AFI announced today additional Conversations that will take place at AFI FEST 2018 presented by Audi.

The lineup includes Conversations with director Rob Marshall about his celebrated career, which will include an exclusive preview of a musical number from MARY POPPINS RETURNS; the cast and filmmakers of CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?; television creator Chuck Lorre; as well as a roundtable of documentary filmmakers presented by the Los Angeles Times; The Hollywood Reporter’s Indie Contenders Roundtable moderated by Scott Feinberg; a panel with four directors with films in this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar^® race; a panel with female film critics; and a presentation by director Nina Menkes on female representation in cinema. These new events events join previously announced conversations with Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman.

DOC ROUNDTABLE

Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang will moderate a panel of distinguished directors from this year’s most talked-about and acclaimed documentaries including Alexis Bloom (DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES), Talal Derki (OF FATHERS AND SONS), Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (FREE SOLO), Morgan Neville (WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?), RaMell Ross (HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING), Jed Rothstein (ENEMIES: THE PRESIDENT, JUSTICE & THE FBI), Sandi Tan (SHIRKERS), Rudy Valdez (THE SENTENCE) and Betsy West (RBG). 

INDIE CONTENDERS ROUNDTABLE

Hear from a diverse panel of artists who have done standout work in independent film this year. Presented by The Hollywood Reporter and moderated by columnist and blogger Scott Feinberg, the panel will feature a discussion with the artists about their careers and influences, as well as the challenges and rewards of working on indies. Panelists include Willem Dafoe (AT ETERNITY’S GATE), Richard E. Grant (CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?), Kathryn Hahn (PRIVATE LIFE), Felicity Jones (ON THE BASIS OF SEX), Joanna Kulig (COLD WAR), Thomasin McKenzie (LEAVE NO TRACE), Rosamund Pike (A PRIVATE WAR) and John C. Reilly (THE SISTERS BROTHERS and STAN & OLLIE).

THE LANGUAGE OF CINEMA: INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS

Join four directors with films in this year’s foreign Oscar^® race — Rima Das (Indian Oscar^® entry VILLAGE ROCKSTARS; AFI FEST film BULBUL CAN SING), Sophie Dupuis (Canada’s FAMILY FIRST), Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany’s NEVER LOOK AWAY) and László Nemes (Hungary’s SUNSET) — in a conversation with Barry Sabath, producer and AFI Conservatory Senior Lecturer.

RAZZLE DAZZLE ‘EM! A Conversation With Rob Marshall

Oscar^®-nominated film and stage director Rob Marshall joins us for an in-depth conversation about his career. Considered the master of the modern movie musical, Marshall has brought multi award-winning musicals, such as CHICAGO, NINE and INTO THE WOODS, to film audiences around the globe. His latest, Disney’s MARY POPPINS RETURNS, will be released in December. Audience members will get an exclusive preview of one of the musical numbers from MARY POPPINS RETURNS.

WHO SAYS? Underrepresented Voices in Film Criticism

Join Turner Classic Movies’ Alicia Malone and three of the country’s leading voices in film criticism — Jacqueline Coley (Rotten Tomatoes), Ann Hornaday (The Washington Post) and Lisa Kennedy (Denver Post) — for a frank discussion on the state of film criticism and how media outlets, studios and film festivals are working to increase representation among critics and journalists, with an opening presentation by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Founder and Director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at USC. 

STORIES FROM THE SET: THE FILMMAKERS BEHIND CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Join director Marielle Heller, actress Melissa McCarthy and producer Amy Nauiokas as they discuss the making of one of the year’s most acclaimed films. Based on the true story of author Lee Israel, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? stars McCarthy in a virtuoso performance as the fiercely intelligent but tough-to-love Israel who, forced to make ends meet, turns her art form to deception with the help of her witty friend Jack (Richard E. Grant).

A CONVERSATION WITH CHUCK LORRE
Esteemed TV creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre discusses his wide-ranging career, from THE BIG BANG THEORY to TWO AND A HALF MEN, along with his latest series, THE KOMINSKY METHOD, which will be presented as a Gala at AFI FEST.

SEX AND POWER: THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF OPPRESSION

Filmmaker Nina Menkes presents, analyzes and deconstructs a series of film clips to show how lighting, camera angles, camera movement, blocking and framing are used in mainstream filmmaking to formally disempower women on screen. Menkes presented this lecture at the 2018 Sundance and Cannes film festivals, among other prestigious venues.

Pictured at top: Rob Marshall[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]