AFI is thrilled to share that HERETIC and MARIA will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI FEST presented by Canva! The HERETIC Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the MARIA Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the World Premieres of MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS, Robert Zemeckis’ HERE, WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL and Clint Eastwood’s JUROR #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. Festival passes, which include the opportunity to access tickets to the Red Carpet Premieres, are available at FEST.AFI.com. The full festival lineup for AFI FEST 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI FEST is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema – together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
HERETIC follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín and starring Academy Award®-winner Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, MARIA presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as La Callas negotiates the blurred boundaries between her public image and private self. The film also stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film will debut on Netflix in the fall.
AFI also announced that BIRD, THE FIRE INSIDE, I’M STILL HERE, NIGHTBITCH, THE ORDER, A REAL PAIN, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR, THE SUMMER BOOK and UNSTOPPABLE will be among the films featured in the Special Screenings section.
“This year’s Special Screenings section includes some of the most-talked-about films from around the world, exquisitely crafted gems, and inspirational crowd-pleasers,” said Todd Hitchcock, Director of AFI FEST and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. “We’re thrilled to bring these memorable and impactful films to AFI FEST audiences in the heart of Los Angeles.”
About the Special Screenings Section titles
BIRD: Andrea Arnold (AFI Class of 1991) returns with a dreamy social-realist drama that soars into the surreal. Featuring buzzworthy performances from Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski and newcomer Nykiya Adams.
THE FIRE INSIDE: Acclaimed cinematographer Rachel Morrison (AFI Class of 2006) makes her directorial debut with this engrossing drama about professional boxer Claressa Shields’ meteoric journey from Michigan to London for the 2012 Olympics.
I’M STILL HERE: Walter Salles’ first feature film in more than a decade returns to the Brazil of the early ‘70s, where the military dictatorship is tightening its grip on civil society. Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), a middle-class mother of five, must reinvent her life after her activist husband Rubens (Selton Paiva) disappears. Based on true events, and the autobiographical book by Eunice and Rubens’ son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva.
NIGHTBITCH: Marielle Heller’s frank, perceptive and fur-ociously funny adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s bestselling 2021 novel stars Amy Adams as stay-at-home mom whose domesticity takes a surreal turn.
THE ORDER: Jude Law plays a driven FBI agent in early ‘80s Idaho investigating a string of bank robberies across the Pacific Northwest. The trail leads to the white supremacist Aryan Nation, and a splinter group whose bank-robbing mastermind (Nicholas Hoult) seeks to escalate a race war and overthrow the government. Based on a true story, Justin Kurzel’s riveting historical thriller also stars Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollet.
A REAL PAIN: Jesse Eisenberg crafts an odd-couple road movie for the ages about a pair of semi-estranged cousins (Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) reconnecting on a tour through Poland to visit their late grandmother’s homeland. Winner, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR: In his first English language feature film, Spanish iconoclast Pedro Almodóvar brings his trademark flair to this elegant mortality tale starring Oscar®-winning actresses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. Winner, Golden Lion, 2024 Venice Film Festival.
THE SUMMER BOOK: In Charlie McDowell’s (AFI Class of 2006) adaptation of Tove Jansson’s beloved Nordic novel of the same name, Sophia and her father (Anders Danielsen Lie) take refuge for the summer at the home of her grandmother (Glenn Close), nestled on the shores of a remote Finnish island. North American Premiere.
UNSTOPPABLE: Jharrel Jerome stars in UNSTOPPABLE, the incredible real-life story of wrestler Anthony Robles, born without a right leg, who became a high school and collegiate champion. The film marks the directorial debut of Oscar®-winning editor William Goldenberg, and the winning cast includes Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Michael Peña and Bobby Cannavale.
Passes are available at FEST.AFI.com. A pass alone does not grant entry to a screening, and passholders must reserve tickets in advance of the festival. Patron passholders will have priority access to screening selection on October 2 beginning at 11:00 a.m. PT. Star passholders will have early access to screening selection on October 3 beginning at 11:00 a.m. PT. Individual tickets will be available on October 7. Learn more at FEST.AFI.com.
