GRETA GERWIG, ALFONSO GOMEZ-REJON TO ATTEND FOR THE PREMIERES
For inquiries, contact Lauren Kelcher Stevenson
aff@sunshinesachs.com o 512.646.0149
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austin, TX – September 13, 2017 – Austin Film Festival (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing writers’ and filmmakers’ contributions to film, television, and new media, announced today its Opening Night and Centerpiece Programming for its 24th Anniversary, taking place October 26-November 2. A24’s Lady Bird will play as Opening Night selection and The Weinstein Company’s The Current War will serve as AFF’s Centerpiece Film.
The directorial debut by actress Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha, Mistress America), Lady Bird stars Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, The Grand Budapest Hotel) as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a young woman who fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. Gerwig will be in attendance for the film’s screening.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, The Current War is the epic story of the cutthroat competition between the greatest inventors of the industrial age over whose electrical system would power the new century. Backed by J.P. Morgan, Edison dazzles the world by lighting Manhattan. But Westinghouse, aided by Nikola Tesla, has seen fatal flaws in Edison’s direct current design. Igniting a war of currents, Westinghouse and Tesla bet everything on risky and dangerous alternating current. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and written by playwright Michael Mitnick (Sex Lives of our Parents), The Current War also stars Katherine Waterston, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, Matthew Macfadyen, and Tuppence Middleton. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon will be in attendance to present at the festival.
Lady Bird and The Current War will join already announced titles An Ordinary Man, starring Ben Kingsley, 24 Hours to Live, starring Ethan Hawke, Please Stand By, starring Dakota Fanning and Toni Collette, and the premiere of the season finale of HBO’s new dramatic series The Deuce, with creators David Simon and George Pelecanos in attendance.
AFF will release its complete slate of film titles at the end of the month.
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL:
Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established writers and filmmakers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. AFF is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. All attendees and events are based on permitting schedules and are subject to change and/or cancellation without notice. For media credentials, please contact Lauren Kelcher Stevenson at aff@sunshinesachs.com.
Badges and passes are available for purchase online at www.austinfilmfestival.com or by phone at 1-800-310-FEST. To apply for press credentials, please complete this form.