’s public audience.
As previously announced, the festival will broaden its Youth and Family Programming by going inside LAUSD classrooms with an AFI FEST Storytelling Bootcamp for underserved high school students. Working with the school district, filmmakers and teachers will guide students in screenwriting and storytelling. Their training will culminate with a screening experience at the festival, and a follow-up visit from a filmmaker in their classroom. Youth and Family Programming and the Storytelling Bootcamp are made possible in part by grants from GRoW @ Annenberg and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
WORLD CINEMA
APRIL’S DAUGHTER (LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL) – In AFI FEST alum Michel Franco’s latest feature, a domineering mother suddenly arrives to assist with her teenage daughter’s pregnancy. But her true motives will soon emerge. DIR Michel Franco. SCR Michel Franco. CAST Emma Suárez, Ana Valeria Becerril, Enrique Arrizon, Joanna Larequi, Hernán Mendoza. Mexico
BEAUTY AND THE DOGS – Following a sexual assault, a young Tunisian woman must descend into a bureaucratic hell to report the incident and find justice. DIR Kaouther Ben Hania. SCR Kaouther Ben Hania. CAST Mariam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli, Noomane Hamda, Mohamed Akkari, Chedly Arfaoui, Anissa Daoud, Mourad Gharsalli. Tunisia, France, Sweden, Norway, Lebanon, Qatar, Switzerland
BRIGHT SUNSHINE IN (UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR) – Juliette Binoche shines in the latest work from auteur Claire Denis, centering on a middle-aged woman hungry to find and hold onto love. DIR Claire Denis. SCR Claire Denis, Christine Angot. CAST Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko, Sandrine Dumas, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, Laurent Grévill. France
A CIAMBRA – Jonas Carpignano’s sophomore feature follows Pio, a streetwise teen in Calabria who must step up when his older brother lands in trouble with the police. DIR Jonas Carpignano. SCR Jonas Carpignano. CAST Pio Amato, Koudous Seihon, Iolanda Amato, Damiano Amato, Francesco Pio Amato, Patrizia Amato, Rocco Amato, Susanna Amato. Italy, USA, France, Sweden
CLAIRE’S CAMERA (KEUL-LE-EO-UI-KA-ME-LA) – This charming entry from Hong Sang-soo centers on the friendship between a Korean woman (Kim Min-hee) who’s recently lost her job and a wise Parisian teacher (Isabelle Huppert). DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Kim Min-hee, Chang Mi-hee, Jung Jin-young. South Korea
THE DAY AFTER (GEU-HU) – Infused with director Hong Sang-soo’s signature realism and humor, this film follows an aspiring writer who gets caught up in the spectacular drama of her boss’ personal life. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Kwon Haehyo, Kim Min-hee, Kim Sae-byuk, Cho Yun-hee, Ki Ju-bong, Park Yea-ju, Kang Taeu. South Korea
A FANTASTIC WOMAN (UNA MUJER FANTASTICA) – In Sebastián Lelio’s follow-up to GLORIA, trans actress Daniela Vega gives an astonishing debut performance as a woman who must navigate a hostile society after the death of her lover. DIR Sebastián Lelio. SCR Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza. CAST Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Kuppenheim, Nicolás Saavedra, Amparo Noguera, Néstor Cantillana, Alejandro Goic, Antonia Zegers, Sergio Hernández. Chile, USA, Germany, Spain
FOXTROT – An Israeli couple mourns the death of their soldier son in this audacious depiction of war and loss. DIR Samuel Maoz. SCR Samuel Maoz. CAST Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray, Gefen Barkai, Dekel Adin, Shaul Amir, Itay Exlroad. Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland
A GENTLE CREATURE (KROTKAYA) – An unnamed woman, trying to reach her imprisoned husband, descends into the bureaucratic hell of the Russian penal system in this masterful epic. DIR Sergei Loznitsa. SCR Sergei Loznitsa. CAST Vasilina Makovtseva, Marina Kleshcheva, Lia Akhedzhakova, Valeriu Andriuta, Boris Kamorzin, Sergei Kolesov. France, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands
HAPPY END – Austrian auteur Michael Haneke returns with another chilling masterwork starring Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, focusing on a dysfunctional wealthy family. DIR Michael Haneke. SCR Michael Haneke. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Fantine Harduin, Franz Rogowski, Laura Verlinden, Aurelia Petit, Toby Jones. France, Austria, Germany
HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS (HOCHELAGA, TERRE DES ÂMES) – The history of Montreal is told with a poetic, episodic structure in this time-jumping drama, arriving in the year of Canada’s 150th anniversary. DIR François Girard. SCR François Girard. CAST Samian, Vincent Perez, Raoul Trujillo, Wahiakeron Gilbert, Emmanuel Schwartz, Tanaya Beatty, David La Haye, Sébastien Ricard, Siân Phillips, Linus Roache, Gilles Renaud, Naïade Aoun, Tony Nardi. Canada
IN THE FADE (AUS DEM NICHTS) – Diane Kruger gives a career-topping performance in Fatih Akin’s complex thriller that follows a woman’s search for justice after an act of terrorism shatters her life. DIR Fatih Akin. SCR Fatih Akin, Hark Bohm. CAST Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Johannes Krisch, Samia Chancrin, Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur, Rafael Santana, Hanna Hilsdorf. Germany, France
THE INSULT (L’INSULTE) – When a Palestinian refugee and a Christian nationalist have a fateful crossing of paths, long-simmering tensions in modern-day Lebanon rise to the surface — and spiral out of control. DIR Ziad Doueiri. SCR Ziad Doueiri, Joëlle Touma. CAST Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou Abboud, Rita Hayek, Talal El Jurdi, Christine Choueiri, Julia Kassar, Rifaat Torbey, Carlos Chahine. Lebanon, France
LOVELESS (NELYUBOV) – Russian auteur Andrey Zvyagintsev returns to AFI FEST with a gut-wrenching drama about a divorcing couple who just want to offload their young son — that is, until he disappears. DIR Andrey Zvyagintsev. SCR Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev. CAST Maryana Spivak, Alexey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasilyeva, Andris Keishs, Alexey Fateev. Russia, France, Belgium, Germany
A MAN OF INTEGRITY – When an Iranian farmer refuses to play ball with corrupt local thugs, he soon learns the steep price for holding onto his principles. DIR Mohammad Rasoulof. SCR Mohammad Rasoulof. CAST Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee, Nasim Adabi, Missagh Zareh, Zeinab Shabani, Zhila Shahi, Majib Potki. Iran
MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS (MARLINA SI PEMBUNUH DALAM EMPAT BABAK) – A humble Indonesian woman becomes a stealthy master of revenge in this modern feminist Western. DIR Mouly Surya. SCR Mouly Surya, Rama Adi. CAST Marsha Timothy, Dea Panendra, Yoga Pratama, Egi Fedly. Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand
MR. LONG – In this deft, soulful work of genre filmmaking, a notorious hitman trying to allude gangsters finds refuge in a dilapidated part of Tokyo, where he befriends a troubled mother and her child. DIR SABU. SCR SABU. CAST Chang Chen, Sho Aoyagi, Yiti Yao, Runyin Bai. Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Germany
MRS HYDE (MADAME HYDE) – Isabelle Huppert is sublime as MADAME HYDE, a meek chemistry teacher who experiences a fantastic awakening following a lab accident. DIR Serge Bozon. SCR Axelle Ropert, Serge Bozon. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Romain Duris, José Garcia, Adda Senani, Guillaume Verdier, Patricia Barzyk, Pierre Léon, Jamal Barbouche. France, Belgium
NEWTON – An idealistic election monitor is determined to make the voices of 76 villagers heard in this humorous and humanistic portrait of Indian democracy. DIR Amit V Masurkar. SCR Mayank Tewari, Amit V Masurkar. CAST Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav. India
ON BODY AND SOUL (TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL) – In this Berlinale Golden Bear winner, two very different employees at a slaughterhouse discover they share the same dreams at night. DIR Ildikó Enyedi. SCR Ildikó Enyedi. CAST Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki, Zoltán Schneider, Ervin Nagy, Pál Mácsai, Itala Békés, Tamás Jordán, Éva Bata. Hungary
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE (TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN) – Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki turns his sights on a Syrian refugee in Helsinki in this moving, hopeful and hilariously deadpan masterwork. DIR Aki Kaurismäki. SCR Aki Kaurismäki. CAST Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Ilkka Koivula, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu, Kaija Pakarinen, Niroz Haji, Simon Hussein Al-Bazoon. Finland, Germany
A SEASON IN FRANCE (UNE SAISON EN FRANCE) – A migrant from the Central African Republic struggles to gain asylum in France and raise his two children in this urgently empathetic new work from Chadian auteur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. DIR Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. SCR Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. CAST Eriq Ebouaney, Sandrine Bonnaire, Aalayna Lys, Ibrahim Burama Darboe, Bibi Tanga, Léonie Simaga, Régine Conas, Khampha Thammavongsa. France
A SKIN SO SOFT (TA PEAU SI LISSE) – Denis Côté returns to AFI FEST with this hybrid documentary examining hyper-masculinity within a group of Québécois bodybuilders. DIR Denis Côté. SCR Denis Côté. CAST Alexis Légaré, Benoit Lapierre, Cédric Doyon, Jean-François Bouchard, Ronald Yang, Maxim Lemire. Canada
SPOOR (POKOT) – Polish master Agnieszka Holland delivers an animal rights murder mystery for the ages in this genre-bending, gloriously twisted thriller. DIR Agnieszka Holland. SCR Olga Tokarczuk, Agnieszka Holland. CAST Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Andrzej Grabowski. Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovak Republic
SWEET COUNTRY – An Aboriginal man and his wife are forced to go on the run into the Outback in this brilliant, heart-rending revisionist Western set in 1929 Australia. DIR Warwick Thornton. SCR David Tranter, Steven McGregor. CAST Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright, Matt Day, Natassia Gorey-Furber. Australia
THELMA – A young Norwegian woman from a devoutly Christian background begins experiencing fantastic powers in the latest work from Joachim Trier. DIR Joachim Trier. SCR Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier. CAST Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Grethe Eltervåg, Marte Magnusdotter Solem, Anders Mossling, Vanessa Borgli, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Ingrid Giæver, Oskar Pask, Gorm Grømer, Camilla Belsvik, Martha Kjørven. Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark
WAJIB – A Palestinian father and son deal with ideological differences as they drive around Nazareth delivering wedding invitations in this moving, subtle drama. DIR Annemarie Jacir. SCR Annemarie Jacir. CAST Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik, Rana Alamuddin. Palestine, France, Germany, Colombia, Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
WALKING PAST THE FUTURE (LU GUO WEI LAI) – A young woman and her family deal with the fallout of widespread factory layoffs in this elegant portrait of the socioeconomic realities of contemporary China. DIR Li Ruijun. SCR Li Ruijun. CAST Yang Zishan, Yin Fang. China
WESTERN – Masculine hostility and violence simmer to the surface in this slow-burn masterstroke from new German auteur Valeska Grisebach. DIR Valeska Grisebach. SCR Valeska Grisebach. CAST Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Syuleyman Alilov Letifov, Veneta Frangova, Vyara Borisova, Kevin Bashev. Germany, Bulgaria, Austria
THE WORKSHOP (L’ATELIER) – Facing a dangerous threat, a Parisian teacher must teach her students how to stand up for what’s right in the latest film from Laurent Cantet (Palme d’Or winner THE CLASS). DIR Laurent Cantet. SCR Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet. CAST Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci, Warda Rammach, Issam Talbi, Florian Beaujean, Mamadou Doumbia, Julien Souve, Mélissa Guilbert, Olivier Thouret, Lény Sellam. France
MIDNIGHT
GOOD MANNERS (AS BOAS MANEIRAS) – Clara gets a nanny job for a high-class woman with an intensifying hunger for meat in this genre-bending tale of love, sacrifice and compassion. DIR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra. SCR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra. CAST Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo. Brazil, France
LET THE CORPSES TAN (LAISSEZ BRONZER LES CADAVRES) – A sun-soaked adventure fueled by machine-gunfire and leather, LET THE CORPSES TAN is an audacious heist film with style to burn. DIR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. SCR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. CAST Elina Löwensohn, Stéphane Ferrara, Hervé Sogne, Bernie Bonvoisin, Pierre Nisse, Marc Barbé, Michelangelo Marchese. Belgium, France
V.I.P. – A buttoned-up federal agent, a world-weary cop and a mysterious lone wolf join forces to take down a serial killer in this tense Korean thriller. DIR Park Hoon-Jung. SCR Park Hoon-Jung. CAST Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon, Lee Jong-suk. South Korea
YOUTH AND FAMILY
THE BREADWINNER – This timely, inspiring and beautifully animated tale follows an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan, who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family. DIR Nora Twomey. SCR Anita Doron. CAST Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Kawa Ada, Noorin Gulamgaus. Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg
MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER (MEARI TO MAJO NO HANA) – Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 children’s book “The Little Broomstick,” this film tells the story of a young girl who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night. DIR Hiromasa Yonebayashi. SCR Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi. CAST Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent, Ewen Bremner, Lynda Baron. Japan
AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
AFI FEST takes place November 9–16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre, Dolby Cinema at the Vine, the Mark Goodson Screening Room at the American Film Institute and The Hollywood Roosevelt. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled on Friday, October 27. Free tickets will be available on AFI.com/AFIFEST on Wednesday, November 1.
This year’s Centerpiece Galas are CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (DIR Luca Guadagnino), THE DISASTER ARTIST (DIR James Franco) and HOSTILES (DIR Scott Cooper). Also screening at the festival is WORMWOOD, featuring a Tribute to director Errol Morris.
Additionally, the New Auteurs and American Independent sections have been announced and more information about these sections can be found here. The festival also recently announced its Special Screenings, Cinema’s Legacy and Shorts lineups, which can be found here.
The Opening Night Gala will be MUDBOUND (DIR Dee Rees) on Thursday, November 9. The Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (DIR Ridley Scott) on Thursday, November 16, following a Tribute to director Scott.
This year, AFI FEST will present a retrospective of the work of Robert Altman (1925–2006), with screenings and discussions of 12 films: M*A*S*H (1970), MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974), NASHVILLE (1975), 3 WOMEN (1977), VINCENT & THEO (1990), THE PLAYER (1992), SHORT CUTS (1993), KANSAS CITY (1996), GOSFORD PARK (2001) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).
AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 14th consecutive year as presenting sponsor of the festival. An enduring champion of the motion picture arts, Audi nurtures new and established voices through its support of AFI FEST and beyond, including the Audi Fellowship for Women at the AFI Conservatory, a new full-tuition scholarship investing in the future of female directors in film and television.
Patron packages ensure reserved seats for Galas, and all proceeds benefit the educational programs of the American Film Institute. A limited number of individual tickets to Galas and other screenings are also made available at no charge thanks to the event sponsors. Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events.
As part of their membership benefits, AFI members will receive a complimentary AFI FEST Cinepass, which allows access to all regular screenings and special offers at this year’s festival. Additionally, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Express Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2017. Additional sponsors include AT&T; American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.
October 24, 2017 — The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the films that will play in the Special Screenings, Cinema’s Legacy and Shorts sections at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi.
This year’s Special Screenings section offers an array of engaging stories and intimate portraits of riveting individuals: FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (DIR Paul McGuigan); I, TONYA (DIR Craig Gillespie); JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND – FEATURING A VERY SPECIAL, CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED MENTION OF TONY CLIFTON (DIR Chris Smith); THE LEISURE SEEKER (DIR Paolo Virzì); MOLLY’S GAME (DIR Aaron Sorkin); SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME (DIR Sam Pollard); and THE SHAPE OF WATER (DIR Guillermo del Toro).
Cinema’s Legacy is AFI FEST’s celebration of motion picture history, and a special opportunity to screen recent restorations of classic films. This year, to celebrate AFI’s 50th Anniversary, the program includes a selection of international classics from 1967, including Stanley Kramer’s groundbreaking masterpiece of interracial romance GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER; Juan Ibáñez’s outrageous hallmark of Mexican cinema LOS CAIFANES; the timeless romantic comedy BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda; Eric Rohmer’s love-triangle “Six Moral Tales” installment LA COLLECTIONEUSE; and Frederick Wiseman’s seminal documentary TITICUT FOLLIES. Also part of the celebration are Sergio Leone’s THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966; released in the U.S. in 1967), and a duo of Michelangelo Antonioni films that are emblematic of arthouse cinema in the 1960s, BLOW-UP (1966) and RED DESERT (1964). Finally, Tony Zierra’s documentary FILMWORKER (2017), which follows the collaboration between Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick, will screen.
The Shorts section features filmmakers from around the globe and represents various distinct international viewpoints. The Shorts jury is comprised of Jeffrey Bowers (Senior Curator, Vimeo), Moira Griffin (Executive Director of Production, Creative Labs, 21st Century Fox) and Nathan Silver (director, ACTOR MARTINEZ, THIRST STREET). The Grand Jury Award winners for Live-Action and Animated Short, as decided by the Shorts Jury, will be automatically eligible for the Academy Award® shortlists in the Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short categories.
Dates and times for all AFI FEST screenings and events will be available soon on AFI.com.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL – Annette Bening stars as Gloria Grahame and Jamie Bell as her young ex-lover in this visually sumptuous, deeply compassionate romance. DIR Paul McGuigan. SCR Matt Greenhalgh. CAST Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Vanessa Redgrave. USA
I, TONYA – Margot Robbie stars as tabloid-bait figure skater Tonya Harding in this unforgettable film that is nothing less than a Shakespearean tale of love, loss and the crushing force of poverty in America. DIR Craig Gillespie. SCR Steven Rogers. CAST Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, Mckenna Grace. USA
JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND – FEATURING A VERY SPECIAL, CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED MENTION OF TONY CLIFTON – In this insightful documentary, Jim Carrey reflects on his experience playing legendary comedian Andy Kaufman in 1999’s MAN ON THE MOON. DIR Chris Smith. FEATURING Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Milos Forman, Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, Paul Giamatti, Bob Zmuda. USA
THE LEISURE SEEKER – Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland star in this unforgettable tale of love and memory in an America on the brink of an uncertain new course. DIR Paolo Virzì. SCR Stephen Amidon, Francesca Archibugi, Francesco Piccolo, Paolo Virzì. CAST Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay, Janel Moloney, Dana Ivey. Italy
MOLLY’S GAME – Oscar® nominee Jessica Chastain stars in Oscar®-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut, set in the glamorous world of high-stakes underground poker games. DIR Aaron Sorkin. SCR Aaron Sorkin. CAST Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, Bill Camp. USA
SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME – Longtime Spike Lee collaborator Sam Pollard directs this accomplished documentary on the ups and downs of the life and career of trailblazing multi-hyphenate Sammy Davis, Jr. DIR Sam Pollard. SCR Laurence Maslon. FEATURING Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Jerry Lewis, Kim Novak, Nancy Sinatra, Norman Lear. USA
THE SHAPE OF WATER – Set at the height of the Cold War, Guillermo del Toro’s latest stars Sally Hawkins in an otherworldly love tale between a mute cleaning lady and an Amphibian Man. DIR Guillermo del Toro. SCR Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor. CAST Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer. USA
CINEMA’S LEGACY
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK – This classic romantic comedy pairs Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as a young married couple with absolutely nothing in common. DIR Gene Saks. SCR Neil Simon. CAST Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Edelman, James Stone, Ted Hartley, Mabel Albertson. USA
BLOW-UP – A fashion photographer accidentally photographs a murder in BLOW-UP, one of Michelangelo Antonioni’s many masterpieces, and his first film in English. Restoration curated by The Criterion Collection, Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Park Circus. DIR Michelangelo Antonioni. SCR Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra. CAST Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings, John Castle, Jane Birkin, Gillian Hills, Peter Bowles. Italy
LOS CAIFANES – A wealthy couple gets an impromptu tour around Mexico City from an urban gang in this outrageous, ahead-of-its-time Mexican cinema classic. DIR Juan Ibáñez. SCR Carlos Fuentes, Juan Ibáñez. CAST Julissa, Enrique Álvarez Félix, Óscar Chávez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Sergio Juménez, Eduardo López Rojas, Tamara Garina, Martha Zabaleta. Mexico
LA COLLECTIONNEUSE – The third of Eric Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales” centers on two men and a rules-breaking woman, rumored to be a “collector” of the opposite sex, staying together on the Riviera. DIR Eric Rohmer. SCR Haydée Politoff, Patrick Bauchau, Daniel Pommereulle, Eric Rohmer. CAST Haydée Politoff, Patrick Bauchau, Daniel Pommereulle, Alain Jouffroy, Mijanou, Annik Morice, Denis Berry, Seymour Hertzberg. France
FILMWORKER – The relationship between master Stanley Kubrick and his right-hand-man, actor turned “filmworker” Leon Vitali, is a moving portrait of total dedication to art and genius. DIR Tony Zierra. FEATURING Leon Vitali, Ryan O’Neal, Matthew Modine, Danny Lloyd, Stellan Skarsgård. USA
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (IL BUONO, IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO) – Starring Clint Eastwood in a career-defining performance, Sergio Leone’s best-known work follows a band of men during the American Civil War as they hunt down a stolen cache of Confederate gold. DIR Sergio Leone. SCR Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone. CAST Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, Enzo Petito, Claudio Scarchilli, John Bartha. Italy, Spain, West Germany, USA
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER – Anchored by powerful performances by Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, this Oscar®-winning, groundbreaking masterpiece centers on an interracial romance in the 1960s. DIR Stanley Kramer. SCR William Rose. CAST Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Roy Glenn. USA
RED DESERT (IL DESERTO ROSSO) – Michelangelo Antonioni’s first foray into color centers on a maladjusted woman, played by muse Monica Vitti, searching for her place in a foggy, bleak industrial town. Restoration curated by CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with RTI-Mediaset. DIR Michelangelo Antonioni. SCR Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra. CAST Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir, Aldo Grotti. Italy, France
TITICUT FOLLIES – This searing debut documentary by Frederick Wiseman, centering on a facility for the criminally insane in Massachusetts, was banned for general audiences for 23 years. DIR Frederick Wiseman. USA
SHORTS
THE 6TH AMENDMENT – A jury decides the fate of one of the Boston Marathon bombers. DIR Elika Portnoy. SCR Mike Harden, Rob Tremblay. CAST Michael Bakkensen, Tony V., Shawn Fitzgibbon, Rose Weaver, Brookes Reeves, Mary Niederkorn, JP Valenti, Debbie Lewis, Melissa Schmidt, Courtland Jones, Tonya Chen, Richard Pacheco, Steve Assad. Bulgaria
AFTER SCHOOL KNIFE FIGHT – Laëtitia, Roca, Nico and Naël are in a band that soon will no longer exist. DIR Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel. SCR Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel. CAST Lucas Doméjean, Marylou Mayniel, Pablo Cobo, Nicolas Mias. France
ASCRIBED ACHIEVEMENTS – A failed suicide creates a new situation. DIR Samaneh Shojaei. SCR Amin Kafashzadeh. CAST Amin Kafashzadeh. Iran
BALLOONFEST – Cleveland attempts to overcome its nickname, “The Mistake by the Lake.” DIR Nathan Truesdell. SCR Nathan Truesdell. USA
THE BURDEN – An animated musical with apocalyptic undertones. DIR Niki Lindroth von Bahr. SCR Niki Lindroth von Bahr. CAST Olof Wretling, Sven Björklund, Mattias Fransson, Carl Englén. Sweden
CLOWNS – Clowns! Suddenly, they’re everywhere. DIR The Manhattan Company. USA
COIN OPERATED – Seventy years pass in the life of one naïve explorer. DIR Nicholas Arioli. SCR Nicholas Arioli. USA
COMMODITY CITY – A glimpse at the goods for sale and the humans who sell them in the largest wholesale consumer market in the world. DIR Jessica Kingdon. USA, China
COPA-LOCA – Paulina is the girl at the heart of Copa-Loca, an abandoned Greek summer resort. DIR Christos Massalas. SCR Christos Massalas. CAST Elsa Lekakou, Jenny Hiloudaki, Pavlos Iordanopoulos, Talat Iqbal, Stathis Stamoulakatos, Michalis Pitidis, Fotis Stratigos, Nadia Katsoura, Panos Iosifidis, George Ramantanis, Jon Simvonis. Greece
CUBS (UNGAR) – A single father fulfills his young daughter’s wish to throw a slumber party. DIR Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir. SCR Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir. CAST Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Agla Bríet Gísladóttir, Anna Bíbí Wium Axelsdóttir, Ragnheiður Ugla Ocares Gautsdóttir. Iceland
DADYAA – THE WOODPECKERS OF ROTHA – Atimaley and Devi are faced with a dilemma when a friend leaves without saying goodbye. DIR Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet. SCR Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet. CAST Parimal Damai, Chham Kala Damai. Nepal, France
THE DIVER – Take a plunge with the man who excavates Mexico City’s sewage system. DIR Esteban Arrangoiz. SCR Esteban Arrangoiz, Mariana Rodríguez. FEATURING Julio César Cú Cámara. Mexico
DOLLAR KING – It’s the perfect crime: three friends in pig masks with squirt guns at the dollar store. DIR Drew Pollins. SCR D.M. Brent. CAST Jason Boggs, John Charles Meyer, Ed Mattiuzzi, Susan Berger, John McCool Bowers, Ronnie Clark, Josh Harp. USA
EDGE OF ALCHEMY – Mary Pickford and Janet Gaynor are cast into a surreal epic in this handmade film assembled from over 6,000 collages. DIR Stacey Steers. SCR Stacey Steers. USA
THE FARE – A young human trafficker must confront his morals when he’s asked to transport a girl from his hometown. DIR Santiago Paladines. SCR Santiago Paladines. CAST Johnny Ortiz, Noemi Pedraza, Eduardo Roman. USA
FISH STORY – A search for the truth behind a fishy tale. DIR Charlie Lyne. SCR Charlie Lyne. FEATURING Caspar Salmon. UK
GAZE (NEGAH) – A woman witnesses a crime on a bus. DIR Farnoosh Samadi
SCR Farnoosh Samadi, Ali Asgari. CAST Marzieh Vafamehr, Amirreza Ranjbaran, Pedram Ansari, Safoura Kazempour, Gholamreza Rahimi, Mehrdad Mohammadi, Kiana Asadi, Mehran Elhamifar, Babak Karimi. Iran, Italy
A GENTLE NIGHT (XIAO CHENG ER YUE) – A mother, with a missing daughter, refuses to stop searching. DIR Qiu Yang. SCR: Qiu Yang. CAST Li Shuxian. China
GREAT CHOICE – A woman gets stuck in a looping Red Lobster commercial from hell. DIR Robin Comisar. SCR Robin Comisar. CAST Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector. USA
HI STRANGER – It’s time to catch up with an old friend. DIR Kirsten Lepore. SCR Kirsten Lepore. CAST Garrett Davis. USA
HOT DOG HANDS – A suburban woman can’t stop growing new fingers. DIR Matt Reynolds. SCR Matt Reynolds. CAST Gillian Wallace Horvat. USA
HOUSE OF JXN – A glimpse into the dance clubs and Rainbow families of Jackson, MS. DIR Rosie Haber. USA
HOW’S YOUR PROSTATE? – A discussion between two girlfriends. DIR Jeanne Paturle, Cécile Rousset. SCR Jeanne Paturle, Cécile Rousset, Cécile Mille. CAST Cécile Mille. France
IFO – Historic UFO sightings over Mansfield, OH, are evoked through memory, report and gesture. DIR Kevin Jerome Everson. FEATURING Albert Thomas, Elijah Bailey Harris, Saveon Moore, Carmenita Higginbotham, Matilda Washington, Tre’Zhan Gamble. USA
ISLANDS (LES ÎLES) – Three characters wander through an erotic maze of love and desire. DIR Yann Gonzalez. SCR Yann Gonzalez. CAST Sarah-Megan Allouch, Thomas Ducasse, Alphonse Maitrepierre, Mathilde Mennetrier, Romain Merle, Simon Thiébaut. France
JOY JOY NAILS – Under the polish, everyone’s a victim. DIR Joey Ally. SCR Joey Ally. CAST Kahyun Kim, Yi Liu, Tae Song, Esther Moon, Shirley Kwon, Chris Yejin, Sarah Chang, Amber Sealey, Caryn West, Catherine Haena Kim, Jongman Kim. USA
LANCE LIZARDI – A young man embarks on a reptilian adventure. DIR Xander Robin, FEATURING Lance Lizardi, James Bears, Robin Robin, Michael Kefeyalew, Valerie Brooks, Michael Casper, Gary Holzapple. USA
LIFE BOAT – Six teenagers are led into a game of survival by their guidance counselor. DIR Lorraine Nicholson. SCR Lorraine Nicholson. CAST Elizabeth Gilpin, Stephen Dorff, Moises Arias, Kwame Boateng, Hopper Penn, B.K. Cannon, Chloe Bridges. USA
LUPUS – In December 2011, a security guard was killed by a pack of stray dogs prowling in a poor neighborhood in Bogota. DIR Carlos Gomez Salamanca. SCR Carlos Gomez Salamanca. France
MARE NOSTRUM – A Syrian father prepares his daughter for a dangerous journey. DIR Rana Kazkaz, Anas Khalaf. SCR Rana Kazkaz. CAST Ziad Bakri, Zayn Khalaf. France, Syrian Arab Republic
MR. YELLOW SWEATSHIRT – A man enters the New York City subway. DIR Pacho Velez, Yoni Brook. USA
NATIONAL DISINTEGRATIONS – A peek inside Swiss freeports, where many of the world’s art treasures are hidden. DIR Braden King. USA, Switzerland
NIGHTHAWK (NOČNA PTICA) – A drunk badger lies motionless on a road. DIR Špela Čadež. SCR Gregor Zorc, Špela Čadež. CAST Andrej Nahtigal, Karin Komljanec, Gregor Zorc. Slovenia, Croatia
NUTAG-HOMELAND – A hand-painted visual poem about the tragic mass deportations of the Kalmyk people during WWII. DIR Alisi Telengut. SCR Alisi Telengut. Canada
PET RITUALS – The frontwoman of a hardcore punk band struggles to cut ties with her boyfriend. DIR J. Casey Modderno. SCR Jarret Rosenblatt. CAST Sophia Dueñas, Austin Ford, Maynor Alvarado, Casey Mills. USA
SHINAAB – A young Anishinaabe man is haunted by thoughts of home. DIR Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr. SRC Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr. CAST Ajuawak Kapashesit, Brian Joyce, Zoe Corbine-Daniels, Anna Stranz, John Edel, Tyson Lietz. USA
SILICA – An exploration of territorial constructs and the boundaries of the real and the mediated in an opal mining town in the South Australian desert. DIR Pia Borg. SCR Pia Borg. FEATURING Nicolette Krebitz. Australia, UK
STILL DEVOUT – An anxious 23-year-old, still living at home, must choose between romance and the needs of her family. DIR Melissa Perez. SCR Melissa Perez. CAST Valeria Chavez, Gloria Sandoval, J. Eddie Martinez, Antonio Sagastizado, Armando Heredia, Natalie Camunas. USA
TAKEOUT NIGHT – An incident with a neighboring mom causes a couple to reevaluate a very big decision. DIR Duncan Birmingham. SCR Duncan Birmingham. CAST Rachel Sondag, Frances Chewning, Duncan Birmingham. USA
TEN METER TOWER – A 10-meter diving tower forces people to confront their fears. DIR Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson. SCR Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson. Sweden
THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT (TESLA: LUMIÈRE MONDIALE) – Visionary inventor Nikola Tesla makes one last appeal to J.P. Morgan, his onetime benefactor. DIR Matthew Rankin. SCR Matthew Rankin. CAST Robert Vilar. Canada
THE TOWN I LIVE IN – Artists and activists clash over the future of a rapidly gentrifying Los Angeles neighborhood. DIR Guadalupe Rosales, Matt Wolf. USA
VICTOR & ISOLINA – Victor and Isolina answer questions about their lifelong, complex and arduous relationship. DIR William Caballero. FEATURING Victor Muriel, Isolina Muriel. USA
VISIONS OF AN ISLAND – Impressions of an island in the Bering Sea. DIR Sky Hopinka. USA
As Previously Announced
AFI FEST takes place November 9–16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre, Dolby Cinema at the Vine, the Mark Goodson Screening Room at the American Film Institute and The Hollywood Roosevelt. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled on Friday, October 27. Free tickets will be available on AFI.com/AFIFEST on Wednesday, November 1.
This year’s Centerpiece Galas are CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (DIR Luca Guadagnino), THE DISASTER ARTIST (DIR James Franco) and HOSTILES (DIR Scott Cooper). Also screening at the festival is WORMWOOD, featuring a Tribute to director Errol Morris.
Additionally, the New Auteurs and American Independent sections have been announced and more information about these sections can be found here.
The Opening Night Gala will be MUDBOUND (DIR Dee Rees) on Thursday, November 9. The Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (DIR Ridley Scott) on Thursday, November 16.
This year, AFI FEST will present a retrospective of the work of Robert Altman (1925–2006), with screenings and discussions of 12 films: M*A*S*H (1970), MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974), NASHVILLE (1975), 3 WOMEN (1977), VINCENT & THEO (1990), THE PLAYER (1992), SHORT CUTS (1993), KANSAS CITY (1996), GOSFORD PARK (2001) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).
New educational experiences taking place as part of the festival this year include an AFI FEST Storytelling Bootcamp for Los Angeles Unified School District students.
AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 14th consecutive year as presenting sponsor of the festival. An enduring champion of the motion picture arts, Audi nurtures new and established voices through its support of AFI FEST and beyond, including the Audi Fellowship for Women at the AFI Conservatory, a new full-tuition scholarship investing in the future of female directors in film and television.
Patron packages ensure reserved seats for Galas, and all proceeds benefit the educational programs of the American Film Institute. A limited number of individual tickets to Galas and other screenings are also made available at no charge thanks to the event sponsors. Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events.
As part of their membership benefits, AFI members will receive a complimentary AFI FEST Cinepass, which allows access to all regular screenings and special offers at this year’s festival. Additionally, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Express Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2017. Additional sponsors include AT&T; American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.
About the American Film Institute
Celebrating its golden milestone, the American Film Institute began its mission on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. Established by Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential mandate in the White House Rose Garden, AFI is America’s promise to educate today’s audiences and tomorrow’s artists. The Institute was anchored by a foundation of luminaries from the film community including Gregory Peck as Chair, Sidney Poitier as Vice Chair, George Stevens, Jr., as Director and CEO with board members Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Jack Valenti.
In 1969, AFI opened the Center for Advanced Film Studies, now called the AFI Conservatory, an elite MFA program whose inaugural class included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. The program’s acclaimed film and television alumni include
Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Julie Dash, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, David Lynch and Robert Richardson, among others.
In addition to the AFI Conservatory, AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI AWARDS, honoring the most outstanding movies and TV series of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, and youtube.com/AFI.
About AFI FEST presented by Audi
A program of the American Film Institute, AFI FEST presented by Audi is a celebration of global cinema and today’s Hollywood — a showcase for the best festival films of the year and an opportunity for master filmmakers and emerging artists to come together with audiences in the movie capital of the world. Celebrating its 31st edition, AFI FEST is the only festival of its stature that is free to the public. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for both Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®. This year’s edition takes place November 9–16, 2017. Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFI.
About Audi
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. The Audi Group is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. In 2016, AUDI AG delivered about 1.871 million Audi automobiles and broke all-time company sales records for the seventh straight year in the U.S. Visit www.audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.
The following is a press release from the American Film Institute:
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the three Centerpiece Galas and Tribute that will take place at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi. The Centerpiece Galas are: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (DIR Luca Guadagnino) on Friday, November 10; THE DISASTER ARTIST (DIR James Franco) on Sunday, November 12; and HOSTILES (DIR Scott Cooper) on Tuesday, November 14. On Saturday, November 11, Academy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris will be honored with a Tribute following a screening of WORMWOOD. All Gala screenings will take place at the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Errol Morris Tribute will take place at the Egyptian Theatre.
Errol Morris’ revered credits include the Oscar®-winning THE FOG OF WAR (2003), as well as GATES OF HEAVEN (1978), THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988), A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (1991), TABLOID (2010) and THE UNKNOWN KNOWN (2013). Morris serves on the AFI DOCS Film Festival Advisory Board and, in 2013, was the AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree.
To attend, guests can purchase AFI FEST Patron Packages — which include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events.
CENTERPIECE GALAS
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME — The new film from Sony Pictures Classics by Luca Guadagnino is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17-year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family’s 17th-century villa, transcribing and playing classical music, reading and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart. One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.
THE DISASTER ARTIST — Director James Franco reimagines the tragicomic true story of aspiring filmmaker and infamous Hollywood outsider Tommy Wiseau — an artist whose passion was as sincere as his methods were questionable — as a celebration of friendship, artistic expression and dreams pursued against insurmountable odds. Based on Greg Sestero’s bestselling tell-all about the making of Wiseau’s cult-classic disaster piece THE ROOM (“The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”), THE DISASTER ARTIST is a hilarious and welcome reminder that there is more than one way to become a legend — and no limit to what you can achieve when you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. Franco directs, produces and stars in the film, delivering a transformative performance as Wiseau in this A24 release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcQVvln1KhU
HOSTILES — Set in 1892 at the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, the buffalo gone, America’s indigenous population vanquished and the frontier rapidly disappearing into settlements and cities, two bitter adversaries of the Indian Wars are forced into a final, unexpected encounter. Cavalry Captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale), a former war hero turned jailer, and Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi), a Northern Cheyenne war chief turned prisoner, are forced to partake in a hollow publicity stunt to bolster the personal and political fortunes of Blocker’s commanding officer. Stuck in Fort Berringer, a miserable New Mexican prison outpost, Yellow Hawk is to be released to Blocker and returned to the Cheyenne homeland in Montana. It’s a particularly cynical gambit, as Yellow Hawk is dying and upon his death, his family will be imprisoned on a reservation. A belligerent Blocker believes the Chief should die in prison and is threatened with court martial when he refuses to accompany his enemy home. The plan is set in motion and Blocker, his men, Yellow Hawk and his family become complicated traveling companions. Not long after their departure, the group happens upon Rosalee Quaid (Rosamund Pike), a traumatized survivor of a Comanche massacre, and she reluctantly joins. Blocker, Yellow Hawk and Quaid turn into the unlikely heart of HOSTILES. They are tenacious fighters who have been shaped by suffering, violence and loss. Compelled to work together to endure and survive a 1,000-mile journey of Odyssey-like proportions, they’re forced to confront their preconceived notions of one another, and realize that the worst of their differences were created by forces beyond their control. Their transformation from a place of antagonism and fear to one of compassion and tolerance is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and our capacity for change. HOSTILES features cinematography by AFI Conservatory alumnus Masanobu Takayanagi (Class of 2002).
TRIBUTE SCREENING
WORMWOOD — Directed by boundary-breaking filmmaker Errol Morris, WORMWOOD explores the limits of knowledge about the past and the lengths we’ll go in our search for the truth in a twisting, evolving story of one man’s 60-year quest to identify the circumstances of his father’s mysterious death. Combining a virtuosic performance by Peter Sarsgaard with Morris’ legendary interview style, WORMWOOD examines this case from every possible angle, bringing the viewer face to face with some of the United States’ darkest secrets. A Netflix Original Story told in six chapters.
As Previously Announced
AFI FEST takes place November 9–16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre, Dolby Cinema at the Vine, the Mark Goodson Screening Room at the American Film Institute and The Hollywood Roosevelt. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled on Friday, October 27. Free tickets will be available on AFI.com/AFIFEST on Wednesday, November 1.
The Opening Night Gala will be MUDBOUND (DIR Dee Rees) on Thursday, November 9. The Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD with a Tribute to director Ridley Scott on Thursday, November 16.
Additionally, the New Auteurs and American Independent sections have been announced and more information about these sections can be found here.
This year, AFI FEST will present a retrospective of the work of Robert Altman (1925–2006), with screenings and discussions of 12 films: M*A*S*H (1970), MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974), NASHVILLE (1975), 3 WOMEN (1977), VINCENT & THEO (1990), THE PLAYER (1992), SHORT CUTS (1993), KANSAS CITY (1996), GOSFORD PARK (2001) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).
New educational experiences taking place as part of the festival this year include an AFI FEST Storytelling Bootcamp for Los Angeles Unified School District students.
AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 14th consecutive year as presenting sponsor of the festival. An enduring champion of the motion picture arts, Audi nurtures new and established voices through its support of AFI FEST and beyond, including the Audi Fellowship for Women at the AFI Conservatory, a new full-tuition scholarship investing in the future of female directors in film and television.
Patron packages ensure reserved seats for Galas, and all proceeds benefit the educational programs of the American Film Institute. A limited number of individual tickets to Galas and other screenings are also made available at no charge thanks to the event sponsors. Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events.
As part of their membership benefits, AFI members will receive a complimentary AFI FEST Cinepass, which allows access to all regular screenings and special offers at this year’s festival. Additionally, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Express Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2017. Additional sponsors include AT&T; American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.
About the American Film Institute
Celebrating its golden milestone, the American Film Institute began its mission on June 5, 1967 — to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. Established by Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential mandate in the White House Rose Garden, AFI is America’s promise to educate today’s audiences and tomorrow’s artists. The Institute was anchored by a foundation of luminaries from the film community including Gregory Peck as Chair, Sidney Poitier as Vice Chair, George Stevens, Jr., as Director and CEO with board members Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Jack Valenti.
In 1969, AFI opened the Center for Advanced Film Studies, now called the AFI Conservatory, an elite MFA program whose inaugural class included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. The program’s acclaimed film and television alumni include
Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Julie Dash, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, David Lynch and Robert Richardson, among others.
In addition to the AFI Conservatory, AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI AWARDS, honoring the most outstanding movies and TV series of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, and youtube.com/AFI.
About AFI FEST presented by Audi
A program of the American Film Institute, AFI FEST presented by Audi is a celebration of global cinema and today’s Hollywood — a showcase for the best festival films of the year and an opportunity for master filmmakers and emerging artists to come together with audiences in the movie capital of the world. Celebrating its 31st edition, AFI FEST is the only festival of its stature that is free to the public. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for both Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®. This year’s edition takes place November 9–16, 2017. Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFI.
About Audi
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. The Audi Group is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. In 2016, AUDI AG delivered about 1.871 million Audi automobiles and broke all-time company sales records for the seventh straight year in the U.S. Visit www.audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that Academy Award®-nominated director and producer Ridley Scott will be honored by AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi with a Tribute and World Premiere Closing Night Gala screening of TriStar Pictures’ ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD on Thursday, November 16, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The Tribute will celebrate Scott’s legendary filmmaking career with a moderated discussion of his work followed by the World Premiere screening. Directed by Scott, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD stars Academy Award® nominees Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams, and Academy Award® winner Kevin Spacey. The Closing Night Gala will be sponsored by VIZIO.
“For five decades, Ridley Scott’s tremendous visions of cities, new worlds, histories and science have transformed and influenced not only film, but our culture,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, AFI FEST Director. “We’re honored to be celebrating the artistry of a director whose work has had an indelible influence on cinema culture, and the lexicon of visual style.”
One of our most prolific directors and producers, Ridley Scott is a four-time Academy Award® nominee, including Best Picture for THE MARTIAN (2015) and Best Director for BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001), GLADIATOR (2000) and THELMA & LOUISE (1991). Additional films include ALIEN (1979), BLADE RUNNER (1982), LEGEND (1985), BLACK RAIN (1989), G.I. JANE (1997), MATCHSTICK MEN (2003), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005), AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007), ROBIN HOOD (2010), PROMETHEUS (2012), THE COUNSELOR (2013), EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (2014) and ALIEN: COVENANT (2017).
ABOUT THE FILM
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Kevin Spacey) to pay the ransom. When Getty, Sr., refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.
Directed by Ridley Scott, TriStar Pictures’ and Imperative Entertainment’s ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD is written by David Scarpa, based on the book by John Pearson. Produced by Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Quentin Curtis, Chris Clark, Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam and Kevin Walsh, the film stars Michelle Williams, Kevin Spacey, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Charlie Plummer and Timothy Hutton.
The film debuts in theaters this December.
November 8, 2017 UPDATE: The AFI Fest premiere of “All the Money in the World” has been cancelled due to the Kevin Spacey sexual misconduct scandal. Spacey has been removed from the film and has been replaced by Christopher Plummer.
AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
AFI FEST takes place November 9–16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled in October.
Additionally the New Auteurs and American Independent sections have been announced and more information about these sections can be found here.
The Opening Night Gala will be MUDBOUND (DIR Dee Rees) on Thursday, November 9.
This year, AFI FEST will present a retrospective of the work of Robert Altman (1925–2006), with screenings and discussions of 12 films: M*A*S*H (1970), MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974), NASHVILLE (1975), 3 WOMEN (1977), VINCENT & THEO (1990), THE PLAYER (1992), SHORT CUTS (1993), KANSAS CITY (1996), GOSFORD PARK (2001) and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).
New educational experiences taking place as part of the festival this year include an AFI FEST Storytelling Bootcamp for Los Angeles Unified School District students.
AFI FEST will once again bring the best in global cinema to Los Angeles thanks to the visionary support of Audi — now in its 14th consecutive year as presenting sponsor of the festival. An enduring champion of the motion picture arts, Audi nurtures new and established voices through its support of AFI FEST and beyond, including the Audi Fellowship for Women at the AFI Conservatory, a new full-tuition scholarship investing in the future of female directors in film and television.
Patron packages ensure reserved seats for Closing Night, and all proceeds benefit the educational programs of the American Film Institute. A limited number of individual tickets to Closing Night and other screenings are also made available at no charge thanks to the event sponsors. Go to AFI.com now to purchase Patron Packages, which can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events. Individual tickets will be available on AFI.com beginning November 1.
As part of their membership benefits, AFI members will receive a complimentary AFI FEST Cinepass, which allows access to all regular screenings and special offers at this year’s festival. Additionally, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Express Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership
Audi is the exclusive presenting sponsor of AFI FEST 2017. Additional top sponsors include AT&T; American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; and VIZIO, the official home theater sponsor of AFI.
The Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 7 to September 17, 2017. Here is the list of this year’s TIFF award winners:
People’s Choice Awards
The Grolsch People’s Choice Award Winner: Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” First runner-up: Craig Gillespie’s “I, Tonya” Second runner-up: Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name”
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award Winner: Joseph Kahn’s “Bodied” First runner-up: James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist” Second runner-up: Craig Zahler’s “Brawl in Cell Block 99”
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award Winner: Agnès Varda and JR’s “Faces Places” First runner-up: Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier’s “Long Time Running” Second runner-up: Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!”
International Jury Awards
Toronto Platform Prize Presented by Air France
Warwick Thornton’s “Sweet Country”
The Prizes of the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipreci Prizes) Winner – Discovery: Sadaf Foroughi’s “Ava” Winner – Special Presentations: Manuel Martín Cuenca’s “The Motive (El Autor)”
Netpac Award Winner: Huang Hsin-Yao’s The Great Buddha+
Short Film Jury Awards
IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film Winner: Marc-Antoine Lemire’s Pre-Drink
IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film Winner: Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s The Burden (Min Börda)
Canadian Film Jury Awards
City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian Film Winner: Wayne Wapeemukwa’s “Luk’ Luk’l”
Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film Winner: Robin Aubert’s “Les Affamés”
