ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL LATE ADDITIONS – COPPOLA, FIGGIS, LANTHIMOS – AND MORE & ANNOUNCES GUESTS ATTENDING FESTIVAL
Exciting last-minute additions to the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) have been announced today, with selections direct from their world premieres at the recent prestigious Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.
Featuring in the line-up is Mike Figgis’ compelling Megadoc, about the making of Frances Ford Coppola’s epic Megaopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Venice hit Bugonia, starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemmons and Alicia Silverstone, and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, also one of the most talked about titles at Venice.
AFF will present the Australian premiere of Megadoc. It doesn’t matter if you were one of those who hated or one of the few who loved Megalopolis, or even if you didn’t see it at all, you will be fascinated by Megadoc. This is an intriguing look at a director still putting creativity at the heart of the filmmaking process, and, who wants it to be fun (though it rarely looks like it is). So committed to his vision, he puts up his own money for the $120 million passion project of a film (thirty years in the planning), and, ironically for a filmmaker known for going wildly over budget, when it’s his own money, slowly begins to panic about the film’s bulging costs.
Making his second documentary director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas, Internal Affairs) finds a Coppola still intellectually and verbally adroit and most charmingly a cast of characters committed to working with the great director, including Dustin Hoffman, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Aubrey Plaza.
Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest offering, Bugonia, sees bees and downtrodden working class at battle with a big pharma CEO. In this wild black comedy, Lanthimos join forces again with collaborators Emma Stone and Jesse Plemmons, both delivering powerhouse performances: Plemmons as conspiracist and Stone as power executive, thought to be an alien. Bugonia eventuates into a riveting duel.
AFF also hosts the Australian Premiere of No Other Choice, one of the buzziest titles at Venice. Adapted by screenwriter and director Park Chan-wook from the novel by crime writer Donald E Westlake (‘Point Blank’, ‘The Grifters’), No Other Choice is a black comedy on one man’s response to being downsized.
AFF has also announced the first confirmed guests of the Festival, including cast of the Opening Night film Jimpa Aud Mason-Hyde, Daniel Henshaw and Bryn Chapman Parish, who will be joined by writer/director/producer and AFF patron, Sophie Hyde, writer Matt Cormack, producer and editor Bryan Mason and producer Liam Heyen.
Warwick Thornton, director of Closing Night film, Wolfram will also attend AFF, with writer the film’s stars Thomas M. Wright and Aswan Reid.
Visionary Australian filmmaker and director of Edge of Life, Lynette Wallworth, will present the world premiere of her film alongside Muka Ferreira Yawanana, a highly regarded shaman of the Yawananan people of the Brazilian Amazon.
The Fox, an AFFIF Exclusive Presentation, will be represented by director Dario Russo and producer Kristina Ceyton.
The exciting young cast of Penny Lane is Dead - Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Tahlee Fereday, Alexandra Jensen and Baily Spalding - will attend AFF, alongside director Mia Kate Russell and producers Andre Lima and Ari Harrison. Penny Lane is Dead was filmed in Adelaide earlier this year,
Directors Pauline Clague (The Colleano Heart), Maggie Miles and Trisha Morton-Thomas (Journey Home: Gulpilil) will also attend the Festival.
More guest announcements to come over the coming days!
AFF CEO/ Creative Director Mat Kesting said: “AFF is excited to be the first-place Australian audiences can experience these highly anticipated titles that are likely to feature in the upcoming awards season. We’re grateful to our distribution partners for entrusting AFF with these precious cinematic gems and we can’t wait to welcome audiences and invited filmmaker guests to the festival 15-26 October.”