Today at 2:00 P.M, Pedro Almodavar’s PARALLEL MOTHERS, starring Penelope Cruz, is making an afternoon Red Carpet Premiere at the historic Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, Calif. Visit fest.afi.com for more information including ticketing.
Pedro Almodovar’s PARALLEL MOTHERS, starring Penelope Cruz, is slated for an AFI FEST Red Carpet Premiere, today, November 13th, 2021, 2:00 P.M., at the historic Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo from fest.afi.com)
UPDATE: There will be apost-screening conversationwithPedro Almodóvar(Director) moderated by film criticAlonso Duralde.
PARALLEL MOTHERS, follows two women Janis and Ana – both single mothers – from the moment they give birth to two daughters. Janis is thrilled by her accidental pregnancy, seeing it as perhaps her last chance at motherhood, while the adolescent Ana is scared and traumatized by the ordeal.
According to AFI Movie Club, Almodovar has been percolating the idea since 1999, when he first pitched it to Penelope Cruz while she was working on Almodvar’s ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER. This is the eighth collaboration between the Spanish duo. In addition, PARALLEL MOTHERS marks the 13th collaboration between Sony Pictures Classics and the production company El Deseo, which Almodovar operates with his brother Augustin Almodovar.
Jane Campion’s latest film, The Power of the Dog, with Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee present, lit up the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard last night with an AFI FEST 2021 Red Carpet Premiere.
Once inside the hallowed Hollywood landmark, AFI President Bob Gazzale welcomed the audience before eloquently introducing the film and Director Jane Campion to loud cheers and hearty rounds of applause. Following the film’s screening a conversation moderated by Hollywood’s delightful Kathryn Hahn entertained the house.
The Power of the Dog, a semi-dark psychological drama, is a magnificent and majestic work tantalizing and titillating – a bonafied Oscar contender in multiple categories.
The evening embodied a new peak for film festival entertainment as post-screening actors, editor, cinematographer, and director sparred, cajoled and informed under the watchful eye of moderator Hahn as she effectively marshaled the energies of The Power of the Dog conversation.
Kirsten Dunst, Red Carpet Premiere Screening of ‘The Power of the Dog’, Intro and Q and A, AFI FEST, TCL Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA – 11 Nov 2021Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jane Campion, Kirsten Dunst and Benedict Cumberbatch – AFI FEST 2021 Red Carpet Premiere Screening of THE POWER OF THE DOG, TCL Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, California, Nov. 11, 2021
The AFI FEST continues through November 14th, offering the best in global cinema.
Tickets Are Still Available for Select In-person Screenings Tomorrow! Check out these selections for your viewing.
It’s a great day at the AFI FEST 2021 in Hollywood, California!
Through November 14th, AFI FEST 2021 is offering the best in global cinema. Tickets are available for select screenings.
Here are a few recommendations for today.
Powerful, provocative and deeply moving: Bernstein’s Wall tells the life story of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story). Utilizing Bernstein’s own words, harvested from his many recorded appearances on the radio, television and in-person interviews, offering a strikingly intimate perspective, Bernstein’s Wall sceens today at 3:15 P.M. today with a runtime of 106 minutes. A music-lover’s dream come true!
BUY TICKETSUNCLENCHING THE FISTS (RAZZHIMAYA KULAKI) a World Cinema entry is also the Russia Official International Feature Film Oscar Submission. Recipient of the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival, Russian newcomer Kira Kovalenko delivers a raw, visceral experience, and the film is filled with harshly beautiful performances and is uniquely told from a woman’s perspective. Highly recommended!
BUY TICKETS Director/Filmmaker provocateur Sean Baker (Tangerine,Florida Project) is back with another raw, slice of life feature, Red Rocket. The narrative follows Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) as he tries to put his life back together in oil refinery hometown of Texas City after spending 20 years of his life working in the porn industry. Plenty of action and a little frontal nudity as Baker once again proves he is a storyteller to be reckoned with.
“My favorite film at the Telluride Film Festival.” – Sam Stromberg
Media personality, Simon Rex, delivers a captivating performance as Mikey Saber, in Sean Baker’s latest film on the socially marginalized, Red Rocket.
BUY TICKETSAli & Ava. Ali and Ava each live lonely lives in North Britain. Ali, a British Pakistani, is a former DJ turned compassionate landlord who meets Ava, an Irish-born schoolteacher and single mother of five, while picking up one of his tenant’s children from school. Despite their differences, sparks start to fly. As Ali and Ava’s relationship grows deeper, the shadows of their emotional turmoil and society’s expectations of them build as well. Can they find a way to keep their love alive?
BUY TICKETSHuda’s Salon centers on the complex friction in the West Bank between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation. Reem, mother of a newborn baby and wife to a distrusting husband, gets her hair cut at Huda’s Salon one fateful day. There, Huda blackmails Reem into betraying their Palestinian community by providing intel to the Israeli Secret Service. The very next day Huda is found out by the resistance and Reem’s blackmail photo is discovered.
“Huda’s Salon reveals with disturbing candor the plight of Palestinian women striving to survive while being trapped on all sides.” –Julia Kipnis
The Shorts Program 1 comes with an “In-person Q&A” to following the screenings. Check out the line-up here: ZONDER MEERMISERY LOVES COMPANYNALUJUK NIGHTTHE DEATH CLEANER (EL LIMPIADOR)LOVE, DAD (MILÝ TATI)BABYBANGZA SUMMER PLACE The Shorts Program 1 is also available virtually. Following the virtual program, AFI Festivals Shorts Programmer Eric Mooreleads a conversation between filmmakers Louise Monlaü (THE DEATH CLEANER), Diana Cam Van Nguyen (LOVE, DAD), Juliana Kasumu (BABYBANGZ), Alexandra Matheou (A SUMMER PLACE).
Last night, the AFI FEST audience at the TCL Chinese Theatre was treated to the World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM! Check out the exclusive photos from the red carpet, featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Judith Light, Robin de Jesus, Joshua Henry, Alexandra Shipp and more.
Judith Light – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Andrew Garfield and Alexandra Shipp – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Andrew Garfield and Lin-Manuel Miranda – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Andrew Garfield – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Director Lin-Manuel Miranda – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Robin de Jesus, Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Julie Oh – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Robin de Jesus – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Isabella Gomez – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOMJulie Larson – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!Alice Brooks, Cinematographer – AFI FEST 2021: World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM!
Tickets Still Available for Select In-person Screenings Tomorrow!
AFI FEST 2021 kicks off tonight with AFI FEST’s return to the theaters with the Red Carpet Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM! directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Bob Gazzale, AFI President
“AFI was created to fulfill a need, and that need seems to change every year, certainly during a global pandemic,” Gazzale says. “And what we determined early was that the goal of AFI this year was to manifest what we learned during the pandemic: that experiencing life with others is a joy. To laugh together, to experience a jump scare, to experience a story well told has always proven a tonic for dark times.”
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his feature directorial debut with tick, tick…BOOM!, an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of “Rent.”
Jon is a young theater composer who’s waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. Days before he’s due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere: from his girlfriend Susan, who dreams of an artistic life beyond New York City; from his friend Michael, who has moved on from his dream to a life of financial security; amidst an artistic community ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. With the clock ticking, Jon is at a crossroads and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?
There will be a post-screening conversation with Lin-Manuel Miranda (Director), Andrew Garfield (Actor), Robin De Jesus (Actor), Alexandra Shipp (Actor) and Steven Levenson (Screenwriter) moderated by filmmaker Rian Johnson.
More films playing this week at AFI FEST:
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Academy Award® winner Jane Campion crafts an enthralling psychological drama set in the American West starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a brutally beguiling rancher. Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and more in attendance for post-screening conversation. Screening in person Thursday, November 11, 7:30 p.m. One of HollywoodGlee’s Select Pics! The performances led by Cumberbatch and strongly supported by Plemons and Dunst make this a “don’t miss” film.
UPDATE: There will be a post-screening conversation with Jane Campion (Director), Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor), Kirsten Dunst (Actor), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Actor), Ari Wegner (Cinematographer), Peter Sciberras (Editor), and moderated by recently announced actress and comedian, Kathryn Hahn.
Deeply seeded carnal desires bubble to the surface and topple over in this cathartic narrative which fuses the darkly morbid with the sublimely feminine. Director Anita Rocha da Silveira (KILL ME PLEASE) returns to AFI FEST with this modern horror-satire that fiercely critiques evangelical fanaticism in a Brazil. Screening in person Saturday, November 13 at 8:30 p.m.
This powerful documentary follows Dr. Pat Scannon and a team of professionals, volunteers and other veterans searching for those left behind in forgotten battles. Screening in person Thursday, November 11 at 5:00 p.m. and virtually beginning November 12.
A ghost struck with memory loss makes an ephemeral friendship with Arthur, a human, and learns patience in its journey to the afterlife…It’s the ghost story that ghosts deserve to have. Screening as part of Shorts Program 2. Screening virtually beginning November 11 and in person November 12 at 6:00 p.m.
During WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are sent to a secret POW camp near Washington, DC – and soon discover that the prisoners are Hitler’s top scientists. Join us for these compelling – and true – stories as part of the Meet The Press Film Festival at AFI FEST. Post-screening conversation moderated by NBC News journalists. Screening virtually beginning November 11 and in person Thursday, November 11 at 2:00 p.m.
Directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, this powerful documentary is an essential deep dive into a divided nation’s history and the ongoing racial reckoning of our times. Join us for a post-screening discussion with the filmmakers and the ACLU’s Jeffery Robinson, moderated by Variety’s Clayton Davis. Screening in person Thursday, November 11 at 6:00 p.m.
The completeAFIFESTprogram includes 115 titles (48 Features, 1 Episodic, 49 Short Films and 17 Conservatory Showcase Shorts) of which 51% are directed by women, 40% directed by BIPOC filmmakers and 13% are directed by LGBTQIA+ filmmakers. This year’s program represents 50 countries and includes six World.
Final preparations were taking place bright and early this morning at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., as the American Film Institute’s (AFI) 2021 AFI FEST, Nov.10-14th, is slated to open tonight with the World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! starring Andrew Garfield.
The American Film Institute’s AFI FEST 2021 Production Crew begin preparations at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 10th, 2021, for tonight’s Opening Night World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)
The American Film Institute’s AFI FEST 2021 Production Crew begin preparations at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 10th, 2021, for tonight’s Opening Night World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)
The American Film Institute’s AFI FEST 2021 Production Crew begin preparations at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 10th, 2021, for tonight’s Opening Night World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)
The American Film Institute’s AFI FEST 2021 Production Crew begin preparations at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 10th, 2021, for tonight’s Opening Night World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)
On Thursday, the Red Carpet Premieres continue with a sizzling POWER OF THE DOG directed by Jane Campion and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst. The performances led by Cumberbatch and strongly supported by Plemons and Dunst make this a “don’t miss” film. Campion is a front runner for her second screenwriting Oscar and may well make it a twofer ala Chloe Zhao with Nomadland – Writing and Directing!
More to come as the best in global cinema is about to get underway! Stay tuned…
The American Film Institute’s AFI FEST 2021 Production Crew begin preparations at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 10th, 2021, for tonight’s Opening Night World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)
Tickets to in-person and virtual screenings are available on FEST.AFI.com.
Powerful, enlightening, heartbreaking and heartwarming. Experience it all at AFI FEST 2021. Opening night kicks off tomorrow with the World Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! And on Thursday, the Red Carpet Premieres continue with THE POWER OF THE DOG directed by Jane Campion and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst.
Don’t miss all of the screenings launching virtually!
Buy your tickets to in-person and virtual screenings today on FEST.AFI.com.
SWAN SONG
World Premiere
In this intimate sci-fi drama starring two-time Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali and eight-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close, the moral complexities of cloning force a man to examine everything he knows about love, loss and happiness. Feature directorial debut from Academy Award® winner Benjamin Cleary. Screening in person Friday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m.
In this powerful exploration of how generations and families are held together amongst the greatest challenges, Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film follows two new mothers (Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit) whose bond unravels in complicated and surprising ways that neither of them expected. After the screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre, join us for a special conversation with director Pedro Almodóvar and The Wrap’s Alonso Duralde. Screening Saturday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m.
This powerful documentary follows Dr. Pat Scannon and a team of professionals, volunteers and other veterans searching for those left behind in forgotten battles. AFI FEST is honored to host the World Premiere of this remarkable film on November 11 to celebrate all U.S. veterans. Screening in person Thursday, November 11 at 5:00 p.m and virtually beginning November 12.
Spinning wildly around such complex questions as the moral obligation of a citizen whose country is becoming increasingly oppressive and censorial, and the inherent privilege in speaking out against such injustices, the latest from celebrated Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid is a provocation as intimate as it is extreme. Screening in person on Friday, November 12 at 4:30 p.m.
With Halloween or Hallowe’en, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, this weekend the AFI FEST delivers with this selection of shorts and features sure to satisfy all the thrill-seekers and horror lovers. Imagine yourself in a candy-colored nightmare, trapped in a dark, Romanian forest or in shark-infested waters with these scary good films!
GOOD MADAM
South African auteur and AFI FEST alum Jenna Cato Bass (HIGH FANTASY) delivers a haunting, psychological thriller steeped in remnants of postcolonialism and apartheid. Tsidi (Chumisa Cosa) and her daughter must move in with her estranged mother, Mavis (Nosipho Mtebe), a domestic housekeeper who has worked for her “Madam” Diane since Tsidi was a young girl. While living in Diane’s large and foreboding house, Tsidi is appalled with her mother’s extreme dedication and servitude even after all these years. Gradually, Tsidi’s daughter and then Tsidi herself become submissive to the whims of the rarely seen Madam. Co-written and produced with collaborator Babalwa Baartman, Bass employs stylish imagery and an ominous tone to bring this chilling narrative to life. Learn more about the film.
Largely keeping to themselves after their mother is forced to leave Athens and return to the Philippines, Emy and Teresa live a simple, quiet life centered around attending mass, working in a fish market and avoiding the locals. But soon the outside world encroaches as Teresa begins seeing a Greek co-worker and Mrs. Christina, their mother’s former boss, lures Emy into working as a caregiver, a ruse to tap into Emy’s very unique, and very ancient, gifts. When Teresa’s boyfriend sees Emy crying tears of blood, she runs the risk of her abilities being exposed, sending her on a shocking trajectory in this whip-smart feature debut – a potent and visceral tale of race, class and tradition filtered through body and social horror – from filmmaker Araceli Lemos. Learn more about the film.
Radu Muntean’s latest could potentially be described as a critique of altruism under capitalism, but all of that seems momentarily less urgent than the larger concern as to whether our three characters will survive the night trapped in the bitter cold wilderness. Romanian New Wave filmmakers are masters at illustrating that people doing their best is simply not good enough when the system has been poisoned. All of that is here, entrancing and brimming with dark humor and wit. Learn more about the film.
MEDUSA is Anita Rocha da Silveira’s vibrant homage to classic horror-satire and Argento-esque, supernatural giallo films. Mariana (played with verve by Mari Oliveira) is part of a virtuous Christian girl gang in Brazil that is hellbent on publicly shaming sinful women and posting humiliating videos of their repentance to social media. Deeply seeded carnal desires bubble to the surface and topple over in this cathartic narrative which fuses the darkly morbid with the sublimely feminine. With lush performances and an infectious score, MEDUSA is a fierce and pointed critique of evangelical fanaticism as well as the ways in which society at large crucifies brazen, liberated women. Witnessing the devout slowly shed their saintly conduct and become their most primal selves is certainly worth the watch. Perhaps there’s a snake-haired sinner hiding in all of us… Learn more about the film.
SHARK follows the continuing adventures of Jack, who loves to prank. But in his latest relationship he may have finally met his match. Screens as part of Shorts Program 4. Learn more about the film.
Screening in-person as part of Shorts Program 4 | November 13, 2:15 p.m. | Buy In-Person Ticket(s)
Virtual screening available beginning November 11, 12:00 p.m. PST | Buy Virtual Ticket(s)
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
North American Premiere
In Singapore, where even vapes are illegal, three rebellious schoolgirls are caught smoking by the principal. Their revenge prank takes a sinister turn. Screens as part of Shorts Program 4. Learn more about the film.
Screening in-person as part of Shorts Program 4 | November 13, 2:15 p.m. | Buy In-Person Ticket(s)
Virtual screening available beginning November 11, 12:00 p.m. PST | Buy Virtual Ticket(s)
With health and safety being top priority, AFI FEST 2021 will require all festival-goers who attend in-person events and/or screenings to be fully vaccinated. Learn more about AFI’s annual film festival celebrating the best in global cinema at FEST.AFI.com.
Individual tickets and passes to AFI FEST 2021 are currently available on FEST.AFI.com. AFI Members receive exclusive discounts and benefits to the festival. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.
Meet the AFI FEST 2021 Indie Contenders Roundtable
This year’s Indie Contenders Roundtable for the AFI FEST film festival will feature Caitriona Balfe (BELFAST), Nicolas Cage (PIG), Colman Domingo (ZOLA), Ann Dowd (MASS), Dakota Johnson (THE LOST DAUGHTER) and Simon Rex (RED ROCKET).
The popular annual event highlights acclaimed actors from some of this year’s most outstanding independent films and is an unfiltered conversation about the challenges and rewards of indie filmmaking.
The free event will take place on Nov. 13 at 1:00 p.m. on AFI FEST’s virtual platform. Festival-goers from around the country can reserve their virtual ticket to the event starting on Oct. 20 on FEST.AFI.com.
The panel will be presented by The Hollywood Reporter and hosted by columnist Scott Feinberg.
Earlier this week, the full lineup for AFI FST 2021 – 115 titles from 50 countries – was announced and can be viewed here. Passes and tickets for in-person and virtual screenings are now available at FEST.AFI.com.
With health and safety being top priority, AFI FEST 2021 will require all festival-goers who attend in-person events and/or screenings to be fully vaccinated.
AFI members receive exclusive discounts and benefits to the film festival. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.
The Closing Night film for AFI FEST 2021 has been officially crowned! The 35th edition of AFI’s annual film festival celebrating the best in world cinema will close with Warner Bros. Pictures’ KING RICHARD, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green with cinematography by Robert Elswit (AFI Class of 1977), written by Zach Baylin and starring two-time Academy Award® nominee Will Smith. Based on a true story that will inspire the world, the film follows Richard Williams, an undeterred father who, with the support of his family, is instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, Venus and Serena Williams. The Closing Night screening will take place on Sunday, November 14 at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.
“AFI’s mission includes inspiring audiences, and KING RICHARD sets the bar for this year,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming at AFI Festivals. “Movies often deliver when we need them most, and now is the perfect time for this film to remind young people that nothing is out of reach, and that with perseverance and determination they can influence future generations.”
This year’s hybrid festival will feature both in-person screenings and events, as well as virtual screenings, showcasing transformative stories from groundbreaking artists. As previously announced, the World Premiere of tick, tick…BOOM! directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda will open the festival on Nov. 10.
With health and safety being top priority, AFI FEST 2021 film festival will require all festival-goers who attend in-person events and/or screenings to be fully vaccinated. Tickets and passes to AFI FEST 2021 will be available soon on FEST.AFI.com. AFI Members receive exclusive discounts and benefits to the festival. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.
Pedro Almodovar’s PARALLEL MOTHERS, starring Penelope Cruz, is slated for an AFI FEST Red Carpet Premiere, today, November 13th, 2021, 2:00 P.M., at the historic Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo from fest.afi.com)
