New Orleans native, 6-time Grammy winner and Academy Award® -nominated composer Terence Blanchard will be presented with a Career Achievement Award at the Closing Night of the 30th New Orleans Film Festival on October 23rd. Blanchard composed the music for HARRIET, the Closing Night Selection of the festival which tells the story of the renowned abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Four new Spotlight Films that are soon to be Awards Season favorites will be screened at the 30th annual, Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), between October 16 to 23 in venues across the city.
The highly anticipated Vatican story, THE TWO POPES directed by Academy Award®–nominated Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God), starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce; and JOJO RABBIT, a World War II satire by Academy Award®–nominated New Zealand native director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), starring Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell will both meet the New Orleans audience in October.
Winner of both the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay awards at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, the fourth feature from French writer-director Céline Sciamma (Girlhood, Tomboy) is expected to be an audience favorite at the New Orleans Film Festival.
Master director Terrence Malick’s latest film A HIDDEN LIFE which tells the story of Franz Jägerstätter, an unsung hero who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II, is added to the Spotlight Films Selection of #NOFF2019. The film had its World Premiere at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival last May and won the François Chalais Award.
FILMS
JOJO RABBIT
Dir. Taika Waititi | USA | 2019 | 1h 48m
Cast: Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson
Writer director Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE), brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, JOJO RABBIT, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
THE TWO POPES
Dir. Fernando Meirelles | UK, Italy, Argentina, USA | 2019 | 2h 5m
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins, Juan Minujín
Behind Vatican walls, the traditionalist Pope Benedict and the reformist future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Dir. Céline Sciamma | France | 2019 | 1h 59m
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
In 18th century France, a young painter, Marianne, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse without her knowing. Therefore, Marianne must observe her model by day to paint her portrait at night. Day by day, the two women become closer as they share Héloïse’s last moments of freedom before the impending wedding.
A HIDDEN LIFE
Dir. Terrence Malick | USA, Germany |2019 |1h 53m
Cast: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Michael Nyqvist
Based on real events, A Hidden Life is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fani and children that keeps his spirit alive. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.