IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austin Film Festival’s Opening Night Selections include
Richard LaGravenese presenting The Last 5 Years and the US Premiere of The Humbling
Jon Stewart and Maziar Bahari to present Rosewater as 2014 Closing Night Film
Edward Zwick to Receive “Extraordinary Contribution to Film” Award
Austin, TX – September 30, 2014– Austin Film Festival (October 23-30), the premier film festival recognizing writers’ and filmmakers’ contributions to film, television and new media, released today their Opening Night and Closing Night selections, the 2014 Extraordinary Contribution to Film Award Recipient, and new programming announcements.
Austin Film Festival’s Opening Night Film will feature the US Premiere of Barry Levinson’s The Humbling on Thursday, October 23rd. Based on the Philip Roth novel, The Humbling follows an aged and addled actor (Al Pacino) and his affair with a much younger woman (Greta Gerwig).
Also kicking off AFF’s 21st anniversary, writer/director Richard LaGravenese will present the Jason Robert Brown musical adaptation of The Last 5 Years starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.
Jon Stewart and Maziar Bahari will present Stewart’s directorial debut, Rosewater, as the Closing Night Selection on October 30th. Rosewater is based on the New York Times best-selling memoir Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival, written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari.
Edward Zwick will accept the Extraordinary Contribution to Film Award at the 2014 Austin Film Festival Awards Luncheon, held at the Austin Club on Saturday, October 25th. Previous honorees have included Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Danny Boyle, Oliver Stone, Sydney Pollack, John Lasseter, Frank Darabont, and Robert Rodriguez.
Zwick’s directorial credits feature About Last Night, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance and Love & Other Drugs, and the Academy® Award winning films Glory and Legends of the Fall. Along with Marshall Herskovitz, Zwick created The Bedford Falls Company, and produced the critically acclaimed television series My So-Called Life, Relativity, the Emmy Award winning television series, thirtysomething, and the Emmy Award and Golden Globe award winning series Once and Again. Other producing credits include I Am Sam, Traffic, and Shakespeare in Love. Zwick most recently directed and produced Pawn Sacrifice starring Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, and Peter Sarsgaard. Zwick will also be joined by frequent collaborator Winnie Holzman (creator of My So-Called Life) for a conversation on their work in television on Sunday, October 26th.
Luke Wilson joins the 2014 Retrospective series, presenting The Pope of Greenwich Village. Austin Film Festival’s Retrospective series allow guest programmers to present works that have inspired their careers. The Pope of Greenwich Village will be programmed alongside Wilson’s short film Satellite Beach, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, with producers also in attendance.
Scott Haze will present The Sound and the Fury, James Franco’s adaptation of the William Faulkner novel.
Austin Film Festival’s annual staged script-reading will feature the comedy Flarsky, by Dan Sterling (writer The Office, Girls, The Interview) in a live event co-presented by The Black List on Sunday, October 26th.
Click here to access the full Festival & Conference Schedule
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL:
Widely known as “The Writers Festival,” Austin Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of filmmakers and screenwriters. AFF is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Austin Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Badges and passes are available for purchase online at www.austinfilmfestival.com or by phone at 1-800-310-FEST.
Austin Film Festival provides many local, regional, and national arts organizations and businesses with a creative platform to showcase their services through programming collaborations as well as highlighting Austin’s visibility as a thriving film community. AFF’s 2014 partnerships include:
Jon Stewart and Maziar Bahari will present Stewart’s directorial debut, Rosewater, as the Closing Night Selection on Thursday, October 30th in association with the Austin Film Society. Austin Film Festival is also pleased to partner with organizations such as AGLIFF, The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Austin Way, The Black List, The Harry Ransom Center, Houston Cinema Arts Society, Nickelodeon, KD College, The New Movement, On Story, Seed & Spark, Texas Book Festival, The Texas Observer, Whole Foods Market, The Wittliff Collections, The Writers Guild of America West, The Writers Guild of America East, and The Writers Guild Foundation for the 2014 Festival and Screenwriters Conference.