AFI FEST 2023

AFI FEST 2023 ANNOUNCES FULL FESTIVAL LINEUP

World Premieres of FREUD’S LAST SESSION and ALBERT BROOKS: DEFENDING MY LIFE directed by Academy Award® Nominee Rob Reiner to Screen at Festival

Special Screenings Include ALL OF US STRANGERS, AMERICAN FICTION, THE BIKERIDERS, THE END WE START FROM, FINGERNAILS and MEMORY

Official Selections Include 20 Best International Feature Oscar® Submissions

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the lineup for this year’s AFI FEST, taking place in Los Angeles from October 25 to October 29. Highlights include the World Premiere of ALBERT BROOKS: DEFENDING MY LIFE directed by Academy Award® nominee Rob Reiner, ALL OF US STRANGERS directed by Andrew Haigh, AMERICAN FICTION directed by Cord Jefferson, THE BIKERIDERS directed by Jeff Nichols, THE END WE START FROM directed by Mahalia Belo, FINGERNAILS directed by Christos Nikou, the World Premiere of FREUD’S LAST SESSION directed by Matthew Brown, MEMORY directed by Michel Franco, QUIZ LADY directed by Academy Award® winner Jessica Yu, and SOCIETY OF THE SNOW directed by J.A. Bayona, which will all screen in the Special Screenings section. Passes are now available at FEST.AFI.com. AFI FEST 6-Ticket Bundles will be available starting October 2, and individual tickets for all screenings will be available starting October 3.

This year’s AFI FEST program is set to feature an expanded selection of features and shorts compared to last year, offering 141 titles for the public to enjoy across five days. The program includes 3 Red Carpet Premieres, 10 Special Screenings, 15 Luminaries, 12 Discovery, 16 World Cinema, 13 Documentary, 42 Short Film Competition, and 30 films in the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented by AMC Networks. Of the official selections, 44% are directed by women, 37% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers and 18% by LGBTQIA+ filmmakers. There are 4 World Premieres, 3 North American Premieres and 4 U.S. Premieres. This year’s program represents 49 countries and includes 18 Best International Feature Oscar® submissions, including ABOUT DRY GRASSES (Turkey), ME, CAPTAIN (Italy), DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (Romania), FALLEN LEAVES (Finland), FOUR DAUGHTERS (Tunisia), INSHALLAH A BOY (Jordan), THE PEASANTS (Poland), PERFECT DAYS (Japan), PICTURES OF GHOSTS (Brazil), THE PROMISED LAND (Denmark), THE SETTLERS (Chile),  SHAYDA (Australia), SLOW (Lithuania), SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD (Estonia), SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (Spain), THE TASTE OF THINGS (France), THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE (Germany) and TÓTEM (Mexico).

“Everyone on the AFI FEST team is proud to share this year’s selection of outstanding films from around the world with the audiences of Los Angeles,” said Todd Hitchcock, Director of AFI FEST. “Cinema is truly a global language, and the diversity of screen artistry represented here will widen the horizons for all moviegoers.”

The program will also feature a panel celebrating the greatest film books of all time moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg. Some 300 of the world’s most noted filmmakers, film executives, authors and cultural tastemakers have cast ballots to determine a list of the 100 greatest books about film, which The Hollywood Reporter will reveal in a special issue on October 11. AFI FEST will gather many of them on October 28 for an historic, engaging discussion.

AFI FEST 2023 will take place exclusively in person in Los Angeles from October 25 to October 29. AFI members receive discounts on tickets and other exclusive benefits. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.

Top Sponsors for AFI FEST 2023 include Apple Original Films, Canva, AMC Networks and Participant.

   

As previously announced, the World Premiere of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND, written and directed by Sam Esmail (AFI Class of 2004), will open AFI FEST on October 25. Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, the highly anticipated apocalyptic thriller stars Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts, Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali, Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon.

Bradley Cooper’s MAESTRO will close AFI FEST 2023 on October 29. MAESTRO is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan). A love letter to life and art, MAESTRO at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. The film reunites Cooper with Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Matthew Libatique (AFI Class of 1992) and is co-written by Cooper and Oscar® winner Josh Singer (SPOTLIGHT). Producing alongside Cooper and AFI Life Achievement Award recipients Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger.

The World Premiere of MAXINE’S BABY: THE TYLER PERRY STORY will screen as the Centerpiece film. Directed by Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz, the film grants the audience unfettered access to the inner world of Tyler Perry, whose story has never fully been told, as he becomes a father and a media mogul with a mission to pave his own road to the top. The film is a profound lesson on remembering where you came from to know where you want to go. Bekele produced the film under her Bekele Films banner alongside Jasmine K. White and Asante White.

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 and artisans, and a dose of Hollywood magic that can only be found at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre.

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

In this apocalyptic thriller from award-winning writer and director Sam Esmail (MR. ROBOT), Amanda (Julia Roberts) and her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke), rent a luxurious home for the weekend with their kids, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). Their vacation is soon upended when two strangers — G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) — arrive in the night, bearing news of a mysterious cyberattack and seeking refuge in the house they claim is theirs. The two families reckon with a looming disaster that grows more terrifying by the minute, forcing everyone to come to terms with their places in a collapsing world. DIR Sam Esmail. SCR Sam Esmail. CAST Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Kevin Bacon. USA

MAESTRO

MAESTRO is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan). A love letter to life and art, MAESTRO at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. The film reunites Cooper with Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Matthew Libatique (AFI Class of 1992) and is co-written by Cooper and Oscar® winner Josh Singer (SPOTLIGHT). Produced by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Cooper, Fred Berner and Amy Durning. DIR Bradley Cooper. SCR Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer. CAST Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman, Josh Hamilton, Scott Ellis, Gideon Glick, Sam Nivola, Alexa Swinton, Miriam Shor. USA

MAXINE’S BABY: THE TYLER PERRY STORY

MAXINE’S BABY: THE TYLER PERRY STORY, directed by Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz, grants the audience unfettered access to the inner world of Tyler Perry, whose story has never fully been told, as he becomes a father and a media mogul with a mission to pave his own road to the top. The film is a profound lesson on remembering where you came from to know where you want to go. Bekele produced the film under her Bekele Films banner alongside Jasmine K. White and Asante White. DIR Gelila Bekele, Armani Ortiz. SCR Gelila Bekele. USA

       

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Showcasing the most acclaimed films of the season from an exciting combination of international auteurs and emerging talents, this section features unparalleled and unforgettable stories, characters and performances.

ALBERT BROOKS: DEFENDING MY LIFE

Lifelong friends, Rob Reiner and Albert Brooks, enjoy an intimate conversation about Brooks’ life and career. DIR Rob Reiner. USA

ALL OF US STRANGERS

The latest from director Andrew Haigh (45 YEARS, WEEKEND) is a moving, metaphysical ghost story that explores love, loss and memory. DIR Andrew Haigh. SCR Andrew Haigh. CAST Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy. UK

AMERICAN FICTION

Cord Jefferson’s (SUCCESSION, WATCHMEN) hilarious directorial debut stars Jeffrey Wright in a razor smart satire which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. DIR Cord Jefferson. SCR Cord Jefferson. CAST Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown. USA

THE BIKERIDERS

The rise and fall of a Chicago motorcycle gang is given epic treatment in Jeff Nichols’ magnificent THE BIKERIDERS, featuring Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer in career-best performances. DIR Jeff Nichols. SCR Jeff Nichols. CAST Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus. USA

THE END WE START FROM

BAFTA award-winning British director Mahalia Belo (THE LONG SONG) makes her feature debut with a tense and unexpected survival thriller starring Jodie Comer, Joel Fry, Mark Strong, Katherine Waterston and Benedict Cumberbatch. DIR Mahalia Belo. SCR Alice Birch. CAST Jodie Comer, Joel Fry, Katherine Waterston, Gina Mckee, Nina Sosanya, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch. UK

FINGERNAILS

Greek director Christos Nikou makes a bold English-language debut with this charming lo-fi sci-fi about the clash between our over-reliance on technology and the primal drive to find true love. DIR Christos Nikou. SCR Christos Nikou, Sam Steiner, Stavros Raptis. CAST Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White, Luke Wilson, Annie Murphy. USA

FREUD’S LAST SESSION

Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode deliver crafty performances as Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, two great minds whose intellectual sparring demonstrates both men’s formidable strengths and emotional vulnerabilities. DIR Matthew Brown. SCR Mark St. Germain. CAST Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode. USA

MEMORY

Haunted by their past, Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) and Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) have a chance encounter that opens new possibilities for their future in this heart-wrenching melodrama by Mexican provocateur Michel Franco. DIR Michel Franco. SCR Michel Franco. CAST Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Brooke Timber, Merritt Wever, Jessica Harper, Josh Charles. USA, Mexico

QUIZ LADY

In this heartfelt and hilarious comedy, Awkwafina and Sandra Oh star as mismatched sisters who go on a cross-country road trip to appear on the legendary game show CAN’T STOP THE QUIZ. DIR Jessica Yu. SCR Jen D’Angelo. CAST Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, Tony Hale, Will Ferrell. USA

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE)

Triumphantly returning to Spanish language cinema, J.A. Bayona brings breathless thrills and emotional gravitas to the tragic, true story of the crashed Uruguayan Flight 571 in this ferocious survival epic. Spain’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR J.A. Bayona. SCR J.A. Bayona, Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques, Nicolás Casariego. CAST Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Vegezzi. Uruguay, Spain

 

LUMINARIES

A selection of the latest films from world-renowned filmmakers whose work continues to challenge and inspire.

ABOUT DRY GRASSES (KURU OTLAR ÜSTÜNE)

In a remote village in Eastern Anatolia, art teacher Samet is consumed by bitterness. Now in his fourth and final year of mandatory placement, his favorite student accuses him of inappropriate behavior. Turkey’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Nuri Bilge Ceylan. SCR Akin Aksu, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. CAST Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar, Musab Ekici, Ece Bağci, Erdem Şenocak. Turkey, France, Germany

THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS (LE LIVRE DES SOLUTIONS)

Oscar®-winning filmmaker Michel Gondry returns with this deliciously meta, hilariously self-aware – and semi-autobiographical – portrait of a DIY filmmaker wrestling with creative and personal demons to complete his latest film. DIR Michel Gondry. SCR Michel Gondry. CAST Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Frankie Wallach, Camille Rutherford, Vincent Elbaz. France

THE CAPTAIN (IO CAPITANO)

Matteo Garrone won Venice’s Best Director award for this epic tale of two Senegalese teenagers’ dangerous journey across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in pursuit of better lives. Italy’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Matteo Garrone. SCR Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Massimo Ceccherini, Andrea Tagliaferri. CAST Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo, Hichem Yacoubi, Doodou Sagna. Italy, Belgium, France

CLOSE YOUR EYES (CERRAR LOS OJOS)

Marking Víctor Erice’s long-awaited return to cinema, a filmmaker revisits his abandoned film and the disappearance of his lead actor in this hauntingly personal reflection on memory and art. DIR Victor Erice. SCR Victor Erice. CAST Manolo Solo, José Coronado, Ana Torrent, Petra Martínez, María León. Spain

COBWEB (GEOMIJIP)

Set in the ‘70s as South Korea faces heavy censorship, Song Kang-ho (PARASITE) delights as a struggling director looking for a comeback in this metatextual farce on filmmaking. DIR Kim Jee-Woon. SCR Shin Yeon-Shick. CAST Song Kang-Ho, Lim Soo-Jung, Oh Jung-Se, Jeon Yeo-Been, Krystal Jung. South Korea

EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (AKU WA SONZAI SHINAI)

Following the Oscar®-winning DRIVE MY CAR, Ryusuke Hamaguchi reins in a pensive, enigmatic eco-drama about a father-daughter duo whose routine is disrupted by a proposed glamping site in their village. DIR Ryusuke Hamaguchi. SCR Ryusuke Hamaguchi. CAST Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, Ayaka Shibutani, Hazuki Kikuchi. Japan

FALLEN LEAVES (KUOLLEET LEHDET)

This delightfully deadpan tragicomedy from Aki Kaurismäki follows two lonely, working-class Helsinkians struggling to find love, acceptance and stability. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and Finland’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Aki Kaurismaki. SCR Aki Kaurismäki. CAST Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu. Finland, Germany

GREEN BORDER (ZIELONA GRANICA)

Academy Award® nominee Agnieszka Holland depicts the contemporary humanitarian crisis at the Belarus-Poland border from the intertwined perspectives of a family of Syrian refugees, a conflicted Polish border guard and a divided group of activists. DIR Agnieszka Holland. SCR Maciej Pisuk, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Agnieszka Holland. CAST Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai, Mohamad Al Rashi, Dalia Naous. Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium

IN OUR DAY

Tears are shed, a cat goes missing and spicy ramyun is prepared. IN OUR DAY finds Hong back in semi-autobiographical mode with this charming diptych, illuminating the parallels between art and artist. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Ki Joobong, Kim Minhee, Song Sunmi, Park Miso, Ha Seongguk. South Korea

IN WATER (MUL-AN-E-SEO)

Hoping to make a film, Seongmo drags two friends to Jeju Island looking for inspiration. Prolific Korean master Hong Sang-soo experiments with focus, constructing impressionistic vistas and melancholic musings in this bite-sized gem. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Shin Seokho, Ha Seongguk, Kim Seungyun. South Korea

KIDNAPPED (RAPITO)

Marco Bellocchio’s riveting portrait of power and faith tells the true story of a Jewish boy forcibly taken from his family and raised under the care of Pope Pius IX. DIR Marco Bellocchio. SCR Marco Bellocchio, Susanna Nicchiarelli. CAST Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Enea Sala, Leonardo Maltese. Italy, France, Germany

LA CHIMERA

Josh O’Connor stars as a seedy, heartbroken English archaeologist slumming around with Etruscan graverobbers in 1980s Tuscany in this funny, folkloric, romantic and thought-provoking film from Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher. DIR Alice Rohrwacher. Italy, France, Switzerland

LAST SUMMER (L’ÉTÉ DERNIER)

Anne’s relatively uneventful suburban existence is disrupted when her troubled stepson returns home, igniting an impossible-to-resist sexual attraction that threatens both career and family. DIR Catherine Breillat. SCR Catherine Breillat, Pascal Bonitzer. CAST Léa Drucker, Samuel Kircher, Olivier Rabourdin, Clotilde Courau, Serena Hu. France, Norway

OCCUPIED CITY

Steve McQueen’s rigorous documentary explores Amsterdam under Nazi occupation. Rejecting archival footage, the film excavates history one address at a time, drawing powerful connections between past and present. DIR Steve McQueen. SCR Bianca Stigter. CAST Melanie Hyams. UK, Netherlands

PERFECT DAYS

Cannes Best Actor award-winner Kōji Yakusho portrays a Tokyo public toilet cleaner who performs his job duties like a dedicated master craftsman in Wim Wenders’ sweetly meditative drama. Japan’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Wim Wenders. SCR Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki. CAST Kôji Yakusho, Min Tanaka, Tokio Emoto, Aoi Yamada, Sayuri Ishikawa. Japan

DISCOVERY

Bursting onto the scene with astounding force, these exciting new voices push the boundaries of contemporary cinema with cutting-edge themes and profound original visions.

20,000 SPECIES OF BEES (20.000 ESPECIES DE ABEJAS)

In this sun-soaked, sublimely sensitive debut, an eight-year-old experiences a gender identity crisis over one uncertain summer vacation in Basque Country, where three generations of women in her family reside together. DIR Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. SCR Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. CAST Sofía Otero, Patricia López Arnaiz, Ane Gabarain, Itziar Lazkano. Spain

ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT

Raven Jackson’s feature debut (produced by Barry Jenkins) is a poetic chronicle that weaves through time to capture intimate, meditative moments in the life of a young Black woman from Mississippi. DIR Raven Jackson. SCR Raven Jackson. CAST Charleen McClure, Reginald Helms Jr., Moses Ingram, Zainab Jah, with Sheila Atim and Chris Chalk. USA

CITY OF WIND (SER SER SALHI)

In this remarkably assured feature debut, Ze, a studious 17-year-old village shaman, is diverted from the straight and narrow when he meets wide-eyed rebel Maralaa. DIR Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir. SCR Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir. CAST Tergel Bold-Erdene, Nomin-Erdene Ariunbyamba. France, Mongolia

THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED

As Ann awkwardly shuffles from her low-level, corporate job through a series of carefully orchestrated, though just as self-effacing, submissive sexual encounters, dissociation gives way to hints of self-conscious introspection. DIR Joanna Arnow. SCR Joanna Arnow. CAST Scott Cohen, Babak Tafti, Joanna Arnow, Alysia Reiner. USA

INSHALLAH A BOY (INSHALLAH WALAD)

When Nawal’s husband suddenly dies, she begins an insufferable battle against her in-laws to save her home and keep herself and her young daughter from destitution in contemporary Jordan. Jordan’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Amjad Al Rasheed. SCR Amjad Al Rasheed, Rula Nasser, Delphine Agut. CAST Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Yumna Marwan, Salwa Nakkara. Jordan

LITTLE GIRL BLUE

Marion Cotillard stars in this remarkable hybrid documentary/psychodrama, exploring the life of filmmaker Mona Achache’s mother Carole, a writer who took her own life in 2016. DIR Mona Achache. SCR Mona Achache. CAST Marion Cotillard. France

MOUNTAINS

Haitian American filmmaker Monica Sorelle makes her debut with this lovingly crafted portrait of the immigrant experience, set against the backdrop of Miami’s vibrant yet gentrifying Little Haiti. DIR Monica Sorelle. SCR Monica Sorelle, Robert Colom. CAST Atibon Nazaire, Sheila Anozier, Chris Renois. USA

THE SETTLERS (LOS COLONOS)

In this striking debut, three hired travelers trek through the Chilean Patagonia on a covert colonizing expedition. Indigenous sharpshooter Segundo resists violence but is forced to cooperate. Chile’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Felipe Galvez. SCR Felipe Gálvez, Antonia Girardi. CAST Mark Stanley, Camilo Arancibia, Benjamín Westfall, Alfredo Castro, Mishell Guaña. Chile, Argentina, UK, Taiwan, France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany

SHAYDA

Executive produced by Cate Blanchett, Noora Niasari’s poignant debut feature follows the evolution of Shayda, an Iranian transplant in Australia, as she breaks free from her husband’s abusive control. Australia’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Noora Niasari. SCR Noora Niasari. CAST Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Osamah Sami, Mojean Aria, Jillian Nguyen, Rina Mousavi. Australia, Iran

SLOW

The whirlwind romance between sex positive dancer Elena and soft-spoken sign language interpreter Dovyda unfolds as Elena attempts to understand Dovyda’s asexuality. Lithuania’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Marija Kavtaradze. SCR Marija Kavtaradze. CAST Greta Grinevičiūtė, Kęstutis Cicėnas. Lithuania, Spain, Sweden

TIGER STRIPES

Precocious 12-year-old Zaffan experiences grotesque transformations to her body after her first period in this genre-bending coming-of-age debut feature and winner of the Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize. DIR Amanda Nell Eu. SCR Amanda Nell Eu. CAST Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral, Piqa, Shaheizy Sam, Jun Lojong. France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan

THE UNIVERSAL THEORY (DIE THEORIE VON ALLEM)

Timm Kröger’s visionary sci-fi fable explores post-World War II German guilt, Atomic Age anxiety and Cold War intrigue in a web of secrets and lies reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock crossed with David Lynch. DIR Timm Kröger. SCR Roderick Warich, Timm Kröger. CAST Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler, Gottfried Breitfuß, David Bennent, Philippe Graber. Germany, Austria, Switzerland

WORLD CINEMA

Here in the movie capital of the world, we celebrate the contributions of global cinema. Bringing to our city the best films from around the globe, this section presents the depth and diversity of human culture as seen through the universal language of the motion picture.

THE BURITI FLOWER (CROWRÃ)

Shot in the Krahôlandia Indigenous Land, this hybrid documentary depicts key events in Krahô history, alongside their contemporary struggle to combat the long-reaching legacy of colonialism in Brazil. DIR João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora. SCR João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora, IIda Patpro Kraho, Francisco Hyjno Kraho, Henrique Ihjac Kraho. CAST IIda Patpro Kraho, Francisco Hyjno Kraho, Solane Tehtikwyj Kraho, Raene Koto Kraho, Debora Sodre, Luzia Cruwakwyj Kraho. Brazil, Portugal

DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD

Radu Jude’s latest feature is an outlandish, satirical critique of Romanian society following a hectic day in the life of Angela, an overworked and underpaid production assistant. Romania’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Radu Jude. SCR Radu Jude. CAST Ilinca Manolache, Ovidiu Pîrșan, Nina Hoss, Dorina Lazăr, Lászlo Mike, Katie Pascariu. Romania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia

HERE

In this drifting, delicate journey on human connections, a Romanian construction worker and a Belgian-Chinese botanist form an unexpected kinship from a random encounter in Brussels. DIR Bas Devos. SCR Bas Devos. CAST Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong, Cedric Luvuezo, Teodor Corban, Saadia Bentaïeb, Alina Constantin, ShuHuang Wang. Belgium

LOST IN THE NIGHT (PERDIDOS EN LA NOCHE)

In this noir-tinged revenge thriller, a young laborer becomes entangled in a web of labor disputes, corrupt police and criminal gangs while seeking justice for his vanished activist mother. DIR Amat Escalante. SCR Amat Escalante, Martin Escalante. CAST Juan Daniel García, Ester Expósito, Bárbara Mori, Fernando Bonilla, María Fernanda Osio. Mexico

MAMBAR PIERRETTE

With her incisive narrative debut, expert documentarian Rosine Mbakam tracks our eponymous hero as she grapples with raising three children and running a dressmaking business in Cameroon’s city of Douala. DIR Rosine Mbakam. CAST Pierrette Aboheu Njeuthat, Marguerite Mbakop, Duval Franklin Nwodu Chinedu, Léonce Sonia Bangoub. Belgium, Cameroon

MIDWIVES (SAGES-FEMMES)

On their first day as professional midwives in a French hospital, two lifelong friends are faced with a whirlwind of scant resources, difficult births and tough decisions that threaten their resolve and friendship. DIR Léa Fehner. SCR Catherine Paillé, Léa Fehner. CAST Khadija Kouyate, Héloïse Janjaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Quentin Vernede, Tarik Kariouh. France

MUSIC with THE DAUGHTERS OF FIRE (AS FILHAS DO FOGO)

MUSIC

A contemporized adaptation of Socrates’ “Oedipus Rex” and a transfixing addition to the output of Germany’s most uncompromising filmmaker, Angela Schanelec, marking her most visually and sonically pleasing film to date. DIR Angela Schanelec. SCR Angela Schanelec. CAST Aliocha Schneider, Agathe Bonitzer, Marisha Triantafyllidou, Argyris Xafis, Frida Tarana, Ninel Skrzypczyk, Miriam Jakob, Wolfgang Michael, Finn-Henry Reyels. Germany, France, Serbia

Preceded by: THE DAUGHTERS OF FIRE (AS FILHAS DO FOGO)

Acclaimed Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa crafts a haunting, layered triptych of three women singing in chorus, expressing their deep existential suffering against the backdrop of a blazing inferno. DIR Pedro Costa. Portugal

THE PEASANTS (CHLOPI)

Made up of over 40,000 oil paintings, this awe-inspiring adaptation of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning novel is the latest film from Oscar®-nominated directors DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman (LOVING VINCENT). Poland’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman. SCR DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman. CAST Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Ewa Kasprzyk, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Dorota Stalińska, Andrzej Konopka, Mateusz Rusin, Maciej Musiał. Poland, Serbia, Lithuania

THE PROMISED LAND (BASTARDEN)

Denmark,18th century. Ludvig von Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) makes a deal with the King: settle the Jutland’s land and ascend to nobility. A rollicking period Danish Western filled with romance, intrigue and revenge. Denmark’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Nikolaj Arcel. SCR Anders Thomas Jensen, Nikolaj Arcel. CAST Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh. Denmark, Germany, Sweden

THE SUMMER WITH CARMEN (TO KALOKAIRI TIS KARMEN)

Best friends Demos and Nikitas spend the day on a queer nude beach soaking in the Greek summer sun as they brainstorm a script based on the lively events of last summer. DIR Zacharias Mavroeidis. SCR Zacharias Mavroeidis, Xenofondas Chalatsis. CAST Yorgos Tsiantoulas, Andreas Lampropoulos, Nikolas Mihas, Roubini Vasilakopoulou, Vasilis Tsigristaris. Greece

THE TASTE OF THINGS

Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel star in this rapturous ode to French gastronomy from Cannes Best Director award-winner Trần Anh Hùng (THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA, CYCLO, NORWEGIAN WOOD). France’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Trần Anh Hùng. SCR Trần Anh Hùng. CAST Juliet Binoche, Benoít Magimel. France

THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE (DAS LEHRERZIMMER)

A spate of thefts in a German middle school leads to mistrust, strong-arm tactics, wrongful accusations and the near collapse of authority in İlker Çatak’s masterfully controlled allegory. Germany’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR İlker Çatak. SCR İlker Çatak, Johannes Duncker. CAST Leonie Benesch, Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachoviak, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Eva Löbau, Kathrin Wehlisch, Sarah Bauerett, Leo Stettnisch, Oscar Zickur, Antonia Luise Krämer, Elsa Krieger, Vincent Stachowiak, Can Rodenbostel, Padmé Hamdemir, Lisa Marie Trense. Germany

TERRESTRIAL VERSES (AYEH HAYE ZAMINI)

This galvanizing, intrepid film from directors Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami critiques Iran’s oppressively strict society via vignettes of ordinary people confronting authority figures and their increasingly absurd demands. DIR Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami. SCR Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami. CAST Bahram Ark, Arghavan Shabani, Servin Zabetian. Iran

TÓTEM

Unfurling in a single chaotic day through the perspective of seven-year-old Sol, an extended family prepares for a farewell celebration veiled as a birthday party for its young patriarch. Mexico’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Lila Avilés. SCR Lila Avilés. CAST Naíma Sentíes, Montserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Juan Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios, Alberto Amador. Mexico, Denmark, France

WE GROWN NOW

Set against the backdrop of the Cabrini-Green public housing complex in 1992 Chicago, the latest film from Minhal Baig (HALA, AFI FEST 2019) charts the prepubescent friendship between two boys, Malik and Eric. DIR Minhal Baig. SCR Minhal Baig. CAST Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Lil Rel Howery, Jurnee Smollett. USA

 

DOCUMENTARY

Presenting some of the most engaging and powerful real-life stories depicted in global documentary film. With subjects and themes both profound and impactful, these works are sure to enlighten, educate and entertain.

ANSELM

Wim Wenders brings depth to this 3D portrait of German artist Anselm Kiefer, creating a collage of the artists past and present to fashion an immersive exploration of his spirit. DIR Wim Wenders. CAST Anselm Kiefer, Daniel Kiefer, Anton Wenders. Germany

COPA ’71

Executive produced by Venus and Serena Williams, COPA ‘71 spotlights a long-forgotten and electrifying women’s soccer tournament held in August 1971, decades before FIFA debuted their Women’s World Cup. DIR Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine. SCR Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine, Victoria Gregory. CAST Brandi Chastain, Nicole Mangas, Silvia Zaragoza, Carol Wilson, Elena Schiavo, Ann Stengard, Birte Kjems, Elvira Aracen, Elba Selva, Chris Lockwood, Alex Morgan. USA

THE ECHO (EL ECO)

Mexican-Salvadoran filmmaker Tatiana Huezo makes a visually arresting return to nonfiction filmmaking with this immersive portrait of multi-generational family life in the remote Mexican highlands. DIR Tatiana Huezo. SCR Tatiana Huezo. CAST Montserrat Hernández Hernández, Luz María Vázquez González, Sarahí Rojas Hernández, María de los Ángeles Pacheco Tapia. Mexico, Germany

FOUR DAUGHTERS (LES FILLES D’OLFA)

Winner of Cannes’ Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary, FOUR DAUGHTERS unravels years of trauma and animosity in a family of women through staged reenactments of their lives. Tunisia’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Kaouther Ben Hania. SCR Kaouther Ben Hania. CAST Eya Chikhaoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui, Olfa Hamrouni, Nour Karoui, Ichrak Matar, Majd Mastoura, Hind Sabri, Kal Naga. France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia

GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI

In South Texas, Edinburg North High School’s prized mariachi team prepares to compete against their rivals, equipped with a mix of determined seniors and rookie musicians in this spirited documentary. DIR Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn. CAST Edinburg North High School’s Mariachi Oro. USA

MENUS-PLAISIRS – LES TROISGROS

Frederick Wiseman’s delectable, multi-layered documentary on Michelin Guide three-starred restaurant La Maison Troisgros, presents a business, an experience and a philosophy, each shaped by the family at its center. DIR Frederick Wiseman. USA, France

MILISUTHANDO

A poetic interweaving of archival material and in-depth interviews, Milisuthando Bongela’s incisive personal essay examines identity construction through a historical lens, investigating the impact of racism and colonialism on herself and her loved ones. DIR Milisuthando Bongela. SCR Milisuthando Bongela. CAST Milisuthando Bongela. South Africa, Colombia

ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY (ORLANDO, MA BIOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE)

Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando: A Biography,” Paul B. Preciado, with 26 trans and non-binary people, constructs a manifold and beautiful image of transness, one that is both broadening and unifying, devastating and joyful. DIR Paul B. Preciado. SCR Paul B. Preciado. France

PICTURES OF GHOSTS (RETRATOS FANTASMAS)

Weaving together home movies, contemporary footage and scenes from his films, Kleber Mendonça Filho crafts an infectious love letter to his hometown of Recife and the lasting legacy of cinema. Brazil’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Kleber Mendonça Filho. SCR Kleber Mendonça Filho. Brazil

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS

This final solo concert and knowing farewell from legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto features an intimate, heartrending performance of 20 hand-selected scores. DIR Neo Sora. CAST Ryuichi Sakamoto. Japan

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD

Tucked away in a forest in southern Estonia, a group of women gather seasonally in a communal smoke sauna. Their traditional practice offers a look into the healing powers of solidarity and sisterhood. Estonia’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. DIR Anna Hints. SCR Anna Hints. Estonia, France, Iceland

STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING

Adapting the celebrated book by historian and National Book Award-winning author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, award-winning director Roger Ross Williams cinematically explicates Kendi’s groundbreaking scholarship on structural anti-Black racism in the U.S. DIR Roger Ross Williams. SCR David Teague. CAST Dr. Ibram X Kendi, Dr. Angela Davis, Dr. Autumn Womack, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Brittney Cooper, Dr. Carol Anderson. USA

THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER

Animator Javier Mariscal and director Fernando Trueba reunite after CHICO & RITA for a Bossa Nova-inflected documentary about the mysterious disappearance of virtuoso Brazilian pianist Francisco Tenório Júnior in 1976 Argentina. DIR Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal. SCR Fernando Trueba. CAST Jeff Goldblum, Tony Ramos, Abel Ayala, Roberta Wallach, Ângela Rabelo, Stephen Hughes, Alejandra Flechner. Spain, France, Netherlands

TAFFF 2023 Docs

THE AMERICAN FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES DOCUMENTARY LINE UP FOR EVENT TAKING PLACE OCTOBER 18-22

From Writer/Director Harriet Marin Jones and Executive Producers Debbie Allen and Quincy Jones, King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones to Screen at TAFFF 

Documentaries on the Struggle for Women’s Rights in Iran, Helping Those with Mental Illness on the Seine, and France’s Landmark Case Around the Right to Die be Featured in Festival’s Documentary Program and Eligible for the TAFFF Documentary Award 2023

From women’s rights to creative ways to address adult mental illness to a landmark case addressing rights and ethics of euthanasia to a profile of powerful but forgotten figure in African American history, The American French Film Festival (“TAFFF”), is announcing another eclectic mix of films and series in this year’s documentary lineup. Produced by The Franco-American Cultural Fund, the 27th annual event takes place at the DGA Theater Complex October 18-22. The four documentary titles to be screened during the Festival will also be eligible for the 2023 American French Film Festival Documentary Award.

The film documentaries chosen for exhibition at THE AMERICAN FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL include:

King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones (Written and directed by Harriet Marin Jones, co-written by Giles Gardner and Michel Fessler. Produced by Harriet Marin Jones, Debbie Allen, Quincy Jones, Séverine Cappa, and Stéphane Sperry). - Director Harriet Marin Jones takes an in-depth look at the life and legacy of her grandfather, Edward Jones, a charismatic African-American who rose to the heights of financial and political prominence in Depression-era Chicago, to become one of the richest men in America, before falling into complete oblivion. Building a multi-million-dollar empire as the brains and brawn behind "Policy" — the illegal numbers racket and precursor of today's state lottery — the "Policy King" went head-to-head with Al Capone's "Outfit", while hobnobbing with celebrated artists like Josephine Baker, Frida Kahlo and Duke Ellington. Edward Jones shaped the destiny of a city, yet could not escape the color of his skin in racist America. In exploring her own family roots with many Chicagoans who knew him (including composer Quincy Jones, the film's executive producer), the filmmaker uncovers yet another dazzling forgotten episode in Black American History.

Seven Winters in Tehran / Sept Hivers à Teheran (Written and directed by Steffi Niederzoll and co-written by Sina Ataeian Dena – Coproduction Germany/France - West Coast Premiere) - In July 2007, 19-year-old Iranian university student Reyhaneh Jabarri stabs a man in self-defense when he tries to rape her, and is charged with murder. Using secretly-filmed images and letters from prison, Seven Winters in Tehran follows one family's battle to save their daughter, taking us into the heart of a corrupt criminal justice system and a culture where women are routinely silenced, and the enormous risks faced by those who defend them. Through her courage, dignity and commitment, Reyhaneh grew to become a powerful international symbol of resistance and the struggle for women's rights.

On the Adamant / Sur L’Adamant (Written and directed by Nicolas Philibert - West Coast Premiere) - Master documentarian Nicolas Philibert trains his compassionate eye, skilled powers of observation and detached perspective on the Adamant, a floating daycare center for adults with mental disorders. A barge moored on the Seine River, in the center of Paris, the facility offers counseling and art therapy through music, painting, craft, literature and cinema, and even hosts an annual film festival organized by the patients themselves. But it's the creativity, wit and sincerity of those same troubled patients who ignite the screen with their genuine talent, passion, and as the filmmaker himself indicates, perpetuate "the poetic function of mankind."  On the Adamant was awarded the Golden Bear at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

Lambert vs Lambert: Over His Dead Body / Lambert Contre Lambert, Au Nom de Vincent (4 x 52 min. Created by Élodie Buzuel and directed by Élodie Buzuel and Vincent Trisolini.) - This series follows the case of Vincent Lambert, a 32 year old nurse who was left in a vegetative state after an automobile accident. The protracted legal battle between the man's wife and other members of his family, who used the courts to block any medically-assisted end-of-life resolution, became headline news in France, a Catholic country where euthanasia remains an extremely sensitive issue. How did the debate over one man's life upend an entire society's relationship to the question of life and death? 

This program is presented in association with Cercamon, Disney+, Hulu and Kino Lorber.

Farewell My Concubine

THIS SEPTEMBER, FILM MOVEMENT CLASSICS DELIVERS

THE ORIGINAL, COMPLETE AND UNCUT 30TH ANNIVERSARY

4K RESTORATION OF CHEN KAIGE’S 1993 GOLDEN GLOBE

AND PALME D’OR-WINNING CLASSIC

THE LONG OUT-OF-PRINT INTERNATIONAL SENSATION STARRING LESLIE CHEUNG, ZHANG FENGYI AND GONG LI, NOMINATED FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM AND BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AT THE 1994 ACADEMY AWARDS WILL OPEN THEATRICALLY AT NEW YORK'S FILM FORUM ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 WITH ADDITIONAL MARKETS TO FOLLOW

One of the most important motion pictures ever made, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is a film of undeniable cultural and social relevance. An innovative, modern production set amidst the deep-seated traditions and vivid tapestry of the Peking Opera, it was selected as one of the "100 Best Films in Global History" by Time magazine and remains the only Chinese-language film to ever win the Palme d’Or. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Film Movement Classics is proud to bring the recently restored 4K version of this masterwork to North American theaters, where audiences in the U.S. and Canada will be able to see the complete, uncut film (20 minutes longer than its original Miramax theatrical release) on screen for the first time ever. 

In Chen Kaige's adaptation of the Lilian Lee novel, Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate Dieyi’s affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle. Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Kaige's passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country (and the mesmerizing pageantry of the opera) while also revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story.

Kaige’s much acclaimed, long out-of-print masterpiece, also a Golden Globe Winner for Best Foreign Language Film and two-time Academy Award-nominated epic, features incredible lead performances from international stars Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi and Gong Li, and was a critical and audience favorite upon its release. Of Farewell My Concubine, Vincent Canby of The New York Times said it’s “one of those very rare film spectacles that deliver just about everything the ads are likely to promise… a vastly entertaining movie. It's also one of such recognizably serious concerns that you can sink into it with pleasure and count it a cultural achievement,” Roger Ebert exclaimed “Farewell My Concubine is a demonstration of how a great epic can function. I was generally familiar with the important moments in modern Chinese history, but this film helped me to feel and imagine what it was like to live in the country during those times. This is one of the year's best films,” and Geoff Andrew of Time Out said "Appropriately operatic, Chen's visually spectacular epic is sumptuous in every respect. Intelligent, enthralling, rhapsodic.”

“Farewell My Concubine is truly one of the most influential films of the 20th Century,” says Michael Rosenberg, President of Film Movement. “We are pleased to bring one of the landmark achievements of China’s Fifth Generation filmmaking movement to the big screen in this this incredible 4K restoration which not only brings the lavish sets and costumes to rich life as never before, but also restores Kaige’s original, unedited vision for his film.” 

OSCAR Entries 2023

 

Submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

Submissions are open now to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. Last year there were 92 submissions from around the world. The Oscar went to Germany's All Quiet On the Western Front directed by Edward Berger.

The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.

The deadline for submissions is October 2, 2023. The Academy is scheduled to announce a list of eligible submissions in October 2023 from which 15 finalists will be shortlisted on December 21, 2023. The final five nominees will be announced on January 23, 2024. The winner will be announced on March 10, 2024 at the Oscar ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Here are all the official submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Film:

• Albania - Alexander
• Argentina - The Delinquents ★★★★
• Armenia - Amerikatsi ★★★★
• Australia - Shayda ★★★
• Austria - Vera ★★★★
• Bangladesh - No Ground Beneath the Feet
• Belgium - Omen ★★★
• Bhutan - The Monk and the Gun ★★★
• Bolivia - The Visitor
• Bosnia & Herzegovina - Excursion
• Brazil - Pictures of Ghosts ★★★★★
• Bulgaria - Blaga's Lessons ★★★★
• Cameroon - Half Heaven
• Canada - Rojek ★★★
• Chile - The Settlers ★★★★
• China - The Wandering Earth 2
• Colombia - A Male (Un Varón) ★★
• Costa Rica - I Have Electric Dreams ★★★
• Croatia - Traces ★★★
• Cuba - Nelsito's World
• Czech Republic - Brothers ★★
• Denmark - The Promised Land ★★★★
• Egypt - Voy! Voy! Voy! ★★★★
• Estonia - Smoke Sauna Sisterhood ★★★
• Finland - Fallen Leaves ★★★★
• France - The Taste of Things ★★★★★
• Georgia - Citizen Saint ★★★
• Germany - The Teachers' Lounge ★★★
• Greece - Behind the Haystacks ★★★
• Hungary - Four Souls of Coyote ★★
• Iceland - Godland ★★★★
• India - 2018 ★★
• Indonesia - Autobiography ★★★
• Iran - The Night Guardian ★★★★
• Iraq - Hanging Gardens ★★★
• Ireland - In the Shadow of Beirut
• Israel - Seven Blessings ★★★★
• Italy - Io Capitano ★★★★★
• Japan - Perfect Days ★★★★
• Jordan - Inshallah a Boy ★★★
• Kenya - Mvera
• Latvia - My Freedom ★★
• Lithuania - Slow ★★★
• Luxembourg - The Last Ashes
• Malaysia - Tiger Stripes ★★
• Mexico - Tótem ★★★
• Moldova - Thunders
• Mongolia - City of Wind ★★★
• Montenegro - Sirin
• Morocco - The Mother of All Lies ★★★
• Namibia - Under the Hanging Tree
• Nepal - Halkara ★★
• Netherlands - Sweet Dreams ★★★
• Nigeria - Mami Wata ★★
• North Macedonia - Housekeeping for Beginners ★★
• Norway - Songs of Earth ★★★
• Pakistan - In Flames
• Palestine - Bye Bye Tiberias ★★★★
• Panama - Tito, Margot y Yo
• Paraguay - The Last Runway 2
• Peru - The Erection of Toribio Bardelli ★★★
• Philippines - The Missing ★★
• Poland - The Peasants ★★
• Portugal - Bad Living
• Romania - Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World ★★★★
• Saudi Arabia - Alhamour H.A. ★★
• Senegal - Banel & Adama ★★
• Serbia - Because My Thoughts Are Struggling
• Singapore - The Breaking Ice ★★★★
• Slovakia - Photophobia
• Slovenia - Riders
• South Africa - Music is My Life
• South Korea - Concrete Utopia ★★★
• Spain - Society of the Snow ★★★
• Sudan - Goodbye Julia ★★★★
• Sweden - Opponent ★★★★
• Switzerland - Thunder ★★★
• Taiwan - Marry My Dead Body ★★★
• Thailand - Not Friends
• Tunisia - Four Daughters ★★★
• Turkey - About Dry Grasses ★★★★
• Ukraine - 20 Days in Mariupol ★★★★
• United Kingdom - The Zone of Interest ★★★★
• Uruguay - Family Album
• Venezuela - The Shadow of the Sun ★★
• Vietnam - Glorious Ashes ★★★
• Yemen - The Burdened ★★★

OUTFEST 2023

OUTFEST ANNOUNCES FULL LINEUP FOR OUTFEST LOS ANGELES 2023 LBGTQ+ FESTIVAL   

  

FEST TO AWARD MELISSA MCCARTHY AND BEN FALCONE WITH JAMES SCHAMUS ALLY AWARD ON CLOSING NIGHT, WELCOMES VICO ORTIZ AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER OF TRANS, NON-BINARY AND INTERSEX SUMMIT  

  

TICKETS AND PASSES WILL GO ON SALE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 23  

   

Today, Outfest — the Los Angeles-based nonprofit that uplifts queer and trans creators in the entertainment industry by providing career support and curating the exhibition and preservation of queer and transgender stories — announced the full line up for its 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America, taking place July 13 - 23 in venues around Los Angeles and is headquartered at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood. Tickets and passes are available to Outfest members today, and the general public starting Friday, June 23rd.  

  

The festival also announced that it will be honoring Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone with the James Schamus Ally Award during the festival’s closing night in recognition of allies’ efforts to foster Queer and Trans moving images and to promote our communities’ stories to a broader audience. Additionally, McCarthy and Falcone are both executive producers on Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story, a short documentary directed by Zeb Newman and Michiel Thomas that will be featured at this year’s festival, about a West Hollywood candle shop owner who employs unhoused and newly sober individuals at his business.  

The 11-day festival will showcase a program of over 170 titles from more than 25 countries that includes narratives, documentaries, shorts and an episodic showcase. Highlights among the films featured include the world premiere of Truth Be Told, a feature doc directed by Emmy Award-winner Nneka Onuorah (Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Grrrls) and produced by MACRO (Judas and the Black Messiah) which gives a probing, heartfelt, and often humorous exploration of the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and the Black church, featuring interviews with Billy Porter, Meagan Good, Cedric The Entertainer, David Mann, Tamela Mann and Kev on Stage; Acsexybility, a feature doc from Brazil by Daniel Gonçalves about the sexual lives and desires of people with disabilities, will also hold its world premiere at the fest, with Gonçalves attending; Fabian Stumm’s Berlinale title Bones and Names, an ensemble dramatic comedy about married men who seek new experiences outside their humdrum relationship, will hold its North American premiere with writer/director/star Stumm attending, and the U.S. premiere of Venice Film Festival highlight Le Favolose (The Fabulous Ones) will also take place.  

Outfest will hold its seventh annual Trans, Nonbinary, and Intersex Summit on Saturday, July 22nd which will welcome a keynote speech and drag performance from rising star Vico Ortiz who currently portrays non-binary pirate Jime on the wildly popular Max Original Series Our Flag Means Death; a showcase that highlights the TNBI community’s contribution to the art of drag featuring performances from Them Fatale Drag Kings and recent cast members of the AMC and Shudder hit The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula; and several commissioned one-minute films from TNBI filmmakers on the rise featuring TNBI talent from ActNow, LA’s LGBTQ+ Acting Class.   

  

Favorites from the 2023 festival circuit making their Los Angeles premieres with Outfest include Sundance titles Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson (which took that fest’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Documentary) about the iconic Black activist and poet, Mutt directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz and starring Lio Mehiel and Cole Dolman, Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun starring the director and Jordan Firstman as versions of themselves on a drug-and-sex fueled journey in Mexico City, and It’s Only Life After All that takes an intimate look into the lives of one of the most iconic folk-rock bands in America - the Indigo Girls. SXSW premieres going to Outfest include a special screening of Julio Torres’ Problemista from A24 starring Torres and Tilda Swinton in the story of a Salvadoran toy designer in New York who must take a job with a wildly eccentric art collector when his visa renewal is in jeopardy; audience favorite Bottoms, starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, directed by Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) and written by Seligman and Sennott, in an uproarious high school comedy about two social outcasts who start a female fight club in a covert attempt to hook up with their cheerleader crushes, and Cora Bora directed by Hannah Pearl Utt and starring Megan Stalter, Jojo Gibbs, and Manny Jacinto. Tribeca Festival alum highlights include Asog, a heartfelt and hilarious blend of fiction and documentary about a struggling comedian’s journey across typhoon-affected areas of the Philippines to compete in the Ms. Gay Sicogan pageant; the film boasts Adam McKay, Alan Cumming, and Joel Kim Booster among its executive producers; and feature doc Break the Game, which took a Jury Special Mention in Tribeca this month.  

  

The festival’s popular Platinum section, which showcases the bold innovators and cutting-edge creators of experimental Queer and Trans film, music, and performance, will highlight Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator starring Kiah McKirnan, Alicia Silverstone, Chris Lowell and Melanie Liburd that follows an impulsive teenage girl living in a town where young women continue to go missing, Georden West’s Playland, the North American premiere of filmmaker Harvey Rabbit’s Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe, and horror film T Blockers by 18-year-old Australian trans filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay. The previously announced Platinum Centerpiece film My Animal will be followed by the Platinum Alchemy Party at 10DTLA on Saturday, July 15th with performances headlined by Outfest Platinum Alchemy award winner Madame Gandhi.  

  

Additional highlights include a new restoration of the 1996 New Queer Cinema classic Chocolate Babies directed by Stephen Winter, who will be attending the screening, and feature doc Commitment to Life directed by Jeffrey Schwarz which chronicles the response in Los Angeles to the AIDS crisis spearheaded by AIDS Project Los Angeles.  

  

The festival also has a robust slate of short films across 14 programs, highlighting the vibrant work by emerging filmmakers operating at an unfettered level of creativity and heralding promising new careers. Among the shorts are three world premiere works that resulted from Outfest’s 2022 collaboration with Concord Originals on a pitch contest in which three filmmakers were chosen to fashion a queer work around a key song from Concord’s vast catalog. Those shorts include Artificial by Chanelle Tyson, Avivar directed by Miles Lopez, and Skate directed by Zoë Hodge.  

  

In collaboration with Outfest Platinum Series, Fusion Multidisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Star Amerasu will premiere a visual poem, performance and The Subtle Power of the High Femme shorts program. Fusion Storytelling Artist-in-Residence Dalila Ali Rajah will host a Black Queer Joy community event and curation of the Soulful: Whimsy shorts program.  

  

“The depth of the talent and the boundless creativity we saw in the work we reviewed this year speaks to how wonderfully gifted LGBTQ+ artists are,” said Outfest’s Director of Programming Mike Dougherty. “One festival could not hope to contain all the fantastic films available from our community this year, but rest assured Outfest Los Angeles will be bursting with captivating cinema, and we hope to continue the celebration year-round.”  

  

This year Outfest is also partnering with FUTURE WITHOUT FEAR, an art and culture experience that explores the hopes and dreams of underrepresented communities as they navigate this moment in history. Developed by Los Angeles-based innovation and storytelling group THE WORK. FUTURE WITHOUT FEAR will be showcased as the key theme of the festival, including an in-person activation within the atrium of the Directors Guild of America.  

As previously announced the festival will open with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, directed by Aitch Alberto, and will close with Chasing Chasing Amy, directed by Sav Rodgers. The Opening Night Gala will screen at the Orpheum Theatre, with the Closing Night Gala screening at The Montalbán Theatre. In addition, the festival will present as part of its centerpieces the films My Animal, Passages, Kokomo City, Fancy Dance, and Down Low. Outfest will also honor actor, producer and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum Maverick Award, and the Platinum Alchemy Award to musician Madame Gandhi.  

  

Genesis Motor America and Warner Bros. Discovery are the presenting sponsors of Outfest LA. Additional sponsors include IMDb, Gilead Sciences, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hornitos, Sony Pictures, The Fight Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, ABC7 and On The Red Carpet, APLA Health, Bank of America, UTA, Amazon and Glamazon, and West One Music Group. West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board is the Official Destination Partner of Outfest Los Angeles.

FULL LINEUP

GALAS

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Opening Night Gala)

Thu. July 13 at 7pm, The Orpheum | Dir. Aitch Alberto | USA | 96 min. | 2022

In this adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s YA novel sensation, two Mexican-American teenage boys in El Paso, Texas develop an intimate friendship that blossoms into something more.

 

Chasing Chasing Amy (Closing Night Gala)

Sun. July 23 at 7pm, The Montalbán | Dir. Sav Rodgers | USA | 95 min. | 2023

Filmmaker Sav Rodgers investigates his personal obsession with the legacy of Chasing Amy, the indie darling that helped shape his gender transition and profoundly changed the trajectory of his life.

CENTERPIECES

Down Low (Late Night Spotlight)

Sat. July 15 at 9:45pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Rightor Doyle | USA | 90 min. | 2023

An outrageous comedy about one wild night, a deeply repressed man, the twink who gives him a happy ending, and all the lives they ruin along the way. 

Fancy Dance (U.S. Centerpiece)

Sat. July 15 at 7:15pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Erica Tremblay | USA | 90 min. | 2022

When her sister goes missing, a queer Native woman takes her teenage niece with her on a search for answers.

 

Kokomo City (Documentary Centerpiece)

Sun. July 16 at 7pm, DGA 1 | Dir. D. Smith | USA | 73 min. | 2022

Four Black trans sex workers — Koko, Daniella, Liyah, and Dominique — are unapologetically themselves as they detail their lives in D. Smith's multi-award winning feature debut.

 

My Animal (Platinum Centerpiece)

Sat. July 15 at 6:30pm, REDCAT | Dir. Jacqueline Castel | Canada | 100 min. | 2023

Otherworldly and alienated teenager Heather falls for Jonny, the alluring new girl in town, but as their relationship and desire deepens, will Heather be able to restrain the dark animal within or will their teenage lust have bloody consequences?

 

Passages (Special Centerpiece)

Thu. July 20 at 7:15pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Ira Sachs | France | 91 min. | 2023

In Ira Sachs’ latest, Franz Rogowski portrays an egomaniacal film director who thrusts his marriage to sensitive Martin (Ben Whishaw) into chaos when he enters into a surprising affair with a local Frenchwoman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS

Big Boys

Sat. July 22 at 11am, DGA 1 | Dir. Corey Sherman | USA | 90 min. | 2022

In this charming coming-of-age comedy, a teenage boy experiences a sexual awakening when he falls for his cousin’s boyfriend on a camping trip.

 

Bottoms

Fri. July 21 at 7:30pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Emma Seligman | USA | 92 min. | 2022

BOTTOMS, a refreshingly outspoken raunchy comedy, follows two unpopular girls in their senior year who start a fight club to try to impress and hook up with cheerleaders. 

Cora Bora

Sun. July 16 at 4:15pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Hannah Pearl Utt | USA | 92 min. | 2022

Self-centered Cora (Megan Stalter) embarks upon a scorched-earth mission to save her long-distance relationship after suspecting her girlfriend may have found a new partner, to deeply messy results.

 

Egghead & Twinkie

Sun. July 21 at 5pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Sarah Kambe Holland | USA | 87 min. | 2023

With weeks to go before their first semesters at separate colleges, aspiring animator Twinkie enlists her best friend Egghead to steal her parents’ car and drive cross-country to finally meet her online crush IRL.

 

Mutt

Fri. July 14 at 7pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz | USA | 87 min. | 2023

Over the course of one hectic day in New York City, a young trans guy named Feña navigates relationships of past, present, and future.

 

Rotting in the Sun

Fri. July 14 at 9:30pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Sebatián Silva | Mexico | 109 min. | 2022

In this self-reflexive dark comedy, director Sebastián Silva and influencer Jordan Firstman play fictionalized versions of themselves whose stories collide in a mystery marked by missing persons, graphic gay sex, and potent existentialism.

 

Something You Said Last Night

Sat. July 22 at 4:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Luis De Filippis | Canada, Switzerland | 96 min. | 2023

Struggling to make ends meet on her own, a twentysomething trans girl heads on vacation to a small beach town with her warm if abrasive Canadian-Italian family intent on making the most of their time together.

 

The Mattachine Family

Sat. July 22 at 1:30pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Andy Vallentine | USA |  99 min. | 2023

Thomas and Oscar are a couple very much in love, but after their first foster child returns to his birth mother, they find they have different ideas about what it means to make a family.

 

This Place

Fri. July 14 at 7:15pm, DGA 2 | Dir. V.T. Nayani | Canada | 87 min. | 2022

As two young women fall in love, each is forced to confront their family histories in unexpected ways, while navigating multiple legacies of grief, identity, and displacement.

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS

All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White

Sat. July 15 at 7pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Babatunde Apalowo | Nigeria | 93 min. | 2023

Two men in Lagos, Nigeria are drawn into a powerful attraction that sends shockwaves through the disapproving society that surrounds them.

 

Almamula

Sun. July 16 at 11:30am, DGA 2 | Dir. Juan Sebastian Torales | Argentina, France, Italy | 95 min. | 2023

A young boy seeks refuge from homophobia in a mysterious forest, where reality blurs and secrets lurk.

 

Asog

Sun. July 16 at 2pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Seán Devlin | Philippines | 102 min. | 2023

All roads lead to the Ms. Gay Sicogan pageant, as Rey, a non-binary comedian, journeys through a province struggling to rebuild after a typhoon.

 

Bones and Names (Knochen und Namen) - NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Thu. July 20 at 9:45pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Fabian Stumm | Germany | 104 min. | 2023

Long-time couple Boris and Jonathan test the boundaries of their all-too-routine relationship as they each embark on peculiar new creative pursuits.

 

Clashing Differences

Fri. July 21 at 7:30pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Merle Grimme | Germany | 73 min. | 2023

When a group of queer and BIPOC women are assembled by a white feminist organization in a half-baked gesture towards diversifying their upcoming conference, rebellion is in the air!

 

Opponent (Motståndaren)

Sat. July 22 at 9:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Milad Alami | Sweden | 118 min. | 2023

After fleeing their Tehran home due to a mysterious violent incident, a closeted professional wrestler seeks asylum in northern Sweden with his wife and children but struggles to outrun the ghosts of his past.

 

Peafowl

Sat. July 22 at 11am, DGA 2 | Dir. Byun Sung-bin | Korea | 115 min. | 2022

A Korean trans woman working as a dancer in Seoul returns to her family home, where she must grapple with her father’s death and the pressure to participate in a traditional, gendered memorial dance.

 

Pornomelancolía

Sun. July 16 at 9:30pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Manuel Abramovich | Argentina, France, Brazil, Mexico | 98 min. | 2022

Lalo, a porn actor on the rise, balances online fame with his constant sense of melancholy.

 

Silver Haze

Fri. July 21 at 9:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Sacha Polak | Netherlands, United Kingdom | 102 min. | 2023

Twenty-three-year-old nurse Franky finds first love in her working class East London borough, but emotional scars from a traumatic past and unexpected relationship woes make healing a tricky prospect.

 

The Fabulous Ones (Le Favolose) - U.S. PREMIERE

Sun. July 16 at 9:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Roberta Torre | Italy | 75 min. | 2022

In this intoxicating hybrid of documentary and fantasy, a group of middle-aged trans women discover a letter from their friend who’s been dead twenty years and buried under her dead name, and return to the house they once shared to hold a séance and fulfill her last wish.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMS

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

Sat. July 22 at 4:15pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Sharon "Rocky" Roggio | USA | 92 min. | 2022

Uncover the shocking truth behind a scriptural mistranslation that ignited homophobia in the conservative church in 1946.

 

Acsexybility - WORLD PREMIERE

Sun. July 16 at 7:15pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Daniel Gonçalves | Brazil | 86 min. | 2023

Located at the intersection of disability and queerness, Daniel Gonçalves’ film crafts an embodied, sharply critical exploration of the fullness of its participants’ sexual lives.

 

Break the Game

Sat. July 15 at 4:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Jane M. Wagner | USA | 73 min. | 2023

Narcissus Wright livestreams every moment of her quest to be the world’s fastest Legend of Zelda player, but will she be able to choose love and adventure in the real world?

 

Coming Around

Sat. July 22 at 7:30pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Sandra Itäinen | USA | 75 min. | 2023

A queer Muslim woman grapples with the decision to come out to her devout, psychiatrist mother and ends up marrying her male partner to evade her mother’s silent disapproval.

 

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

Sat. July 15 at 12pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson | USA | 102 min. | 2023

A rich, complicated, aptly Afro-futuristic exploration of the work, life, and legacy of titanous poet Nikki Giovanni.

 

Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes

Sun. July 16 at 1:45pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Sam Shahid | USA | 96 min. | 2023

Discover the groundbreaking work of photographer George Platt Lynes, whose wildly successful early 20th century fashion portraiture of some of the era's most famous personalities paved the way for his true passion: the male nude.

 

It's Only Life After All

Sat. July 15 at 1:30pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Alexandria Bombach | USA | 124 min. | 2023

Music, activism, and unfiltered stories: The Indigo Girls' enduring legacy explored.

 

Queendom

Thu. July 20 at 7:30pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Agniia Galdanova, Maria Clara Sarem | USA, France | 98 min. | 2023

Gena, a queer artist from a small town in Russia, stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism — and put her life in danger.

 

Truth Be Told - WORLD PREMIERE

Thu. July 20 at 5pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Nneka Onuorah | USA | 85 min. | 2023

A contemporary, hilariously emotional exploration of the Black church and the complicated relationship between Black queer Christians and their faith.

PLATINUM FEATURES

Anhell69

Sun. July 16 at 4:30pm, REDCAT | Dir. Theo Montoya | Colombia, Romania, France, Germany | 74 min. | 2022

A beautiful heart-wrenching film exploring the dreams, doubts, and fears of an annihilated generation torn about by drugs and suicide in a Columbian city defined by violence.

 

Captain Faggotron Saves The Universe - NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Sun. July 16 at 6:45pm, REDCAT | Dir. Harvey Rabbit | Germany | 75 min. | 2022

A campy, comedy fantasy full of glitter and sass, about the tyranny of the closet and internalized homophobia.

 

Perpetrator

Fri. July 14 at 9:30pm, REDCAT | Dir. Jennifer Reeder | USA | 100 min. | 2023

Shortly after Jonny (Kiah McKirnan) is sent to live with her Aunt Hilde (Alicia Silverstone), several teen girls start to go missing at her new school. So Jonny tries to figure out what the hell's going on in this humorous, gory, queer-feminist coming-of-age film for the ages.

 

Playland

Fri. July 14 at 7pm, REDCAT | Dir. Georden West  | USA, United Kingdom | 72 min. | 2023

A haunting multimedia story that takes viewers on one last transgressive night out to the legendary Playland Café, Boston’s oldest gay bar established in 1937.

 

T Blockers

Sat. July 15 at 4pm, REDCAT | Dir. Alice Maio Mackay | Australia | 74 min. | 2022

When ancient parasites that thrive on hatred rise from beneath a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible as hosts, a young struggling trans filmmaker finds herself the only one able to sense the infected, and rally the resistance before the horror escapes and spreads.

LEGACY

Chocolate Babies 

Sun. July 16 at 4:45pm, DGA 2 | Dir. Stephen Winter | USA | 83 min. | 1996

A queer activist group plots the kidnapping of a closeted New York councilman to challenge their city’s apathy to victims of AIDS. New Restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in partnership with Outfest and Frameline.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Commitment to Life

Dir. Jeffrey Schwarz | USA | 115 min. | 2023

From Emmy Award-winning director Jeffrey Schwarz comes the true story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles — and how an intrepid group of people living with HIV/AIDS, doctors, movie stars, studio moguls and activists changed the course of the epidemic. Sponsored by APLA Health.

 

Problemista

Sat. July 22 at 6:45pm, DGA 1 | Dir. Julio Torres | USA | 104 min. | 2023

Aspiring toy designer Alejandro (Julio Torres) takes a job assisting an erratic New York art-world outcast (Tilda Swinton) in a desperate effort to stay in the U.S. before his work visa expires.

 

Studio One Forever

Partner Screening with Pauley Perrette and Project Angel Food

Tue. July 18 at 7:30pm, Harmony Gold | Dir. Marc Saltarelli | USA | 94 min. | 2023

More than just a disco, Studio One was a haven for gay men looking for identity in a world that saw them as outcasts, merging the gay community with the Hollywood elite for the first time, and becoming the staging ground for the LGBT rights movement and the fight against the AIDS crisis. Disco dance party following the screening!

 

Trans, Nonbinary, & Intersex Summit

Sat. July 22 at 2:15pm, DGA 2

Now in its seventh year, the TNBI Summit showcases and celebrates trans, non-binary, and intersex storytellers and talent, cultivates community, and facilitates dialogue. Join us for a day of rebellious abundance and unapologetic self-expression where TNBI voices take center stage, celebrating the power of storytelling and the resilience of our community!