AFI FEST 2019 Presented by Audi, November 14 - 21, Announces Full Festival Lineup

MIDNIGHT 

JALLIKATTU

In the tropical Indian state of Kerala, a buffalo escapes. Soon, all hell breaks loose as an entire village tries to wrestle it under control. A teeming world of base human behavior is also unleashed in this unique, adrenaline-fueled, brilliantly assembled and highly experiential spectacle that pulsates with energy from start-to-finish.

DIR Lijo Jose Pellissery. SCR S Hareeesh, R Jayakumar. CAST Anthony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, Santhy Balachandran. India

SAINT MAUD

Maud, a reclusive nurse with a traumatic past, takes the task of hospice care for her new patient, Amanda, very seriously – she is determined to save Amanda’s soul from the devil. A sharp, striking debut, this psychological horror story of religious devotion will make you shiver long after leaving the theater. DIR Rose Glass. SCR Rose Glass. CAST  Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle Lily Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Carl Prekopp, Jonathan Milshaw, Noa Bodner, Rosie Sansom. UK 

CINEMA’S LEGACY

FORMAN VS. FORMAN

When the great Milos Forman died in 2018, he left behind a unique legacy that includes being a pioneer of the Czech New Wave and the daring Oscar®-winning director of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and AMADEUS. This eye-opening portrait offers an intimate look at one of Hollywood’s most important filmmakers. DIR Helena Trestikova, Jakub Hejna. SCR Helena Trestikova. Czech Republic, France. 

HE DREAMS OF GIANTS

Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe’s irresistibly entertaining 2002 documentary LOST IN LA MANCHA shadowed celebrated director Terry Gilliam throughout his ill-fated production of THE MAN WHO KILLED QUIXOTE. 17 years later, Gilliam’s quest resumes, once again with Fulton and Pepe in tow. Will Gilliam succeed at last or is he just tilting at windmills? DIR Keith Fulton, Lou Pepe. FEATURING Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Pryce, Adam Driver. UK.  

ROMANTIC COMEDY

Take a trip through your favorite Romantic Comedies with artist and writer Elizabeth Sankey as she examines the common tropes of the genre and how they have shaped not only cultural conversations but the actual psychological makeup of the filmmaker herself.  An outstanding intellectual and revealing debut, this film will be your next crush. DIR Elizabeth Sankey. SCR Elizabeth Sankey. FEATURING Jessica Barden, Cameron Cook, Anne T. Donahue, Simran Hans, Brodie Lancaster, Charlie Lyne, Eleanor McDowall, Laura Snapes. UK.  

TALKING ABOUT TREES

A crash course in the history of Sudanese cinema and a delightful ode to lifelong friendships, TALKING ABOUT TREES features the irrepressible foursome of Ibrahim, Suliman, Manar and Eltayeb, filmmakers and members of the Sudanese Film Group.  Winner, Documentary Jury Award and Panorama Documentary Audience Award, 2019 Berlin Film Festival. DIR Suhaib Gasmelbari. SCR Suhaib Gasmelbari. FEATURING Suleiman Ibrahim, Ibrahim Shaddad. France, Sudan, Chad, Germany, Qatar

VARDA BY AGNÈS

Concluding a series of insightful personal documentaries by French New Wave pioneer Agnès Varda, this personally guided cinematic tour incorporates film, installations and photography, offering original concepts and anecdotes that will enrich their impact to those familiar and provide a welcome introduction to the uninitiated. DIR Agnès Varda. SCR Agnès Varda. France 

SHORT FILMS

16 DECEMBER

Lucía, twenty-five years old, leaves handball training and sets off to pick up her brother under the lights of a city she thinks she knows. DIR Álvaro Gago. SCR Álvaro Gago. CAST Cris Iglesias, Javier Valcarce, Fran Pérez, Diego Abal, Ruth Boente, Martín Duplá. Spain

ALIEN (REONGHEE)

When a company covers up the death of Reonghee, her fellow undocumented worker searches for her body in hopes of giving her the funeral she deserves.  DIR Jegwang Yeon. SCR Jegwang Yeon, Park Woosang. South Korea 

ANNA

Living in war-torn Eastern Ukraine, Anna is an aging single mother who is desperate for a change. Lured by a radio advertisement, she goes to party with a group of American men who are touring the country, searching for love. DIR Dekel Berenson. SCR Dekel Berenson. Ukraine

AZIZA

A dynamic take on the life of Syrian refugees told through dark comedy. DIR Soudade Kaadan. SCR Soudade Kaadan, May Hayek.  CAST Caress Bashar, Abdel Moneim Amayri. Syria 

BLACK BUS STOP

Students reclaim a popular gathering spot on the campus of the University of Virginia. Under the glare of the moonlight, black fraternity and sorority members repossess hallowed grounds as they sway to the rhythms and memories of the past. DIR Kevin Jerome Everson, Claudrena N. Harold. FEATURING Jordan Maia, Tiara Sparrow, Kevin Adams, Zakia Alomari, Alexis Artis, Briana Bradham, Cordell Burgess, Kris Coachman, Raelo Edmund, Komi Galli, Nana Bilkisu Habib, Natasha Hallaran, Taji Harris, Nicole Jefferson, Maya Johnson, Kendall Jordan, Taylor Lamb, Jordan Maia, Morgan Miller, Tiffany Moore, Chelsea Ofori, Xhosa Scott, Erik Patton-Scott, Markiana Smith, Paige Taul, Victoria Tucker, Melvin Walker, Micah Watson, Allen Williams, Hidayah Williams, Jessica Williams, Jasmine Zollar. USA 

BLESSED LAND

A middle-aged woman and her son visit her late husband’s grave in a former fishing village she hasn’t been to in decades. In the cemetery on the sandy dunes, they wander around for a long time without finding the headstone. Has her memory eroded, or has the grave been concealed somewhere underneath the green grass of the new golf courses? It’s true, for the nouveau riche, land for the living to play on is better than land for the dead to rest at. DIR Phạm Ngọc Lân. SCR Phạm Ngọc Lân. CAST Minh Châu, Hoàng Hà, Thùy Anh, Huy Tiến. Vietnam 

BUG BITE

A young woman and a female bed bug form an unlikely bond while contending with toxic masculinity. DIR Emily Ann Hoffman. SCR Emily Ann Hoffman. CAST Ruby McCollister, Chet Siegel, Jonathan Randell Silver. USA 

THE BURNING BUSH (הסנההבוער)

Danny mourns the lost love to her ex-girlfriend, symbolized by a small plant. Danny's mother wants her daughter to bury the memories, but when the dust settles something more powerful remains, which will not die. DIR Noam Greif. SCR Noam Greif. CAST Inbal Lehavi, Irit Sheleg, Na'ama Amit. Israel 

CARNE

Five women highlight the perverse way in which society looks at them. DIR Camila Kater.  SCR Camila Kater, Ana Julia Carvalheiro. CAST Rachel Patricio, Larissa Rahal, Raquel Virginia, Valquiria Rosa, Helena Ignez. Brazil, Spain

CHILD

In the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, a young mother struggles to connect to her new baby. DIR Talia Zucker. SCR Talia Zucker. CAST Rachael Stone, Ari Hershkowitz, Miryam Rabinowitz, Judy Winegard, Goldie Hoffman, Luzer Twersky. USA 

THE CLINIC

Amidst a devastating opioid epidemic, a needle exchange and free clinic operates in the shadows of Fresno, California.  DIR Elivia Shaw. FEATURING Dr. Marc Lasher. USA 

DEEP TISSUE

A woman orders a special massage. DIR Meredith Alloway. SCR Meredith Alloway. CAST Meredith Alloway, Peter Vack. USA 

THE DEVIL'S HARMONY

Kiera is being bullied at school, but her a cappella club possess a secret, supernatural power: when they sing, listeners are sent into a state of catatonic, never-ending sleep. DIR Dylan Holmes Williams. SCR Dylan Holmes Williams, Jess O'Kane. CAST Patsy Ferran, Leo Suter, Guy Henry, Bobby Schofield. UK 

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND THE SKY

Two strangers meet for the first time at an old gas station. One has stopped to gas up his bike, while the other is just stranded. Lacking the 22.50€ he needs to get home, he will try to sell him the distance that separates them from the sky. DIR Vasilis Kekatos. SCR Vasilis Kekatos. CAST Nikolakis Zeginoglou, Ioko Ioannis Kotidis. Greece 

DOCKING

Trevor reflects on his fear of dating. DIR Trevor Anderson. SCR Trevor Anderson. Canada

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SUDDEN BIRTH* (*BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK)

The true story of how the Berkeley police department, the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, an Academy Award® winner and Spock of STAR TREK fame are all connected by 1966’s SUDDEN BIRTH, one of the most unintentionally hilarious and disturbing educational films ever created. DIR Scott Calonico. SCR Scott Calonico. FEATURING Heinrich Beernink, M.D., Leonard Nimoy, James Caan & Raquel Welch, Skip Elsheimer, Amy Beernink, R. Paul Kerston, Kieth Merrill, Jonathan Tegan, Kay Tegan. Germany, UK

EXAM

A teenage girl delivers a package of cocaine to a client and gets caught in a weird cycle of events. DIR Sonia K. Hadad. SCR Sonia K. Hadad, Farnoosh Samadi. CAST Sadaf Asgari, Hadis Miramini, Masih Kazemi, Elaheh Afshari. Iran

EXIT 12

After two tours in the Iraq War, U.S. Marine Roman Baca came home a different person. Now, as the founder and artistic director of the Exit12 Dance Company in New York City, Roman, with other veterans and military families, uses dance to tell stories about the effects of war. DIR Mohammad Gorjestani. USA 

FIRE IN PARADISE

On the morning of November 8, 2018, a seemingly small fire broke out in Butte County, California. Over the course of a few short hours, the camp fire grew into the country’s deadliest wildfire in over a century, killing 85 people and destroying Paradise. DIR Drea Cooper, Zackary Canepari. USA

GHOSTS OF SUGAR LAND

In Sugar Land, Texas, a group of young, Muslim-American men ponder the disappearance of their friend “Mark,” who is suspected of joining ISIS. DIR Bassam Tariq. SCR Bassam Tariq, Thomas Niles.  USA 

THE GIVERNY DOCUMENT (SINGLE CHANNEL)

Filmed on location in Harlem, USA and in Claude Monet’s historic gardens in Giverny, France, THE GIVERNY DOCUMENT is a multi-textured cinematic poem that meditates on the safety and bodily autonomy of Black women. DIR Ja'Tovia Gary. SCR Ja'Tovia Gary.  USA, France

THE GOLDEN LEGEND (LEYENDA DORADA)

A summer day at the swimming pool of the village of Montánchez, Spain. From above, Our Lady of Consolation of the Castle keeps her watchful gaze. DIR Chema García Ibarra, Ion de Sosa. SCR Chema García Ibarra. CAST Al Sarcoli, Cristina Canchal Solís, María Ángeles Rosco, Carlos Lebrón Lázaro, Laura Molano Canchal, Nuria Rey Burgos, Jara Valiente, Natalia Valiente, Javier Valiente. Spain

HELLO AHMA

Unable to return home to attend Grandma’s funeral because of immigration bureaucracy, a young Singaporean girl new to America searches for Grandma’s reincarnation in a pet store turtle. DIR Siyou Tan. SCR Siyou Tan. Sofie Yang, Dawn Ying Yuen, Peter Boon Koh, Wu Mama, Squirtle. Singapore

INTERMISSION EXPEDITION

During a sunny holiday, a flock of tourists struggle to let go of their busy city lives, and the absence of daily tasks leaves them lost in an uncomfortable and frightening place. Once they learn to slow down, they may find some beauty in the here and now. DIR Wiep Teeuwisse. SCR Wiep Teeuwisse. Netherlands 

LIBERTY

Alex and Milagros deal with great life upheaval as they prepare to dance at their community’s redevelopment groundbreaking ceremony. DIR Faren Humes. SCR Faren Humes. CAST Milagros Gilbert, Alexandra Jackson, Willnya Jenkins, Mary Griffin. USA 

LOST & FOUND

A determined man, armed only with a megaphone, his determination, and an unshakeable smile, sets out to reunite lost children with their families in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, which now houses over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims. DIR Orlando Von Einsiedel. UK 

A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA

A dreamlike archive in conversation with the past and the present reimagining a more nuanced narrative of Latasha Harlins by excavating intimate and poetic memories shared by her cousin and best friend.  DIR Sophia Nahli Allison. USA 

MACK WRESTLES

Transgender wrestler Mack Beggs broke records and changed history by winning the Texas high school state title two years in a row. With college on the horizon, Beggs must grapple with what comes next. DIR Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess. FEATURING Mack Beggs, Nancy Beggs. USA 


MGM’S "Respect" Movie Starring Academy Award-Winner Jennifer Hudson As Aretha Franklin Announces Award-Winning Ensemble Cast

THE MINORS

A slice of life film about a grandpa and his grandsons, the future and the past. Oh, and they started a band! DIR Robert Machoian. SCR Robert Machoian. CAST Bruce Graham, Arri Graham, Ezra Graham, Jonah Graham. USA 

MONSTRUO DIOS

God is now a Power Plant. On a misty night cows escape, a child is chosen, and a teenager tries to find freedom. DIR Agustina San Martín. SCR Agustina San Martín. CAST Sabrina Grinchspun, Camila Dobrusky, Emilio Vodanovich, Isabella Rappazzo, Mariali Rubio. Argentina 

MTHUNZI

Mthunzi becomes caught up in a world he does not belong walking home from the shops. DIR Tebogo Malebogo. SCR Tebogo Malebogo. CAST Nala Khumalo, Jamie-Lee Money, Inge Beckmann, Rusell Crous. South Africa 

SLUG LIFE

A day in the life of Tanya, a curious woman who has developed a taste for homemade non-humanoid lovers. DIR Sophie Gate. CAST Jeanette Bonds, Sophie Koko Gate, Tom Scotcher, Vincent Oliver. UK 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER (NÅGOT ATT MINNAS)

A lullaby before the great disaster. DIR Niki Lindroth von Bahr. SCR Niki Lindroth von Bahr. CAST Ava Lauga, Theodor Jensen, Linnea Wikblad, Staffan Westerberg, Arja Saijonmaa, Karin Af Klintberg, Maria Af Klintberg, Daniel Rudholm. Sweden 

STORY

A reflection about modern man in an age of omnipresent technology. DIR Jolanta Bankowska. SCR Jolanta Bankowska. Poland 

SUICIDE BY SUNLIGHT

Valentina, a day-walking black vampire protected from the sun by her melanin, is forced to restrain her bloodlust to regain custody of her estranged daughters. DIR Nikyatu Jusu. SCR Nikyatu Jusu, Robin S. Williams. CAST Natalie Paul, Motell Foster, Alexis Nichole Smith, Souleymane Sy Savane, Madison Spicer. USA 

TAKE ME TO PROM

A colorful, celebratory intergenerational retelling of seven queer people’s prom experience. DIR Andrew Moir. FEATURING Alf Roberts, Fontaine, Marcy Rogers, Alphonso King Jr., Marc Hall, Caroline Kan-Hai. Canada 

UNDER COVERS

On the night of a lunar eclipse, the sweet, salacious, and spooky secrets of a small town are uncovered.  DIRMichaela Olsen. SCR Michaela Olsen. CAST Jade Shames, Dylan Stephen Levers, Emily Collins, Robert Kovacs. USA 

WAX PAUL NOW

Three New Yorkers will stop at nothing to get Paul Giamatti his own wax statue at Madame Tussauds. DIR Val Bodurtha, Rebecca Shaw, Sophie Mann. SCR Val Bodurtha, Rebecca Shaw, Sophie Mann. FEATURING Sophie Mann, Val Bodurtha, Rebecca Shaw, Trevor Van Uden, Richard Brevard, Paul Giamatti, Brian Haggard, Clark Hurlburt. USA 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WATER AND THE MOON

During an abortion, instead of aborting the fetus, a girl gives birth to a live jellyfish. DIR Jian Luo. SCR Jian Luo. CAST Yang Wang. China 

YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH (TU ÚLTIMO DÍA EN LA TIERRA)

A man dressed as a fox breaks the spacetime barrier with only one goal: to spend some time with his wife. But below this recreational act, there’s a far more complex and ambitious plan. DIR Marc Martínez Jordán. SCR Marc Martínez Jordán. CAST Sònia Masuda, Enric Auquer. Spain

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