Austin Film Festival Announces Full 25th Anniversary Film and Conference Schedule

Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing the writers' contributions to film, television, and new media, announced today the full schedule of films and panels for the 25th Anniversary festival, this October 25-November 1. AFF's feature film slate includes 23 World, North American, and US Premieres, a robust retrospective series, and highly anticipated marquee titles, including Steve McQueen's and Gillian Flynn's modern-day thriller Widows, Peter Farrelly's dramedy period piece Green Book starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, Mike Leigh's period piece Peterloo, Mickey Rourke-starring boxing drama Tiger, Paul Dano's Wildlife starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, and Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges family drama Ben is Back bowing as AFF's Centerpiece selection, with writer/director Peter Hedges in attendance.

AFF also announced its 2018 television program. Included this year is comedy series Friends From College, launching on Netflix in 2019. Creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller will present a special preview screening of the Season 2 premiere episode. Creator Justin Marks and executive producer Jordan Horowitz will also be at hand at the Festival to present the season 2 premiere of their espionage spy thriller Counterpart, starring Academy Award® winner J.K. Simmons, premiering on Starz later this year. AFF will also showcase independent original series as part of its Scripted Digital Series competition.

A staple of the Festival, AFF's retrospective series this year will feature Tony Gilroy presenting his 1995 film Dolores Claiborne based on Stephen King's novel, Graham Yost presenting his 1994 action classic Speed, and writer Mick Garris in attendance for a special Halloween presentation of Hocus Pocus.

Other World Premieres include The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova (a comedy about estranged siblings traveling to Poland to track down the remains of the their grandmother's childhood dog), F/11 and Be There (a documentary about famed photographer Burke Uzzle), The Amaranth (a thriller about a mysterious retirement community), A Girl Named C (Emily Kassie's documentary about a family grappling with the discovery that their 11-year-old daughter was raped), and Waiting for the Miracle to Come (Lian Lunson's whimsical drama starring Willie Nelson and Charlotte Rampling).

Austin Film Festival also revealed today their full Writers Conference schedule, which will take place the first four days of the Festival, October 25-28. The Conference features a roster of prominent screenwriters in film and television, including Roger Corman, Tony Gilroy, Larry Wilmore, Megan Amram, John August, Wendy Calhoun, Nicole Holofcener, Ali LeRoi, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Nicole Perlman, Ed Solomon, Linda Woolverton, Graham Yost, and many more.

The full Film and Conference schedule can be found at www.austinfilmfestival.com.

Austin Film Festival's 2018 slate:

Marquee Features

And Breathe Normally

Writer/Director: Isold Uggadottir

Ben is Back

Writer/Director: Peter Hedges

Boy Erased

Writer/Director: Joel Edgerton

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Writers: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty

Director: Marielle Heller

El Chicano

Writers: Ben Hernandez Bray, Joe Carnahan

Director: Ben Hernandez Bray

Everybody Knows

Writer/Director: Asghar Farhadi

The Favourite

Writers: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

The Front Runner

Writers: Matt Bai, Jay Carson, Jason Reitman

Director: Jason Reitman

Fullsterkur

Director: Todd Sansom

Green Book

Writers: Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

Director: Peter Farrelly

Happy as Lazarro

Writer/Director: Alice Rohrwacher

Little Woods

Writer/Director: Nia DaCosta

The Long Dumb Road

Writers: Hannah Fidell, Carson Mell

Director: Hannah Fidell

Peterloo

Writer/Director: Mike Leigh

Shoplifters

Writer/Director: Hirokazu Koreeda

Tiger

Writers: Michael Pugliese, Prem Singh

Director: Alister Grierson

Widows

Writers: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen

Director: Steve McQueen

Wildlife

Writers: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan

Director: Paul Dano

Worlds of Ursula K. LeGuin

Writer/Director: Arwen Curry

Marquee Televison

Counterpart Season 2 Episode 1 Premiere

Creator: Justin Marks

Executive Producer: Jordan Horowitz

Friends from College Season 2 Episode 1 Premiere

Creators: Francesca Delbanco & Nicholas Stoller

Narrative Features

Above the Clouds

Writer: Simon Lord

Director: Leon Chambers

Clara

Writers: Akash Sherman, James Ewasiuk

Director: Akash Sherman

The Comet

Writer: Torben Bech

Director: Bård Røssevold

Delia & Sammy

Writer/ Director: Therese Cayaba

Fishbowl

Writers: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Piero Iberti

Director: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Kinigopoulos

Last Summer

Writer/Director: Jon Jones

Laugh or Die

Writers: Heikki Kujanpää, Mikko Reitala

Director: Heikki Kujnapää

Love Goes Through Your Mind

Writers: Shruti Swaminathan, Ronak Shah

Director: Ronak Shah

Major Arcana

Writer/Director: Josh Melrod

Speaking in Tongues

Writers: Nathan Deming, Lawrie Doran

Director: Nathan Deming

Undercliffe

Writer: Bruce McLeod

Director: Lisa Mulcahy

Comedy Vanguard Features

Antiquities

Writers: Daniel Campbell, Graham Gordy

Director: Daniel Campbell

The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova

Writer: Michael Whatling

Director: Zack Bernbaum

In Reality

Writers: Ann Lupo, Esteban Pedraza, Aaron Pryka

Director: Ann Lupo

Lost & Found

Writer/Director: Liam O Mochain

Original Sin (Pecado Original)

Writers: Jean Lee, Maia Nikiphoroff

Director: Jean Lee

Simple Wedding

Writers: Sara Zandieh, Stephanie Wu

Director: Sara Zandieh

Dark Matters Features

Alive.

Writers: Jules Vincent, Chuck McCue

Director: Rob Grant

The Amaranth

Writer: Eileen Shields

Director: Albert Chi

Beyond the Night

Writer/Director: Jason Noto

The Black String

Writers: Brian Hanson, Richard Handley

Director: Brian Hanson

The Dark Red

Writers: Dan Bush, Conal Byrne

Director: Dan Bush

Empathy, Inc.

Writer: Mark Leidner

Director: Yedidya Gorestman

Ghost Light

Writer: John Stimpson, Geoffrey Taylor

Director: John Stimpson

The Lake Vampire

Writer/Director: Carl Zitelmann

Documentary Feature

A Girl Named C

Director: Emily Kassie

Care to Laugh

Director: Julie Getz

F/11 and Be There

Director: Jethro Waters

Fathers of Football

Director: Bradley Beesley

For The Birds

Director: Richard Miron

Ghosthunter

Director: Ben Lawrence

The Interpreters

Directors: Andres Caballero, Sofian Khan

Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story

Writers: Jon Strong, Ted Haddock, John King, Mike Quinn Jr.

Director: Jon Strong

The Money Stone

Director: Stuart Harmon

Surviving Bokator

Writers: Mark Bochsler, Kevin Schjerning, Fernanda Rossi

Director: Mark Bochsler

Turning Point

Director: James Keach

Texas Independent Features

Also Starring Austin

Writer: Mike Blizzard, Laura Colwell, Lala Morgan

Director: Mike Blizzard

The Iron Orchard

Writer: Gerry De Leon

Director: Ty Roberts

Jules of Light and Dark

Writer/Director: Daniel Laabs

Texas Cotton

Writers: Tyler Russell, Jameel Khaja

Director: Tyler Russell

Waiting for the Miracle to Come

Writer/Director: Lian Lunson

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