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Deets: The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the full lineup for this year’s AFI FEST Film Festival including BONES AND ALL, directed by Academy Award®-nominee Luca Guadagnino, LE PUPILLE, directed by Alice Rohrwacher, NANNY, directed by Nikyatu Jusu, “SR.”, directed by Chris Smith, and WOMEN TALKING, by Academy Award®-nominated writer and director Sarah Polley, which will all screen in the Special Screenings section. Passes are now available at FEST.AFI.com, and individual tickets for all screenings will be available to AFI members on October 11 and to the general public on October 12.
The complete AFI FEST program includes 125 titles (7 Red Carpet Premieres, 6 Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory and 3 Guest Artistic Director Selections). Of the official selections, 53% are directed by women, 32% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers and 11% are directed by LGBTQIA+ filmmakers. This year’s program represents 31 countries and includes six International Feature Oscar® submissions, ALCARRÀS (Spain), BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS (Mexico), CLOSE (Belgium), EO (Poland), JOYLAND (Pakistan) and SAINT OMER (France).
Returning filmmakers to AFI FEST include Lucien Castaing-Taylor (DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA), Guillermo del Toro (GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO), Alice Diop (SAINT OMER), Quentin Dupieux (SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING/FUMER FAIT TOUSSER), Alain Gomis (REWIND & PLAY), Sam Green (32 SOUNDS), Luca Guadagnino (BONES AND ALL), Kristy Guevara-Flanagan (BODY PARTS), Mark Gustafson (GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO), Mia Hansen-Løve (ONE FINE MORNING/UN BEAU MATIN), Joanna Hogg (THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER), Alejandro González Iñárritu (BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS), Nikyatu Jusu (NANNY), Rory Kennedy (THE VOLCANO: RESCUE FROM WHAKAARI), Léa Mysius (THE FIVE DEVILS), Andrea Pallaoro (MONICA), Hlynur Pálmason (GODLAND/VANSKABTE LAND/VOLAÐA LAND), Jafar Panahi (NO BEARS), Verena Paravel (DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA), Alice Rohrwacher (LE PUPILLE), Hong Sang-soo (WALK UP), Albert Serra (PACIFICTION), Carla Simón (ALCARRÀS), Jerzy Skolimowski (EO), Chris Smith (“SR.”), Steven Spielberg (THE FABELMANS) and Florian Zeller (THE SON).
As previously announced
The World Premiere of Apple Original Film’s SELENA GOMEZ: MY MIND AND ME will open the festival and the U.S. premiere of Universal Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s THE FABELMANS, directed by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg, will close AFI FEST 2022. Additional Red Carpet Premieres include BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS, directed by Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu; the U.S. Premiere of GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO, directed by Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and Emmy Award® winner Mark Gustafson; LIVING, directed by Oliver Hermanus; SHE SAID, directed by Emmy Award®-winning director Maria Schrader; and THE SON, directed by Academy Award® winner Florian Zeller. Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay will serve as Guest Artistic Director at AFI FEST 2022 and will be showcasing three independent films amplifying the voices of women directors including HELLION (2014), directed by Kat Candler and starring Academy Award®-nominee Juliette Lewis and Aaron Paul; MOSQUITA Y MARI (2012) directed by Aurora Guerrero and YELLING TO THE SKY (2011), directed by Victoria Mahoney and starring Academy Award®-nominee Gabourey Sidibe and Zoë Kravitz.
RED CARPET PREMIERES
AFI rolls out the red carpet for the most anticipated films of the festival. Sure to be an exciting celebration of the best in film, the section delivers world-class filmmakers, talented actors and artisans, and a dose of Hollywood magic that can only be found at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre.
BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS
BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS follows a Mexican journalist and documentarian’s journey home as he grapples with questions about identity, success, mortality, history and familial bonds. DIR Alejandro G. Iñárritu. SCR Nicolás Giacobone, Alejandro G. Iñárritu. CAST Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Iker Solano. Mexico
THE FABELMANS
Starring Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age epic follows Sammy Fabelman, who falls in love with moviemaking and grapples with the family turmoil that would ultimately shape him as a filmmaker. DIR Steven Spielberg. SCR Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner. CAST Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Gabriel Labelle, Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin, David Lynch, Birdie Borria, Cooper Dodson, Gustavo Escobar, Julia Butters, Sam Rechner, Chloe East, Keeley Karsten. USA
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Set in 1930s Italy, this darkly whimsical, stop-motion film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson reimagines Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that reveals the life-giving power of love. DIR Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson. SCR Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale. CAST Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, Christoph Waltz,Tilda Swinton. USA
LIVING
In this British reimagining of Kurosawa’s IKIRU, a lonely bureaucratic pencil pusher is struck by a newfound tenacity when he learns of his impending death. DIR Oliver Hermanus. SCR Kazuo Ishiguro. CAST Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke. UK
SELENA GOMEZ: MY MIND AND ME
In this deeply personal documentary, Grammy®-nominated singer and actress Selena Gomez invites audiences along on an illuminating journey as she navigates the pressures of stardom and seeks to prioritize and destigmatize conversations surrounding mental health. DIR Alek Keshishian. SCR Alek Keshishian, Paul Marchand. USA
SHE SAID
SHE SAID details New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s groundbreaking story which propelled the #Metoo movement, shattered decades of silence around sexual assault and altered culture forever. DIR Maria Schrader. SCR Rebecca Lenkiewicz. CAST Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton. USA
THE SON
Divorced and newly married Peter (Hugh Jackman) has a fraught relationship with his troubled teenage son in Florian Zeller’s affecting spiritual sequel to THE FATHER. DIR Florian Zeller. SCR Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton. CAST Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Hugh Quarshie, Anthony Hopkins. USA, France
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Showcasing the most acclaimed films of the season from an exciting combination of international auteurs and emerging talent, this section features unparalleled and unforgettable stories, characters and performances.
BONES AND ALL
Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, BONES AND ALL, is a story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter; a liberating road odyssey of two young people coming into their own, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are. DIR Luca Guadagnino. SCR David Kajganich. CAST Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, David Gordon Green, Jessica Harper, Jake Horowitz, Mark Rylance. USA
IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?!?
Elvis Mitchell constructs a personal history with portrayals of Black life in American cinema, from Oscar Micheaux to the blaxploitation era and beyond, in this energetic, joyous love letter to a community and an art. DIR Elvis Mitchell. USA
LE PUPILLE
Produced by Alfonso Cuarón, LE PUPILLE is a magical fable about a group of rebellious Catholic schoolgirls blessed with a Christmas cake during wartime. Screening followed by a conversation with director Alice Rohrwacher. DIR Alice Rohrwacher. SCR Alice Rohrwacher. CAST Alba Rohrwacher, Greta Zuccheri Montanari, Carmen Pommella, Lady Maru, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melissa Falasconi. Italy
NANNY
Imbued with magical realism, African folklore and a creeping sense of dread, NANNY follows Senegalese mother Aisha, displaced in New York City and cursed by horrific nightmares that threaten her sanity. DIR Nikyatu Jusu. SCR Nikyatu Jusu. CAST Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker. USA
“SR.”
This tender, career-spanning portrait of the irreverent, underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., is told via revealing interviews with family members, including his son, actor Robert Downey Jr., and friends such as Alan Arkin, Norman Lear and Paul Thomas Anderson. DIR Chris Smith. USA
WOMEN TALKING
Directed by Sarah Polley, WOMEN TALKING follows the riveting story where the women of an isolated religious community struggle with an epidemic of sexual abuse, featuring a stunning ensemble cast including Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, with Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand. DIR Sarah Polley. SCR Sarah Polley. CAST Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy. USA
Hint for the Average Socialite: AFI FEST 2022 will take place exclusively in person in Los Angeles from November 2-6. AFI members receive discounts on passes and tickets and other exclusive benefits. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.
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