AFI FILM FEST 2018 is here!
AFI Film Fest 2018
AFI Film Fest 2018, American Film Institute's fest is here and promising to knock it out of the park again!
The World Series just ended in LA this week and the contenders for the Award season is steaming up next week in Hollywood at the AFI FILM FEST 2018 Audi sponsored event.
Pack filled with "sure to be Hits" and My ReelWorld cannot wait! I love it so much, I chose to volunteer hours to contribute to making it available to all lovers of film, filmmakers, and anyone interested in seeing great filmmaking. Great AFI Film Fest Teams work hard and are the backbone of the events so be sure to take a moment to thank them.
In terms of film watching, you will find The GALAS are the most sort after events but there's alot in between that's well worth the watch- including filmmaker presentations and panels. I go to alot of film events and the AFI Film Fest is one of my favs that I hate to miss. Will warn you, it is so jam packed - that you will want to see more than time will allow! Pace yourself and take time out to enjoy the discussions in the lines and eating along the way.
Hope you can find time to participate and plan for November 8th- 15th, 2018 in the Hollywood area- the box office is at the Hollywood & Highland Center6, 801 Hollywood BoulevardLevel 2, Suite 223 Hollywood, CA 90028 and opens on Monday for pre- fest tickets. Also, contact customer service inquiries, call 866.AFI.FEST / 866.234.3378
or e-mail boxoffice@afi.com. JOIN the AFI to support this great organization and get AFI Member benefits right away! The Cinepass is an AFI FEST pass, exclusively available to AFI members. With a Cinepass, you won't have to reserve tickets online or at the box office.
Here's the trailer of some of the featured films and events- more to find online.
Here's my wish list with descriptions straight from the Online AFI info and Tickets and Pass site. T
My most anticipated welcome is the Opening night Gala with
ON THE BASIS OF SEX" the true story of American Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If you have seen the Netflix story on RBG- ( see MyReelWorld Blog posting) - we're hoping to get more info to learn about this women of our times.
VOX LUX has the inclusion of Natalie Portman's presence on screen and at the screening! She has been a fav since her earliest days and always will be a go to for excellence in filmmaking.
DESTROYER -Nicole Kidman is taking time out for a conversation from Big Lies to talk before the Destroyer screening - with her outstanding works in her portfolio, it's bound to give insight any filmmaker and movie lover can benefit.
ROMA - well, anything director/ filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón does is done with much thought and artistic talents and this story of his heritage lines is bound to make indents in one's mind and hearts.
WIDOWS not a topic of happy but Viola Davis makes things turn gold when she walks on the set so it has to have even more feelings tied into the story and we look forward to stepping on the big screen from How To Get Away With Murder.
QUEEN OF SCOTTS - If you saw Lady Bird, you will recognize one of the queens as Saoirse Ronan and this intriguing period piece stars Margot Robbie as her sister on the steps of the throne. For those two reasons, it's Gala closing night will make for a great wrap!
ON THE BASIS OF SEX
ON THE BASIS OF SEX - Opening Night Gala film
ON THE BASIS OF SEX follows the inspiring and spirited true story of young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Academy Award® nominee Felicity Jones) as she teams with her husband Marty (Armie Hammer) to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. Directed by AFI Conservatory alumna Mimi Leder (DEEP IMPACT, THE LEFTOVERS), ON THE BASIS OF SEX features a stellar ensemble cast including Justin Theroux, Academy Award® winner Kathy Bates, Academy Award® nominee Sam Waterston, Jack Reynor and Cailee Spaeny.
VOX LUX
VOX LUX- with a presentation from Natalie Portman following the film.
In Brady Corbet’s assured and razor-edged second directorial feature, Natalie Portman stars as Celeste, a jaded pop star who as a teen was a survivor of a Staten Island school shooting. Now, when Celeste’s most popular music video is the inspiration for another mass shooting, she must contend with the link between her past and present. DIR Brady Corbet. SCR Brady Corbet. CAST Natalie Portman, Jennifer Ehle, Jude Law, Stacy Martin, Raffey Cassidy. USA
DESTROYER
DESTROYER - with a conversation at the film screening by Nicole Kidman.
Director Karyn Kusama’s DESTROYER is a gritty, riveting and complex crime thriller starring Oscar® winner Nicole Kidman in a virtuoso performance as hardened detective Erin Bell, worn down to the nub by the rigors of her job and the aftermath of an undercover FBI sting gone horribly wrong. When an old nemesis (Toby Kebbell) resurfaces, Erin, haunted by guilt and loss, becomes hell-bent on finding him — seizing her last shot at redemption.
The film is written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (AFI Conservatory Class of 1995), both of whom also produced alongside Fred Berger.
QUEEN OF SCOTS
QUEEN OF SCOTS - World Premiere Gala
AFI FEST presented by Audi will close with the World Premiere of Focus Features and Working Title’s MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. Directed by Josie Rourke and written by Academy Award® nominee Beau Willimon, the historical drama is based on John Guy’s biography, “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart.” The film stars Academy Award® nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, along with Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, Gemma Chan, Martin Compston, Ismael Cordova, Brendan Coyle, Ian Hart, Adrian Lester, James McArdle, David Tennant and Guy Pearce. The Closing Night Gala will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.
ROMA
ROMA
Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA is a semi-autobiographical recounting of one year in the life of an upper-middle-class family in Mexico City in the 1970s. From the perspective of their live-in maid and nanny Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio, in an exceptionally subtle yet powerful performance), this profoundly compassionate and humanistic portrait delivers a transcendent masterwork from one of our greatest living filmmakers. DIR Alfonso Cuarón. SCR Alfonso Cuarón. CAST Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira. Mexico, USA
WIDOWS
WIDOWS
From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE) and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. WIDOWS is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
THE FAVOURITE
THE FAVOURITE
Director Yorgos Lanthimos showcases his uniquely dark humor with a royal story of intrigue, jealousy and betrayal. Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) sits on the throne in the early18th century, while her close friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), governs behind the curtain and tends to her capricious moods. When a new servant named Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, she charms her way into the women’s lives, discovering secrets and provoking rivalries. DIR Yorgos Lanthimos. SCR Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara. CAST Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, James Smith, Mark Gatiss, Jenny Rainsford. USA
