AFI Fest 2017 Presented By Audi Special Screenings, Cinema's Legacy And Shorts Lineups Announced

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the films that will play in the Special Screenings, Cinema's Legacy, and Shorts sections at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi and to celebrate AFI's 50th Anniversary, a selection of international classics from 1967.

This year's Special Screenings section offers an array of engaging stories and intimate portraits of riveting individuals: FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (DIR Paul McGuigan); I, TONYA (DIR Craig Gillespie); JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYONDFEATURING A VERY SPECIAL, CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED MENTION OF TONY CLIFTON (DIR Chris Smith); THE LEISURE SEEKER (DIR Paolo Virzì); MOLLY'S GAME (DIR Aaron Sorkin); SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I'VE GOTTA BE ME (DIR Sam Pollard); and THE SHAPE OF WATER (DIR Guillermo del Toro).

Cinema's Legacy is AFI FEST's celebration of motion picture history, and a special opportunity to screen recent restorations of classic films. This year, to celebrate AFI's 50th Anniversary, the program includes a selection of international classics from 1967, including Stanley Kramer's groundbreaking masterpiece of interracial romance GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER; Juan Ibáñez's outrageous hallmark of Mexican cinema LOS CAIFANES; the timeless romantic comedy BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda; Eric Rohmer's love-triangle "Six Moral Tales" installment LA COLLECTIONEUSE; and Frederick Wiseman's seminal documentary TITICUT FOLLIES.


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Also part of the celebration are Sergio Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966; released in the U.S. in 1967), and a duo of Michelangelo Antonioni films that are emblematic of arthouse cinema in the 1960s, BLOW-UP (1966) and RED DESERT (1964). Finally, Tony Zierra's documentary FILMWORKER (2017), which follows the collaboration between Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick, will screen.

The Shorts section features filmmakers from around the globe and represents various distinct international viewpoints. The Shorts jury is comprised of Jeffrey Bowers (Senior Curator, Vimeo), Moira Griffin (Executive Director of Production, Creative Labs, 21st Century Fox) and Nathan Silver (director, ACTOR MARTINEZ, THIRST STREET). The Grand Jury Award winners for Live-Action and Animated Short, as decided by the Shorts Jury, will be automatically eligible for the Academy Award® shortlists in the Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short categories.

Dates and times for all AFI FEST screenings and events will be available soon on AFI.com.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL - Annette Bening stars as Gloria Grahame and Jamie Bell as her young ex-lover in this visually sumptuous, deeply compassionate romance. DIR Paul McGuigan. SCR Matt Greenhalgh. CAST Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Vanessa Redgrave. USA

I, TONYA - Margot Robbie stars as tabloid-bait figure skater Tonya Harding in this unforgettable film that is nothing less than a Shakespearean tale of love, loss and the crushing force of poverty in America. DIR Craig Gillespie. SCR Steven Rogers. CAST Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, Mckenna Grace. USA

JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND – FEATURING A VERY SPECIAL, CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED MENTION OF TONY CLIFTON - In this insightful documentary, Jim Carrey reflects on his experience playing legendary comedian Andy Kaufman in 1999's MAN ON THE MOON. DIR Chris Smith. FEATURING Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Milos Forman, Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, Paul Giamatti, Bob Zmuda. USA

THE LEISURE SEEKER - Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland star in this unforgettable tale of love and memory in an America on the brink of an uncertain new course. DIR Paolo Virzì. SCR Stephen Amidon, Francesca Archibugi, Francesco Piccolo, Paolo Virzì. CAST Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay, Janel Moloney, Dana Ivey. Italy

MOLLY'S GAME - Oscar® nominee Jessica Chastain stars in Oscar®-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut, set in the glamorous world of high-stakes underground poker games. DIR Aaron Sorkin. SCR Aaron Sorkin. CAST Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp. USA

SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I'VE GOTTA BE ME - Longtime Spike Lee collaborator Sam Pollard directs this accomplished documentary on the ups and downs of the life and career of trailblazing multi-hyphenate Sammy Davis, Jr. DIR Sam Pollard. SCR Laurence Maslon. FEATURING Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Jerry Lewis, Kim Novak, Nancy Sinatra, Norman Lear. USA

THE SHAPE OF WATER - Set at the height of the Cold War, Guillermo del Toro's latest stars Sally Hawkins in an otherworldly love tale between a mute cleaning lady and an Amphibian Man. DIR Guillermo del Toro. SCR Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor. CAST Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer. USA

CINEMA'S LEGACY

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK - This classic romantic comedy pairs Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as a young married couple with absolutely nothing in common. DIR Gene Saks. SCR Neil Simon. CAST Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Edelman, James Stone, Ted Hartley, Mabel Albertson. USA

BLOW-UP - A fashion photographer accidentally photographs a murder in BLOW-UP, one of Michelangelo Antonioni's many masterpieces, and his first film in English. Restoration curated by The Criterion Collection, Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Park Circus. DIR Michelangelo Antonioni. SCR Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra. CAST Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings, John Castle, Jane Birkin, Gillian Hills, Peter Bowles. Italy

LOS CAIFANES - A wealthy couple gets an impromptu tour around Mexico City from an urban gang in this outrageous, ahead-of-its-time Mexican cinema classic. DIR Juan Ibáñez. SCR Carlos Fuentes, Juan Ibáñez. CAST Julissa, Enrique Álvarez Félix, Óscar Chávez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Sergio Juménez, Eduardo López Rojas, Tamara Garina, Martha Zabaleta. Mexico

LA COLLECTIONNEUSE - The third of Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" centers on two men and a rules-breaking woman, rumored to be a "collector" of the opposite sex, staying together on the Riviera. DIR Eric Rohmer. SCR Haydée Politoff, Patrick Bauchau, Daniel Pommereulle, Eric Rohmer. CAST Haydée Politoff, Patrick Bauchau, Daniel Pommereulle, Alain Jouffroy, Mijanou, Annik Morice, Denis Berry, Seymour Hertzberg. France

FILMWORKER - The relationship between master Stanley Kubrick and his right-hand-man, actor turned "filmworker" Leon Vitali, is a moving portrait of total dedication to art and genius. DIR Tony Zierra. FEATURING Leon Vitali, Ryan O'Neal, Matthew Modine, Danny Lloyd, Stellan Skarsgård. USA

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (IL BUONO, IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO) - Starring Clint Eastwood in a career-defining performance, Sergio Leone's best-known work follows a band of men during the American Civil War as they hunt down a stolen cache of Confederate gold. DIR Sergio Leone. SCR Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone. CAST Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, Enzo Petito, Claudio Scarchilli, John Bartha. Italy, Spain, West Germany, USA

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER - Anchored by powerful performances by Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, this Oscar®-winning, groundbreaking masterpiece centers on an interracial romance in the 1960s. DIR Stanley Kramer. SCR William Rose. CAST Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Roy Glenn. USA

RED DESERT (IL DESERTO ROSSO) - Michelangelo Antonioni's first foray into color centers on a maladjusted woman, played by muse Monica Vitti, searching for her place in a foggy, bleak industrial town. Restoration curated by CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with RTI-Mediaset. DIR Michelangelo Antonioni. SCR Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra. CAST Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir, Aldo Grotti. Italy, France

TITICUT FOLLIES - This searing debut documentary by Frederick Wiseman, centering on a facility for the criminally insane in Massachusetts, was banned for general audiences for 23 years. DIR Frederick Wiseman. USA

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