The AFI FEST Interview: 45 YEARS Director Andrew Haigh

45 YEARS, British director Andrew Haigh’s follow-up to his acclaimed gay relationship drama WEEKEND (2012), is a deceptively low-key film that packs a powerful emotional punch. UK screen icons — and AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi Tribute recipients — Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay star as Kate and Geoff Mercer, a couple one week away…

The AFI FEST Interview: VR Artist Chris Milk

This year, AFI FEST presented by Audi invites attendees to sample emerging technology in the exciting arena of immersive storytelling and Virtual Reality (VR). A highlight of this section is Chris Milk’s EVOLUTION OF VERSE from Vrse.works, a photorealistic, CG-rendered 3D Virtual Reality film that takes the viewer on a journey “from one beginning to…

The AFI FEST Interview: MA Director Celia Rowlson-Hall

MA, screening in AFI FEST’s Breakthrough section, is a modern-day retelling of Mother Mary’s pilgrimage. With a background in choreography, director and star Celia Rowlson–Hall envisions the Virgin figure as a lanky, lonely woman who emerges from the desert. She meets a man, and they spend the next few days acting out hyperbolic representations of…

Meet the 11 New Auteurs of AFI FEST

New Auteurs is the juried competition section of AFI FEST.  The films, all made by first- or second-time filmmakers, represent some of the best of world cinema from new voices we’re excited to hear more from in the future. We spoke with each of these 11 filmmakers about their films, and what they hope AFI FEST…

The AFI FEST Interview: THE 33 Director Patricia Riggen

In AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi Centerpiece Gala THE 33, Mexican-born director Patricia Riggen tells the true-life story of the 2010 Chilean mine disaster in which a 100-year-old copper and gold mine collapse left 33 miners trapped deep underground for 69 days. As their families watched helplessly and rescuers drill through 2,300 feet of…

Join a Conversation with Director Scott Cooper and Johnny Depp at AFI FEST

AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi has added a new event to the festival – A Conversation with Director Scott Cooper and Johnny Depp. The two will discuss their recent collaboration on BLACK MASS (2015) in an evening moderated by Variety Deputy Awards and Features Editor Jenelle Riley. The Conversation will take place at AFI FEST…

The AFI FEST Interview: CHRONIC Director Michel Franco

Mexican director Michel Franco, whose acclaimed teenage bullying drama AFTER LUCIA screened at AFI FEST in 2012, returns this year with CHRONIC, an intense, uncompromising portrait of a palliative nurse working with chronically and terminally ill patients. Tim Roth gives a stunning, slow-burn performance as David, who selflessly and efficiently tends to his patients’ pain…

The AFI FEST Interview: SOUTHBOUND Director Roxanne Benjamin

SOUTHBOUND, from the producers of the V/H/S films, centers on a series of characters that all encounter sinister forces while on an isolated desert road. It screens in the Midnight section at AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi. AFI spoke with director/producer Roxanne Benjamin about this fresh new take on the horror anthology.  AFI: You were…

Benicio Del Toro Is Coming to AFI FEST

AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi has added the special event On Acting: A Conversation with Benicio Del Toro to this year’s program. Academy Award®-winning actor Benicio Del Toro will come to the festival on Saturday, November 7 at 11:00 a.m. for a conversation about his extensive career — which includes the films CHE (2008),…

The AFI FEST Interview: MACBETH Director Justin Kurzel

Writer/director Justin Kurzel broke out of the Australian independent film scene with SNOWTOWN (AFI FEST 2011), a disturbing true crime retelling of a vicious spree of cult murders in the 1990s. Curious, then, that his next feature should be MACBETH, a Shakespeare adaptation that finds Kurzel working on a bigger-budget canvas carried by two Hollywood…

Michael Moore Is Kicking off the New AFI DOCS Film Series

Exciting news for Washington, DC-area documentary film fans: the American Film Institute announced today its new AFI DOCS FILM SERIES, a year-round documentary screening program in the nation's capital that will kick off November 16, 2015 at the Landmark E Street Cinema with Michael Moore's WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. Moore will also participate in a post-screening discussion. Admission...

AFI FEST 2015 Highlights: American Independents

Our American Independents section is a curated showcase for some of the country’s most exciting filmmakers, many of whom have shown work at festivals around the world. When selecting our program for the 2015 edition of AFI FEST, we noticed how well these 10 films complemented and contrasted one another. These diverse filmmakers all have strong…
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