Film Fest 919 Unveils Opening/Closing Night Films

Chapel Hill, NC, September 25, 2019 — Film Fest 919, presented by Hendrick Automotive Group and named for the North Carolina Triangle based in Chapel Hill, announced the film line-up and special events for its highly-anticipated 2^nd edition, October 9-13, 2019 at Silverspot Cinema at University Place.

Film Fest 919 (FF919) embodies the true spirit of a film festival, presenting a diverse breadth of compelling narrative features to the area’s enthusiastic, film-loving audience.  Showcasing the fall season’s most talked-about films from Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, audiences will have an opportunity to see awards-worthy films early on, including critical favorites Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson; Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes starring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins; James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale; Scott Z. Burns’ The Report starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening; Trey Edward Shultz’ Waves starring Sterling K. Brown and Lucas Hedges winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite; Pedro Almodovar’s intimately emotional Pain and Glory winner of the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay in Cannes and starring Antonio Banderas, Portrait of a Lady on Fire; Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx; Sundance stand-out Honey Boy, Audience Choice winner at Toronto International Film Festival, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit,  and so many more.

“Our inaugural festival last year embodied the slogan ‘Catch the Films Before They Catch On,’ said Film Fest 919 Founders Randi Emerman and Carol Marshall.  “Our audiences were among the first to see Oscar winners ROMA and The Green Book, and other award-winning films such as Shoplifters, Capernaum and The Favourite.  We are beyond excited for this year’s line-up.”

Opening night will kick off with one of the most talked-about films of the year, the gripping divorce dramedy from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Merritt Wever, Julie Hagerty, Wallace Shawn and Martha Kelly, an incisive and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together. Baumbach weaves his dark comedy with tragic romance, following a New York playwright (Adam Driver) and actress (Scarlett Johansson) as they dissolve their once happy union with aid from some seen-it-all lawyers (Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda) and the concerned family (Julie Hagerty, Merritt Weaver).  Attending from the film is actress Martha Kelly (Baskets, Corporate Animals).

The fest will close with the People’s Choice winner at the Toronto International Film Festival, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit.  Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) who also wrote the screenplay, brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, Jojo Rabbit, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism. Jojo Rabbit is based upon the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens.

On Saturday evening, October 12, the inaugural Distinguished Screenwriter Award will be presented to three-time Academy Award®-nominated Screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything), following the screening of Academy Award®-nominated director Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes, an intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years.  Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world.

“The audiences in Chapel Hill are particularly savvy and appreciative of the finest films and they fully embraced us last year,” says Emerman.  “We’re so excited to be back with a program that plays a role in fostering our belief that cinema is an invaluable channel for communicating powerful ideas and diverse viewpoints.”

“Film festivals bring the most creative, enthralling and inventive cinema to fans of film who likely wouldn’t have another opportunity to see such captivating fare in theaters, “says Claudia Puig, program director. “Programing a film festival is almost an educational mission, in addition to being an artistic endeavor. Festival attendees can savor, embrace and immerse themselves in the world’s finest films. And audiences in Chapel Hill are so engaged and discerning, it’s a unique pleasure to program for them.”

“The most exciting part about a film festival is being able to share the experience with other film fans and hear the perspectives of and meet the world’s most talented storytellers—the artists who conceive, direct and star in these acclaimed films. We can’t wait to share these carefully selected films with our audiences,” adds Marshall.

FF919 features films representing a wide breadth of genres and spanning 18 countries, including four Official Academy submissions for Foreign Language Film.  In addition to screenings and Q&As with filmmakers and local academics, the festival will offer film industry panels and feature celebrity guests and a variety of parties for festival attendees.

Film Fest 919 will introduce a new program, Offscreen: Interactive Student Symposium, designed to provide a rich experience to area college students.  Students from a broad range of North Carolina universities will participate in the program.  In collaboration with Film Studies professor Rick Warner of UNC Chapel Hill’s English and Comparative Literature department, this program will give students the opportunity to interact with filmmakers as part of their own master class, enabling them to make professional connections and gain further understanding of the business of film.

“Since we began the festival, it’s been our mission to help introduce, educate and influence students by providing this incredible opportunity to meet the best in the industry,” said Emerman.