AFIFest2014: 8 Must-see Special Screenings!

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today eight Special Screenings for AFI FEST 2014 presented by Audi.  The Special Screenings section includes three official Foreign Language Film Oscar® submissions and new films from Olivier Assayas and Mike Leigh.

The films are:

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Actress Maria (Juliette Binoche) struggles to return to the stage play that made her famous 20 years earlier, but this time in a different role, and opposite a rising young starlet.  DIR Olivier Assayas.  SCR Olivier Assayas.  CAST Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger.  Switzerland, Germany, France.

MERCHANTS OF DOUBT
Oscar® nominee Robert Kenner’s (FOOD, INC.) latest documentary focuses on the PR masterminds and spin doctors who are paid to shift blame and delay governmental action on climate change.  DIR Robert Kenner.  SCR Robert Kenner & Kim Roberts. CAST Naomi Oreskes, Bob Inglis, James Hansen, Stan Glantz, Marc Morano, Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe, Jamy Ian Swiss, John Passacantando.  USA.

MOMMY
Xavier Dolan’s latest film, selected as Canada’s official Oscar® entry, centers on a mother’s tumultuous relationship with her teenage son after he returns home from a correctional facility.  DIR Xavier Dolan.  SCR Xavier Dolan.  CAST Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon.  Canada.

MR. TURNER – Timothy Spall (in a Cannes Best Actor-winning performance) stars as unconventional, groundbreaking painter J.M.W. Turner in this gorgeous biopic by Mike Leigh.  DIR Mike Leigh.  SCR Mike Leigh.  CAST Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage.  UK.

SAINT LAURENT
Selected as France’s official Oscar® entry, this stylish biopic follows the life and career of iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel), from 1967 through 1976.  DIR Bertrand Bonello.  SCR Thomas Bidegain & Bertrand Bonello.  CAST Gaspard Ulliel, Aymeline Valade, Jérémie Renier, Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Amira Casar.  France.

STILL ALICE
Julianne Moore gives a heartbreaking performance as a linguistics professor facing early onset Alzheimer’s disease in this festival favorite.  DIR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  SCR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  CAST Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish.  USA.

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
The latest documentary by provacateur Nick Broomfield (AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER, KURT & COURTNEY) delves into the case of a notorious serial killer who menaced South Central L.A. for more than 25 years.  DIR Nick Broomfield.  FEATURING Seymour Amster, Pamela Brooks, Nick Broomfield, Christopher Franklin, Nana Gyamfi, Laverne Peters, Margaret Prescod.  USA, UK.

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT)
The Cannes Palme d'Or-winning Dardenne brothers return with this tale of a young Belgian mother (Marion Cotillard) who must convince her co-workers to forego their much-needed bonuses in order to keep her job.  DIR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  SCR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  CAST Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Pili Groyne, Simon Caudry.  Belgium, Italy, France.





See you at the festival!!!

XXX
Raymond Lo