AFI Fest brings the best from other festivals to L.A. film fans

As a seasoned cinephile who’s been navigating the silver screen for decades, I must say that this year’s AFI Fest program promises to be a cinematic feast unlike any other! From the world premieres of Laurent Bouzereau’s “Music by John Williams” and Robert Zemeckis’ “Here,” to Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2,” this fest is shaping up to be a veritable treasure trove of stories from around the globe.

On Tuesday, the American Film Institute revealed the complete schedule for the upcoming AFI Fest, providing local viewers an initial opportunity to watch numerous films from this year’s global film festivals. This event takes place from October 23rd through the 27th.

Previously mentioned, AFI Fest is set to kick off with the global debut of Laurent Bouzereau’s documentary “Music by John Williams,” showcasing the five-time Academy Award-winning film composer renowned for iconic themes in films like “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” and “Superman.” Among the festival’s highlights, we have the world premiere of Robert Zemeckis’ “Here,” bringing him together again with “Forrest Gump” actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Additionally, Zemeckis will participate in a Director Spotlight event, which includes screening clips from his work and a career discussion between the director and his frequent collaborator, Hanks.

The closing event of the festival is set to feature the first public screening of “Juror #2,” a suspenseful courtroom drama directed by the legendary 94-year-old Clint Eastwood and starring Nicholas Hoult.

Todd Hitchcock, head of AFI Fest and AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Md., expressed excitement about showcasing exceptional films from various parts of the globe in Los Angeles. In his statement, he emphasized that it’s a grand event honoring storytelling in all its manifestations. He further mentioned that this multicultural gathering will undoubtedly spark curiosity and inspiration among people of all ages with its wide array of unique narratives and viewpoints.

Under Hitchcock’s guidance during its second year, the festival appears to be finding its niche as a platform for showcasing standout films from the past year to audiences in Los Angeles. Some of the movies unveiled on Tuesday were part of this year’s festival circuit, with premieres at Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, Venice, Telluride, and Toronto festivals among them.

The documentary titled “Zurawski v Texas,” produced by Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, made its premiere at the Telluride event. This documentary on abortion rights was overseen by executive producers Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Jennifer Lawrence.

Pablo Larraín’s film “Maria,” featuring Angelina Jolie portraying opera star Maria Callas, along with Tim Fehlbaum’s depiction of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis in “September 5”, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s medieval drama “Harvest” exploring farming life, Alex Ross Perry’s blend of reality and mythology “Pavements” about the indie-rock band Pavement from the ’90s, and Justin Kurzel’s fact-based crime story “The Order” all made their debut at the Venice Film Festival.

Alonso Ruizpalacios’ film “La Cocina,” featuring Raúl Briones and Rooney Mara, showcasing the culture clash in a multilingual New York City restaurant, was premiered earlier this year at Berlin. Similarly, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor’s documentary “No Other Land” about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, co-produced by filmmakers from both countries, also debuted at Berlin. As of now, audiences can only catch this timely and important film during festival screenings such as AFI Fest, as it remains undistributed in the U.S.

At the Cannes Film Festival, some of the films that were screened include David Cronenberg’s somber drama titled “The Shrouds,” Paul Schrader’s film starring Richard Gere, called “Oh, Canada,” and Jia Zhang-ke’s movie “Caught by the Tides,” which was shot by the director over a span of two decades. Additionally, Andrea Arnold’s fantastical drama titled “Bird,” Noémie Merlant’s horror-comedy entitled “The Balconettes,” and Carson Lund’s baseball drama set in New England called “Eephus” also made their debut at Cannes.

Mike Leigh’s first contemporary-set drama in 14 years, “Hard Truths,” hails from Toronto, as does Durga Chew-Bose’s fashionable adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s classic coming-of-age novel, “Bonjour Tristesse.” Additionally, Samir Oliveros’ “The Luckiest Man in America,” which delves into a backstage scandal at the game show “Press Your Luck,” made its debut in Toronto. Also premiering there were Rachel Morrison’s boxing drama “The Fire Inside” (written by Barry Jenkins) and Marielle Heller’s psychological horror tale of motherhood, “Nightbitch,” starring Amy Adams.

Earlier this year, Jesse Eisenberg’s dramedy titled “A Real Pain” and Chris Smith’s documentary about the enduring music group “Devo” had their premieres at Sundance. In addition, AFI Fest will showcase “De-Evolution Is Real: The Restored Films of Devo,” a collection of material drawn from the band’s extensive archives.

The festival’s lineup will showcase nine films from various countries competing for the International Feature Academy Award, such as “Dahomey” by Mati Diop, “Grand Tour” by Miguel Gomes, “I’m Still Here” directed by Walter Salles, “Santosh” by Sandhya Suri, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” by Mohammad Rasoulof, “Sujo” from Astrid Rondero, “Under the Volcano” by Damian Kocur, “Universal Language” by Matthew Rankin, and “Vermiglio” by Maura Delpero.

Previous year’s event showcased over twenty entries competing for the International Feature Film Oscar, along with the global debut of Sam Esmail’s “Leave the World Behind” as the opening film. The festival concluded with a presentation of Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” on its final day.

This year’s AFI Fest passes are currently up for grabs at fest.afi.com! Starting October 4, you can purchase eight-ticket packages. Individual tickets will be made available from October 7 onwards.

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2024-10-01 21:32