2017 AFI FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY AUDI

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the creation of the American Film Institute which was designed to save America’s precious motion picture heritage. After it was discovered in 1967 that less than 10% of American films were being properly preserved for future generations, AFI teamed with the Library of Congress to archive and store these important films. To date, 37,000 motion pictures are now safely preserved in the AFI Collection at the Library of Congress.

The American Film Institute later created a film festival to showcase exciting new films and this year's AFI Film Fest presented by Audi is set to begin on November 9th and concluding on November 16th. The event will be held once again at the TCL Chinese Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

"Mudbound", a historical period drama co-written and directed by Dee Rees, will open this year's AFI Fest at the TCL Chinese Theatre. The film tells the story of two families following the end of World War II living in the rural South who struggle against financial hardships and racial tensions of the day. Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige and Rob Morgan star.



There are three Centerpiece Screenings: "Call Me By Your Name" from Italian filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino, "The Disaster Artist" by star and director, James Franco and "Hostiles", the latest from director, Scott Cooper.




A tribute to the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris ("The Thin Blue Line", "The Fog of War", "A Brief History of Time") will be held on November 11th along with a screening of his latest, "Wormwood", a Netflix six-part drama series.



The Closing Night Gala will be the world premiere of "All The Money in The World", the latest from Ridley Scott who will also be honored with a tribute and discussion following the screening. Based on the novel from John Pearson, the film recalls the true-life incident involving the kidnapping of the sixteen year-old grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty (played by Kevin Spacey) and his shocking refusal to pay his ransom. Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Charlie Plummer and Timothy Hutton also star.

UPDATE: Due to the disturbing allegations against actor Kevin Spacey, "All The Money In The World" has been cancelled as the Closing Night film. As for the film, in a most unusual move Christopher Plummer has been hired to re-film Spacey's role as J. Paul Getty with the plan to still release the film theatrically on December 22nd.

"Molly's Game", the feature directing debut by writer, Aaron Sorkin has been selected for the Closing Night Gala on November 16th. Based on a true story, Jessica Chastain stars as Molly Bloom who ran exclusive poker games for power players for years before getting busted by the FBI due to her unknowingly having the Russian mob playing at her club. Idris Elba plays her defense lawyer and the cast also includes Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Chris O’Dowd and Bill Camp.



Two Special Presentations include a conversation with British director Christopher Nolan who is hot right now following his surprise summer hit, the WWII drama, "Dunkirk" and the eighty-nine year old French filmmaker, Agnes Varda will discuss her impressive career following a screening of her latest film, "Faces Places". Ms Varda will also be receiving an honorary Oscar on November 11th.

And for the first time, AFI Fest will be holding an annual retrospective to spotlight an important filmmaker of global significance and this year will be Robert Altman. The late writer/director will have twelve of his most essential films screened: "M*A*S*H" (1970), "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971), "The Long Goodbye" (1972), "California Split" (1973), "Nashville" (1975), "3 Women" (1977), "Vincent & Theo" (1990), "The Player" (1992), "Short Cuts" (1993), "Kansas City" (1996), "Godford Park" (2001) and "A Prairie Home Companion" (2006). There will be a discussion following each screening and talent in attendance will be later announced.









There is much more with the best of new features, documentaries, shorts and world cinema to be screened throughout the eight day fest. Tickets for most screenings are free and Express passes are available for purchase. For the complete list of films, to get tickets and additional information, please click below:

AFI Film Fest 2017

2017 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

The 55th Annual New York Film Festival is almost ready to begin and will once again present a celebration of cinema with world premieres, documentaries, restorations, classic films and free talks. Beginning September 28th and running through October 15th, the Opening Night Film will be the world premiere of the latest from Richard Linklater, "Last Flag Flying". This sequel of the 1973 film, "The Last Detail", which was based on the book by Darryl Ponicsan (who co-wrote this script with Linklater), follows the same three men who served together in the marines and are reunited years later due to a tragic event. Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne take over the roles that were first played by Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young.



The Centerpiece Selection is "Wonderstruck", an adaption of the young-adult novel by "Hugo" author Brian Selznick from director Todd Haynes, tells parallel stories of two deaf children, one set in 1927 and the other 1977, largely told with minimum dialogue and which ultimately converge in an unexpected way.



The Closing Night Film is another world premiere and it's the latest feature from Woody Allen. "Wonder Wheel" stars Kate Winslet as a frustrated Coney Island housewife whose life is brightened when she meets a handsome lifeguard (Justin Timberlake). But when her husband's estranged daughter (Juno Temple) pays them a visit and has eyes for the lifeguard, complications are inevitable. A conversation with Ms Winslet which will have the Oscar-winning actress discussing her over twenty-year film career will be on October 13th.



There will be twenty-two other features from around the world that are a part of the Main Slate and include new works from Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name"), Agnès Varda ("Faces Places"), Sean Baker ("The Florida Project"), Claire Denis ("Let The Sun Shine In"), Noah Baumbach ("The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)") and the feature directing debut by actress, Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird").









Other Special Events include the world premiere of "Spielberg", a documentary that traces the career and artistic growth of one of the world's most famous directors, "Trouble No More", which features newly restored concert footage from Bob Dylan's '79-'80 tour and a new restoration of the classic 1929 German silent film "Pandora's Box" which starred the iconic Louise Brooks.





And for the first time, the fest will feature a retrospective on an important figure in cinema and the first honored will be Robert Mitchum. This handsome and charismatic actor had an incredible career that went on for five decades. Mitchum worked with some of the finest filmmakers in Hollywood and appeared in nearly every genre imaginable. Twenty-four of the actor's best films will be screened including a new documentary by photographer, Bruce Weber, "Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast" which features footage of Mitchum during a photo shoot in the late 1990's.









For tickets and additional information, please click below:

2017 New York Film Festival