"The Favourite" went in to the 2019 British Academy of Film and Television Arts with the most nominations at twelve and while Yorgos Lanthimos's dark comedy walked away winning the most awards with seven (including Best British Film), it was Alfonso Cuarón's personal family drama that took the top prize of Best Film. Cuarón also received awards for his work as a director, cinematographer and a film not in the English-language. The biggest surprise was director Spike Lee receiving with his co-writers the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for "Blackkklansman".
Here is a partial list of winners from the 2019 BAFTA Awards:
Best Film: "Roma" Outstanding British Film: "The Favourite" Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" Best Original Screenplay: Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, "The Favourite" Best Adapted Screenplay: Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott, "Blackkklansman" Best Leading Actress: Olivia Colman, "The Favourite" Best Leading Actor: Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody" Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite" Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, "Green Book" Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Michael Pearce (Writer/Director) and Lauren Dark (Producer), "Beast" Best Film Not In The English Language: "Roma" Best Documentary: "Free Solo" Best Animated Film: "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" Best Original Music: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and Lukas Nelson, "A Star Is Born" Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" Best Editing: Hank Corwin, "Vice" Best Production Design: Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, "The Favourite" Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell, "The Favourite" Best Make-Up: Nadia Stacey, "The Favourite" Best Sound: John Casali, Tim Cavagin, Nina Hartstone, Paul Massey and John Warhurst, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Best Visual Effects: Geoffrey Baumann, Jesse James Chisholm, Craig Hammack and Dan Sudick, "Black Panther"
EE Rising Star: Letitia Wright
Despite super-hero adventures and horror flicks continuing to dominate the box-office while Netflix has moved even more aggressively in to swooping-up interesting indie and foreign-language films that they rarely show in a theater, the year in cinema for 2018 still managed to be exceptional with theaters displaying a wide variety of bold and exciting films, particularly with non-fiction features.
Here are my selections of my favorite films of 2018 in no particular order:
"ROMA"
Alfonso Cuarón, the Academy Award wining filmmaker, decided to look back on his life and has masterfully created a beautiful and meditative drama inspired by his experiences as a child. "Roma" tells the story of Cleo (in an amazing performance by first-time actress, Yalitza Aparicio), who works as a maid for a family in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City during the 1970's. The mother of the family, Sofia (Marina de Tavira) is having some serious marital problems with her doctor husband, Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and is trying to keep it from her four young children. Cleo is casually dating Fermín (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a young local boy and soon finds herself in the family way. Cuarón (who produced, wrote and photographed the film in stunning black & white) has crafted an intimate and loving tribute to a seemingly simple servant who selflessly helped keep the lives of an unraveling family steady while she struggled to keep her own life on solid ground.
"IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK"
"If Beale Street Could Talk", the beautifully rendered yet emotionally devastating story of love and commitment by writer/director, Barry Jenkins, is surprisingly one of the very few books by the masterful writer, James Baldwin that have been adapted for the big screen. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a cinematic renaissance of Baldwin's work. This 1970's set film tells the story of Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne in her first major role) who are young and in love. But their happiness is interrupted when Fonny is falsely accused of a horrific crime and placed in jail. Tish's parents (Colman Domingo and Regina King) help find a lawyer to work on Fonny's case however the situation becomes more urgent when Tish discovers she's with child. Mr. Jenkins effectively uses lush colors and expressive visuals to enhance Baldwin's powerful narrative. And with only his third feature (following his Best Picture winner, "Moonlight"), Jenkins proves to be one of the most vital filmmakers working today.
"THE FAVOURITE"
"The Favourite", Yorgos Lanthimos' outlandish historical dramedy, was certainly not expected from this Greek film maker. He is best known for his surreal and experimental works like "Alps", "Dogtooth" which received a Best Foreign-Language Film nomination in 2010 and "The Lobster" that earned Lanthimos a Best Original Screenplay nod. Working for the first time with a script he didn't write (and it's a great one from Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara), the director has made his most conventional film to date while still managing to deliver his brand of deliciously wicked humor and peculiar dramatics. Based on real-life members of the eighteenth century British royal court yet far from factual, our story involves Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), a sickly and eccentric royal, who is advised and comforted by Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the Duchess of Marlburough. Sarah's cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone), a poor relation who has fallen on hard times, comes seeking to be of service but she's only made a servant. Seeking a better opportunity, Abigail finds a way to get closer to the Queen which leads to a brutal battle between the cousins for her affections. These three actresses are all at the top of their game and help make "The Favourite" an unforgettable experience.
"SORRY TO BOTHER YOU"
With his feature film directorial debut, "Sorry To Bother You", musician Boots Riley has cleverly merged some serious issues of capitalism and racial politics with outrageous dark comedy and a touch of oddball sci-fi. In his first major starring role after many impressive supporting performances, Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius "Cash" Green, a young African-American slacker from Oakland living in his uncle's (Terry Crews) garage with his performance-artist girlfriend, "Detroit" (Tessa Thompson). "Cash" struggles at his new job as a telemarketer until an older co-worker (Danny Glover) explains to him that in order to succeed, he needs to create a "white voice". As he successfully moves up the business ladder, "Cash" is torn between joining the fight against the company's poor labor practices and enjoying the good-life of the corporate elites headed by the smooth CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). "Sorry To Bother You" is provocative, hilarious and just plain weird, making it one of the most innovative films of 2018. "THE SISTERS BROTHERS"
The western, a genre known for its macho posturing and brutal violence, is slightly turned on its head with "The Sisters Brothers". This dark comedy, adapted from a novel by Canadian writer, Patrick deWitt, features John C. Reilly as Eli Sisters and Joaquin Phoenix as his younger, hot-headed brother, Charlie. They are hired hit-men in Oregon who work for a ruthless man only known as The Commodore (Rutger Hauer). While tracking down their latest target, a chemist (Riz Ahmed) with a valuable invention that makes gold detectable in water, the brothers are intercepted by a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) in his capture. They soon catch-up with each other and unexpectedly wind up working together with a plan to split the profits from the gold they find. What makes "The Sisters Brothers" really stand out in a wonderfully unpredictable way is that in between the robbing, shootings and killings, we have these men being vulnerable, sharing their feelings and forming actual friendships. "The Sisters Brothers", which is the first English-language film directed by the acclaimed French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard, did not get nearly enough attention in theaters that it deserved, so I highly recommended you seek this extraordinary film out.
"CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?"
Anchored by two amazing performances by Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, the comedy-drama, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" looks at the real-life story of failing writer, Lee Israel and the desperate measures she takes to make a living and remain creative. Israel (McCarthy) was a one-time successful author but her alcoholism, writer's block and bad attitude has put her in a serious financial bind. She comes up with a scheme to write and sell letters that were supposed to have been written by deceased famous authors, playwrights and actors. Israel gets away with it for a while, with some help from fellow con-man, Jack (Grant), until people become suspicious and contact the F.B.I. The director, Marielle Heller has made a deceptively, charming film rich with witty humor and touching emotions.
This was an incredible year for some great documentaries and people turned out in impressively large numbers to see them in theaters. Three of my favorites were "RBG", which stands for "Ruth Bader Ginsberg" and before she became an admired Supreme Court Justice, she was a law professor and went on to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court six cases regarding gender discrimination. "Three Identical Strangers" examines the crazy and cruel story of a set of identical triplets that were each adopted to families separately and no one was told that the others existed. And rock climber, Alex Honnold is profiled in "Free Solo" with his dangerous (and definitely crazy) quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
"WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?"
Out of all the films I saw last year, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" is the one that moved me the most. This profound documentary by Morgan Neville is a profile on Fred Rogers, the amiable host of the children's television program, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". His goal was simple; to teach children to be kind, compassionate and empathetic to others. And yet in our society, it always seemed to be a difficult challenge but Rogers never lost faith in the message or in the basic goodness of humanity. As we go through our troubled times, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" serves as a timely reminder to make that extra effort to listen and try to understand our fellow neighbor.
"Cold War (Zimna wojna)" is a dazzling musical love story involving a passionate yet volatile couple set shortly after the second World War in Poland. Inspired loosely on the relationship of director, Paweł Pawlikowski's parents, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), a musical director in charge of the selection of local folk musicians to create a touring troupe to revive Poland's rich cultural history through music and dance. He falls hard for the beautiful yet troubled, Zula (Joanna Kulig), a singer he hires and the couple begin a torrid affair. But soon politics and propaganda are forced upon the ensemble and Wiktor wants to have more creative freedom. While touring Germany, his plan is to defect to East Berlin with Zula to start a career making jazz music in Paris but ultimately he goes off alone. Yet over the years the couple's paths keep crossing and their desire for each other never wanes. Shot in glorious black & white by Łukasz Żal (who also did the nominated cinematography for Pawlikowski's Oscar-winning 2014 Best Foreign-Language feature, "Ida"), "Cold War" is a mesmerizing and haunting film enhanced by the radiant performances of Mr. Kot and Ms Kuling.
"BLACK PANTHER"
There is a reason why "Black Panther" became the highest grossing film in the U.S. last year and is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time with over 1.35 billion in ticket sales worldwide. And it's not only because it is the first major super-hero movie to feature an African-American actor in the lead along with the majority of the impressive supporting cast. It is because under the direction of Ryan Coogler, he has guided a thoughtful and thrilling adventure that manages to deliver fully-developed characters and an engaging story that is appealing to everyone. After the death of his father, King T'Chaka of the African nation, Wakanda, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who is also known to the world as the hero, "Black Panther", claims his place on the throne. But he is challenged by his American-born cousin, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) for the crown. T'Challa is shockingly defeated and as the new King, "Killmonger" plans to aggressively announce the isolated Wakanda to the world and start a global revolution. But it will take Black Panther and the help of his younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Wakanda's all-female special forces led by Okoye (Danai Gurira) to stop him. "Black Panther" shifts the super-hero movie in an exciting new direction while still delivering all the fun and entertainment you expect from these films.
"EIGHTH GRADE"
"Eighth Grade" perfectly captures all of the anxiety and struggles of being a teenager in today's world. Elsie Fisher, in an incredible breakout performance, plays Kayla, a shy and awkward eighth grader finishing her final week of middle school. She records her thoughts to motivate others and posts them online yet no one watches them. Kayla desperately wants to fit in with her fellow classmates while secretly having a crush on a boy at school that's she's willing to do anything to get his attention. And her single father (Josh Hamilton) struggles to connect with his daughter and tries to convince her to not spend so much time on the Internet. Bo Burnham, a comedian who makes his directorial feature debut, has made a film that brilliantly handles the modern challenges of adolescence with honesty and sensitivity.
"VICE"
I would never have imagined wanting to sit through a movie about Dick Cheney, the sinister and despicable Vice-President during the George W. Bush presidency. But in the hands of Adam McKay (who did similar magic with the 2008 U.S. financial crisis in "The Big Short"), the writer/director has made his political satire, "Vice", detailing Cheney's climb from drunken derelict to becoming one of the most powerful Vice-Presidents in America's history, in to a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining film. Christian Bale completely transforms in to Cheney (with the aid of make-up and some serious weight-gain) and delivers one of the best performances of his career while the always reliable Amy Adams is deliciously commanding as his Machiavellian wife, Lynne. The rest of the cast is terrific with Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell perfect as Bush, Alison Pill and Lily Rabe as the Cheney daughters and Tyler Perry (!) playing Colin Powell. And while it is clear that McKay is certainly left-leaning, he did make some effort to present the Republican Cheney and his story in a way that is fairly well-rounded.
"MARY POPPINS RETURNS"
It has been fifty-four years since Walt Disney brought P. L. Travers' beloved British nanny, Mary Poppins to the big screen. And when I heard about the idea to do a sequel, it was hardly anything I was anticipating. Yet I was delightfully surprised and enchanted by "Mary Poppins Returns". The director, Rob Marshall ("Chicago", "Into The Woods") has successfully managed to pay loving homage to the first film while taking this musical-fantasy forward in a way that's appealing to a modern audience. Emily Blunt plays the magical title character (and she's perfect in practically every way) who returns to the Banks household during the Great Slump in 1930's England. Michael (Ben Whishaw) is a widower trying to raise his three young children in his childhood home with the help of his sister, Jane (Emily Mortimer) and the family's long-time housekeeper (Julie Walters). Mary takes over to offer support, discipline and some fantastical fun to the children's lives. But an unscrupulous banker (Colin Firth) threatens to repossessed the Banks' home if an overdue loan is not repaid. Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his shot at a cockney accent as a lamplighter and Meryl Streep appears as Topsy, Mary Poppins's eccentric cousin. Perhaps a little too much care was taken not to disturb the legacy but "Mary Poppins Returns" is an absolutely joyful and moving experience.
Honorable Mention: "BlacKkKlansman", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy, Rich Asians", "First Man", "First Reformed", "Green Book", "Happy As Lazzaro", "Hearts Beat Loud", "Incredibles 2", "Operation Finale", "A Private War", "A Quiet Place" , "Revenge", "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", "Widows" , "Wildlife"
The nominations for the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced and what is most notable is what was not nominated. The Outstanding Performance By a Cast, which is the equivalent of Best Picture, is missing the popular titles that have received plenty of award attention like "Green Book", "The Favourite", "Vice", "Mary Poppins Returns", "Roma" and "If Beale Street Could Talk". The most surprising movie that received a nomination in this category was "Bohemian Rhapsody" which besides Rami Malek (who did earn a well-deserved nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor) did not seem to stand out with many noteworthy performances. But the biggest head-scratcher is in the Outstanding Performance By an Actress in a Supporting Role. It's not much of a surprise of Emily Blunt receiving a Best Actress nomination for her work in "Mary Poppins Returns" which has received plenty of great buzz but she got a second nod for her performance in the hit horror film, "A Quiet Place". And Margot Robbie also received an unexpected nomination for playing Queen Elizabeth I in "Mary, Queen of Scots". Nobody saw these nominations coming and for good reason. While both actresses gave reliably strong performances in their respective films, neither one would I consider the most outstanding performances of this year nor even the best in their careers.
The 25th annual SAG Awards will be presented on January 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Megan Mullally will host the show.
Here is the list of nominations for the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards (Motion Pictures):
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
"A Star Is Born"
"Black Panther"
"Blackkklansman"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"Crazy Rich Asians"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale, "Vice"
Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book"
John David Washington, "BlacKkKlansman"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
Emily Blunt, "Mary Poppins Returns"
Glenn Close, "The Wife"
Olivia Colman, "The Favourite"
Lady Gaga, "A Star Is Born"
Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
Mahershala Ali, "Green Book"
Timothee Chalamet, "Beautiful Boy"
Adam Driver, "BlacKkKlansman"
Sam Elliott, "A Star Is Born"
Richard E. Grant, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams, "Vice"
Emily Blunt, "A Quiet Place"
Margot Robbie, "Mary, Queen of Scots"
Emma Stone, "The Favourite"
Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:
"Ant-Man and the Wasp"
"Avengers: Infinity War"
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
"Black Panther"
"Mission: Impossible: Fallout"
"Cold War", Pawel Pawlikowski’s black-and-white romantic drama, was the big winner at the 2018 European Film Awards, receiving four major prizes for Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Actress for Joanna Kulig. I think Mr. Pawlikowski's chances of getting another Oscar nomination (which the Polish director won the Best Foreign-language Oscar in 2015 for his mesmerizing film, "Ida") has improved greatly and "Cold War", which is loosely based on his parent's relationship, reaches stateside on December 21st.
Here is the list of nominations and winners from the 2018 European Film Awards. Winners are highlighted:
Ali Abbas, "Border"
Matteo Garrone, "Dogman"
Samuel Maoz, "Foxtrot" (Israel) Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War"
Alice Rohrwacher, "Happy as Lazzaro"
Best European Screenwriter:
Ali Abbasi, Isabella Eklof, and John Ajvide Lindqvist, "Border"
Matteo Garrone, Ugo Chiti, and Massimo Gaudioso, "Dogman"
Gustaav Moller and Emil Nygaard Albertsen, "The Guilty" Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War"
Alice Rohrwacher, "Happy as Lazzaro"
Best European Actress:
Marie Baumer, "3 Days in Quiberon" (Germany)
Halldora Geirhardsdottir, "Woman at War" (Iceland) Joanna Kulig, "Cold War"
Barbara Lennie, "Petra" (Spain)
Eva Melander, "Border"
Alba Rohrwacher, "Happy as Lazzaro"
Best European Actor:
Jacob Cedergren, "The Guilty" (Denmark)
Rupert Everett, "The Happy Prince" (United Kingdom)
Sverrir Gudnason, "Borg/McEnroe" (Sweden)
Tomasz Kot, "Cold War" Marcello Fonte, "Dogman"
Victor Polser, "Girl"
Best European Comedy:
"C'est La Vie" (France)
"Diamantino" (Portugal) "Death of Stalin" (United Kingdom)
Best European Documentary:
"Bergman: A Year in A Life" (Sweden)
"The Distant Barking of Dogs" (Denmark)
"Of Fathers and Sons" (Syria/Lebanon/Qatar)
"The Silence of Others" (Spain)
"A Woman Captured" (Hungary)
Best European Animated Film:
"Another Day of Life" (Poland/Spain)
"Early Man" (United Kingdom)
"The Breadwinner" (Ireland)
"White Fang" (Luxembourg)
And here are winners by more critics groups from Los Angeles, Toronto and San Francisco with "Roma" being the unanimous choice for the Best Film of the Year:
Here is the list of the winners from 2018 Los Angeles Film Critics Association:
Best Picture: "Roma" Best Director: Debra Granik, "Leave No Trace" Best Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed" Best Actress: Olivia Colman, "The Favourite" Best Supporting Actor: Steven Yeun, "Burning" Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk" Best Documentary: "Shirkers" Best Animation: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" Best Editing: Joshua Altman and Bing Liu, Minding the Gap" Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler, "Black Panther" Best Music/Score: Nicholas Britell, "If Beale Street Could Talk" Career Achievement Award: Hayao Miyazaki
Winners from the 2018 Toronto Film Critics Association:
Best Film: "Roma" Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" Best Screenplay (Tie): Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, "The Favourite" and Paul Schrader, "First Reformed" Best First Feature: Boots Riley, "Sorry to Bother You" Best Actress: Olivia Colman, "The Favourite" Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, "First Reformed" Best Supporting Actor: Steven Yeun, "Burning" Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk" Best Animated Film: "Isle of Dogs" Best Documentary: "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Best Foreign Film: "Burning" (South Korea)
Winners from the 2018 San Francisco Film Critics Circle:
Best Film: "Roma" Best Director: Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman" Best Debut Director: Boots Riley, "Sorry to Bother You" Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, "First Reformed" Best Adapted Screenplay: Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman" Best Actress: Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, "First Reformed" Best Supporting Actor: Michael B Jordan, "Black Panther" Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk" Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler, "Black Panther" Best Editing: Bob Murawski and Orson Welles, "The Other Side of the Wind" Best Animated Film: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse" Best Documentary: "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Best Foreign Film: "Roma" Best Original Score: Terence Blanchard, "BlacKkKlansman"
The 2018 AFI Film Fest is set to begin on November 8th and run through November 15th. Once again the festival will be held in the heart of Hollywood. "On the Basis of Sex" has been selected to open the fest and will also make its world premiere. Felicity Jones plays Ruth Bader Ginsberg when she was a young lawyer (and long before she becomes a Supreme Court Justice) trying to bring before the US Supreme Court a case to end gender discrimination. Armie Hammer plays her husband, Martin Ginsberg and also features Justin Theroux, Sam Waterson and Kathy Bates.
While most of this year's Gala Screenings have already made a splash at other fests like the Coen Brothers' western, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", Steve McQueen's heist drama, "Widows" and the Audience Award winner at the Toronto Film Festival, "Green Book", there will be a couple of world premieres.
One is the latest film from Susanne Bier, "The Bird Box", a post-apocalyptic thriller which stars Sandra Bullock as a mother who must flee with her children to a place that might offer sanctuary. But this will have to be done blindfolded in order not to look directly at the mysterious force that has destroyed most of the world. The other is the premiere of a new Netflix series by Chuck Lorre ("Two and 1/2 Men"), "The Kominsky Method". Oscar-winners, Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin star as two old friends trying to maneuver through life in LA now that they are no longer young and appealing. The first three of the eight episode series will be screened.
Special screenings will include Pawel Pawlikowski's black & white 1950's Poland set love story, "Cold War"; "Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes", a documentary on the late Fox News executive; "Roma", Alfonso Cuaron's semi-autobiographical drama of the life of an upper-middle-class family in 1970's Mexico City; "Stan & Ollie", a bio on the career of Laurel & Hardy, the legendary Hollywood comedy team which stars John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan; and "Vox Lux", the second film from actor turned director, Brady Corbet that stars Natalie Portman as a pop star whose music video inspires a school shooting and how that links to a tragic event in her past. Ms Portman will appear after the screening on November 9th for a conversation at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
An evening to honor Nicole Kidman will be held on November 13th with a gala screening of her latest, "Destroyer", a gritty cop drama directed by Karyn Kusama. Ms Kidman will be in attendance and a discussion with the Academy-Award winner will be followed after the film.
There will be special sections at the fest which includes New Auteurs to showcase upcoming filmmakers; American Independents that will represent the best of indie film making; World Cinema which will feature some of the most celebrated International films of the year (that includes seven official Best Foreign Language Oscar submissions), Cinema's Legacy Program and Midnight line-up.
And "Mary, Queen of Scots" has been picked to be the Closing Night film. After briefly being the Queen of France before becoming a widow, Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) decides to return to her home in Scotland to claim her throne. But Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) now rules over both Scotland and England which creates an intense political rivalry and power struggle between them. This debut feature from theater director, Josie Rourke will makes it world premiere at the festival.
For the complete list of films, to get tickets (which will be free once again) or purchase a pass or gala package, please click below:
