Film Fest 919 To Honor ‘Red Rocket’ Screenwriters Chris Bergoch and Sean Baker Tonight

Film Fest 919, North Carolina’s premiere film festival, will honor Red Rocket screenwriters Chris Bergoch and Sean Baker with its Distinguished Screenwriter Award tonight as the film debuts at the festival. Previous winners of the award include Nomadland’s Chloe Zhao and The Two Pope’s Anthony McCarten. The award will be presented during a Q&A moderated by AwardsRadar’s Joey Magidson.

Bergoch and Baker have a long history with Film Fest 919. Their last collaboration, The Florida Project, served as the debut film for the festival, which offers both in-theater and drive-in screenings to accommodate festival goers. Traditional schedules include a healthy mix of mainstream, independent, and foreign language films.

This year’s festival includes dozens of potential awards contenders. Will Smith’s King Richard kick-started the week, and subsequent showings included The Lost Daughter, The Hand of God, The French Dispatch, C’Mon C’Mon, Flee, Passing, Mass, and Red Rocket. Pablo Larraín’s Spencer will provide the closing night film on Sunday.

Film Fest 919 is also on something of a hot streak. It has awarded its Audience Award to an eventual Best Picture Oscar winner for the past two years (Nomadland and Parasite). The Audience Award votes are tabulated based on ratings provided by those who have attended each screening.

Film Fest 919 will announce this year’s Audience Award winner on Sunday.

For more information and tickets, visit their website.