Posted by Larry Gleeson

Here is the full lineup of Galas that will screen at AFI FEST 2018 presented by Audi.

The screenings are: the Opening Night Gala is ON THE BASIS OF SEX , Thursday, November 8; the GREEN BOOK (DIR Peter Farrelly) on Friday, November 9; the World Premiere of the episodic series THE KOMINSKY METHOD (created by Chuck Lorre) on Saturday, November 10; THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (DIR Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) on Sunday, November 11; the World Premiere of BIRD BOX (DIR Susanne Bier) on Monday, November 12; DESTROYER (DIR Karyn Kusama), on Tuesday, November 13; and WIDOWS (DIR Steve M^cQueen) on Wednesday, November 14; and, The Closing Night Gala, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS  (DIR Josie Rourke) will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018 All Gala screenings will take place at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

ON THE BASIS OF SEX – The film stars Academy Award^® nominee Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Jack Reynor and Cailee Spaeny, with Academy Award^® nominee Sam Waterston and Academy Award^® winner Kathy Bates. Inspired by a true story, ON THE BASIS OF SEX is the stirring and spirited film that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. Directed by AFI Conservatory alumna Mimi Leder (AFI Class of 1973).

GREEN BOOK – Academy Award^® nominee Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award^®winner Mahershala Ali star in Participant Media and DreamWorks Pictures’ GREEN BOOK.  In his foray into powerfully dramatic work as a feature director, Peter Farrelly helms the film inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.  Confronted with racism, and unexpected humanity and humor, they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.

BIRD BOX – When a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain: if you see it, you take your life. Facing the unknown, Malorie finds love, hope and a new beginning only for it to unravel. Now she must flee with her two children down a treacherous river to the one place left that may offer sanctuary. But to survive, they’ll have to undertake the perilous two-day journey blindfolded. Academy Award^® winner Sandra Bullock leads an all-star cast in this Netflix film that includes Trevante Rhodes, with Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich in this compelling new thriller from Academy Award^® winner Susanne Bier.

THE KOMINSKY METHOD – The sun isn’t setting on the once famous Sandy Kominsky and his longtime agent Norman Newlander. Academy Award^® winners Michael Douglas (Kominsky) and Alan Arkin (Newlander) star as two friends tackling life’s inevitable curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that values youth and beauty. Both comedic and emotional, THE KOMINSKY METHOD is an eight-episode, half-hour single camera show created by eight-time Emmy^® nominee Chuck Lorre. The Netflix show is written by Al Higgins, David Javerbaum and Lorre, who also directed the first episode. AFI FEST will present the first three episodes of the series.

Pictured above: THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS – A six-part Western anthology film, a series of tales about the American frontier told through the unique and incomparable voice of Joel and Ethan Coen. Each chapter tells a distinct story about the American West.

BIRD BOX – When a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, only one thing is certain: if you see it, you take your life. Facing the unknown, Malorie finds love, hope and a new beginning only for it to unravel. Now she must flee with her two children down a treacherous river to the one place left that may offer sanctuary. But to survive, they’ll have to undertake the perilous two-day journey blindfolded. Academy Award^® winner Sandra Bullock leads an all-star cast in this Netflix film that includes Trevante Rhodes, with Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich in this compelling new thriller from Academy Award^® winner Susanne Bier.

DESTROYER – Director Karyn Kusama’s DESTROYER is a gritty, riveting and complex crime thriller starring Oscar^® winner Nicole Kidman in a virtuoso performance as hardened detective Erin Bell, worn down to the nub by the rigors of her job and the aftermath of an undercover FBI sting gone horribly wrong. When an old nemesis (Toby Kebbell) resurfaces, Erin, haunted by guilt and loss, becomes hell-bent on finding him — seizing her last shot at redemption. The film is written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (AFI Conservatory Class of 1995), both of whom also produced alongside Fred Berger.

WIDOWS – From Academy Award^®-winning director Steve M^cQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE) and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. WIDOWS is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar^® winner Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

Pictured above: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS – The film stars Academy Award^® nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie and explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Ronan). Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I (Robbie). Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones — and change the course of history.

(Source: AFI Press Release)