Beirut[/caption]
The 2018 Annapolis Film Festival will screen more than 80 films from 28 countries during the festival taking place March 22 to 25, 2018, including a U.S. premiere and four films from Sundance making their East Coast premiere, The Festival’s new theme: Voices Strong. Minds Open, is threaded throughout the four-day program of films, panels, parties, showcases, coffee talks, and Q&As with filmmakers.
“The diversity in this year’s slate is more than we have ever had. Audiences will get to experience firsthand the depth of this slate because many great directors, producers and talent are accompanying their films,” said Patti White, Festival Director. Some films have been sourced locally right here in Maryland, others come from afar including, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Iran, Ireland, France, Georgia, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and Venezuela.
Narrative films include the Opening Night political thriller, Beirut, directed by Brad Anderson and starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, which will be followed by a Q&A with producer Monica Levinson and industry professionals.
Other narrative films selected are: Beauty and the Dogs – Khaled Walid Barsaoui, Kaouther Ben Hania; Beauty Mark – Harris Doran; Bernard and Huey – Dan Mirvish; Butterfly Kisses – Erik Kristopher Myers; Cardinals – Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley; Come Sunday – Joshua Marston; A Crooked Somebody– Trevor White; Disappearance – Ali Asgari; Flock of Four – Gregory Caruso; Hearts Beat Loud – Brett Haley; Humor Me – Sam Hoffman; Kiss Me! – Océane Michel, Cyprien Vial; Mary Goes Round – Molly McGlynn; The Miracle Season – Sean McNamara; The Rider – Chloé Zhao; Spinning Man – Simon Kaijser; Wallay – Berni Goldblat, and What Will People Say– Iram Haq.
Documentary features have also been chosen, including: Acorn and the Firestorm – Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard; Coyote: The Mike Plant Story – Thomas M. Simmons; Finding Home – AB Troen; Itzhak – Alison Chernick; Kim Swims – Kate Webber; Liyana – Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp; Lots of Kids, A Monkey, and a Castle – Gustavo Salmerón; Love Means Zero – Jason Kohn; New Wave: Dare To Be Different – Ellen Goldfarb; Resistance is Life – Apo W. Bazidi; Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me – Samuel D. Pollard; Stumped – Robin Berghaus; Three Identical Strangers – Tim Wardle; True Conviction – Jamie Meltzer; Waiting for the Sun – Kaspar Astrup Schröder; and What Lies Upstream – Cullen Hoback, and a special screening of the NBC Originals documentary Courageous: Ted Turner and the 1977 America’s Cup.
The film debuting for its U.S. premiere is The Miracle Season, directed by Sean McNamara and starring Helen Hunt as the coach of a volleyball team who must unite the team in hopes of winning the state championship in the wake of the tragic death of a star player. The four films making their East Coast premiere include Beirut; Come Sunday, directed by Joshua Marston and starring Martin Sheen and Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life American evangelical preacher Carlton Pearson, who risks everything when he questions church doctrine and is branded a modern-day heretic; Hearts Beat Loud, directed by Brett Haley and starring Nick Offerman as a record store owner, who is forced to close his shop, and decides to form a band with his college-bound daughter; and documentary Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle, which follows the incredible true story of triplets who learned of one another’s existence only at age 19, their initial joy giving way to increasingly unsettling discoveries.
In addition to award-winning features, AFF has made its mark now in its sixth year by continually bringing a lineup of compelling short films. Two shorts that screened at last year’s AFF landed on the Oscar’s Shortlist for Best Live Action Shorts, with DeKalb Elementary still contending for the Oscar at the upcoming 90th Academy Awards.
A Crooked Somebody
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2018 Annapolis Film Festival to Screen Over 80 Films, “Beirut” “The Miracle Season” and More..
[caption id="attachment_27333" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Beirut[/caption]
The 2018 Annapolis Film Festival will screen more than 80 films from 28 countries during the festival taking place March 22 to 25, 2018, including a U.S. premiere and four films from Sundance making their East Coast premiere, The Festival’s new theme: Voices Strong. Minds Open, is threaded throughout the four-day program of films, panels, parties, showcases, coffee talks, and Q&As with filmmakers.
“The diversity in this year’s slate is more than we have ever had. Audiences will get to experience firsthand the depth of this slate because many great directors, producers and talent are accompanying their films,” said Patti White, Festival Director. Some films have been sourced locally right here in Maryland, others come from afar including, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Iran, Ireland, France, Georgia, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and Venezuela.
Narrative films include the Opening Night political thriller, Beirut, directed by Brad Anderson and starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, which will be followed by a Q&A with producer Monica Levinson and industry professionals.
Other narrative films selected are: Beauty and the Dogs – Khaled Walid Barsaoui, Kaouther Ben Hania; Beauty Mark – Harris Doran; Bernard and Huey – Dan Mirvish; Butterfly Kisses – Erik Kristopher Myers; Cardinals – Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley; Come Sunday – Joshua Marston; A Crooked Somebody– Trevor White; Disappearance – Ali Asgari; Flock of Four – Gregory Caruso; Hearts Beat Loud – Brett Haley; Humor Me – Sam Hoffman; Kiss Me! – Océane Michel, Cyprien Vial; Mary Goes Round – Molly McGlynn; The Miracle Season – Sean McNamara; The Rider – Chloé Zhao; Spinning Man – Simon Kaijser; Wallay – Berni Goldblat, and What Will People Say– Iram Haq.
Documentary features have also been chosen, including: Acorn and the Firestorm – Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard; Coyote: The Mike Plant Story – Thomas M. Simmons; Finding Home – AB Troen; Itzhak – Alison Chernick; Kim Swims – Kate Webber; Liyana – Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp; Lots of Kids, A Monkey, and a Castle – Gustavo Salmerón; Love Means Zero – Jason Kohn; New Wave: Dare To Be Different – Ellen Goldfarb; Resistance is Life – Apo W. Bazidi; Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me – Samuel D. Pollard; Stumped – Robin Berghaus; Three Identical Strangers – Tim Wardle; True Conviction – Jamie Meltzer; Waiting for the Sun – Kaspar Astrup Schröder; and What Lies Upstream – Cullen Hoback, and a special screening of the NBC Originals documentary Courageous: Ted Turner and the 1977 America’s Cup.
The film debuting for its U.S. premiere is The Miracle Season, directed by Sean McNamara and starring Helen Hunt as the coach of a volleyball team who must unite the team in hopes of winning the state championship in the wake of the tragic death of a star player. The four films making their East Coast premiere include Beirut; Come Sunday, directed by Joshua Marston and starring Martin Sheen and Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life American evangelical preacher Carlton Pearson, who risks everything when he questions church doctrine and is branded a modern-day heretic; Hearts Beat Loud, directed by Brett Haley and starring Nick Offerman as a record store owner, who is forced to close his shop, and decides to form a band with his college-bound daughter; and documentary Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle, which follows the incredible true story of triplets who learned of one another’s existence only at age 19, their initial joy giving way to increasingly unsettling discoveries.
In addition to award-winning features, AFF has made its mark now in its sixth year by continually bringing a lineup of compelling short films. Two shorts that screened at last year’s AFF landed on the Oscar’s Shortlist for Best Live Action Shorts, with DeKalb Elementary still contending for the Oscar at the upcoming 90th Academy Awards.
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INGRID GOES WEST Starring Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, to Close LA Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_19910" align="aligncenter" width="1371"]
Ingrid Goes West[/caption]
Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West starring Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen and Pom Klementieff will close the 2017 LA Film Festival on Thursday, June 22.
And, on June 17 there will be a World Premiere Gala Screening of Ric Roman Waugh’s Shot Caller starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal, Emory Cohen, Jeffrey Donovan and Benjamin Bratt.
The festival also revealed the films selected to screen in the Premiere and Buzz categories, as well as the Film Independent Member Screening of Jeff Baena’s The Little Hours starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon. USA Network will also screen the West Coast Premiere of series The Sinner starring Jessica Biel, Bill Pullman and Christopher Abbott at the LA Film Festival.
The LA Film Festival takes place June 14 to 22, 2017 headquartered at ArcLight Cinemas Culver City, with additional screenings at ArcLight Hollywood, ArcLight Santa Monica and more.
Closing Night Film
Ingrid Goes West, dir. Matt Spicer, USA, Los Angeles Premiere
Ingrid Thorburn is an unhinged social media stalker who moves to LA to befriend her latest obsession, the boho chic social media influencer, Taylor Sloane.
NEON will release Ingrid Goes West on August 11.
Gala Screening of Shot Caller
Shot Caller, dir. Ric Roman Waugh, USA, World Premiere
A newly released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime on the streets of Southern California.
Buzz
Non-competitive showcase of curated favorites from other film festivals.
The Big Sick, dir. Michael Showalter, USA, LA Premiere
Bill Nye: Science Guy, dir. David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg, USA, LA Premiere
Lady Macbeth, dir. William Oldroyd, UK, LA Premiere
Maudie, dir. Aisling Walsh, Ireland/Canada, LA Premiere
My Friend Dahmer, dir. Marc Meyers, USA, LA Premiere
Patti Cake$, dir. Geremy Jasper, USA, LA Premiere
Keep the Change, dir. Rachel Israel, USA, LA Premiere
Whitney: Can I Be Me, dir. Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal, USA, LA Premiere
Premieres
World premieres of fiction and documentary films featuring noteworthy talent.
The Bachelors, dir. Kurt Voelker, USA, World Premiere
CounterPunch, dir. Jay Bulger, USA, World Premiere
A Crooked Somebody, dir. Trevor White, USA, World Premiere
The Female Brain, dir. Whitney Cummings, USA, World Premiere
Humor Me, dir. Sam Hoffman, USA, World Premiere
The Keeping Hours, dir. Karen Moncrieff, USA, World Premiere
Living on Soul, dir. Cory Bailey, Jeff Broadway, USA, World Premiere
The Song of Sway Lake, dir. Ari Gold, USA, World Premiere
Submission, dir. Richard Levine, USA, World Premiere
Sun Dogs, dir. Jennifer Morrison, USA, World Premiere
Film Independent Members Screening
The Little Hours, dir. Jeff Baena, USA, LA Premiere
A young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a dysfunctional convent in medieval Tuscany.
Additional Festival Event
The Sinner, West Coast Premiere
The Sinner follows a young mother who commits a startling act of violence, which launches an inverted and utterly surprising crime thriller whose driving force is not the “who” or the “what” — but the “why.”
The show premieres August 2 on USA Network.
