(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- Arthouse Film Festival (AFF) will unspool for ten weeks beginning September 16th at The Village at SOPAC in South Orange. AFF is a curated series of the best soon-to-be-released movies from around the world, followed by conversations with filmmakers and actors. The festival runs until November 18, 2024.
The selected films comprise award winners from Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Telluride, Venice and SXSW film festivals, along with prestige studio films, screened in South Orangebefore their New York theatrical release dates.
AFF has hosted 2,058 movie premieres with 1,286 guest appearances over the past 33 years. Oscar winners and nominees Ethan Hawke, Viggo Mortensen, Alan Arkin, Lee Daniels, Frank Darabont, Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, Chazz Palminteri, John Sayles, Aaron Sorkin, Fisher Stevens and David Strathairn have joined Dylan Baker, Famke Janssen, Danai Gurira, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Derek Luke, Mary Stuart Masterson, David Morse, Connie Nielsen, Joe Pantoliano and Kevin Smith as guest speakers who have come to share their insights with festival participants.
“The program will always be flexible in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise,” said festival director Chuck Rose. “Wonderful surprises and fantastic celebrities can pop up out of nowhere, so we try to keep the schedule as fluid as possible. Even before we started in 1991, I began working to create an international VIP network of actors, directors, screenwriters, producers, journalists and film industry pros whose jobs involve creating and evaluating the top films destined for distribution, well before their public release. We also work to ferret out potential hits in the development and production stages so we are ready to pounce on the best films first.”
The festival is open to anyone, but seating is limited, so early enrollment is advised. Subscription is $146 for five weeks or $257 for all ten weeks. Also being offered is a specially priced flex ticket so users may choose any eight out of ten nights for their convenience. To register, visit www.ArthouseFilmFestival.com or call 732-870-6012.
Chuck Rose will also be discussing the movies screened in Arthouse Film Festival on his upcoming TV series, Cinema Q&A With Chuck Rose, premiering on September 19, 2024 on NYC Life. The Thursday night series will feature in-depth discussions with the filmmakers and actors seen on the big screen in Arthouse Film Festival. NYC Life is available in 18 million cable homes, and is carried by Comcast, Optimum, Spectrum, Astound, FiOS, DIRECTV and Dish.
At press time, confirmed films and those under consideration for the upcoming festival include:
In the Summers with Residente, Sasha Calle, director Alessandra Lacorazza. Winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and Best Directing Awards; siblings Violetta and Eva live with their mother, but every summer they travel to New Mexico to spend time with their loving but unpredictable father in this moving drama that follows them from childhood to adulthood.
My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock with the stars of his 53 movies, director Mark Cousins. An ambitious and audacious project that re-examines and reinvigorates the tremendous legacy of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Alfred Hitchcock, through a new lens: the auteur’s own voice.
Daaaaaali! with Edouard Baer, Anais Demoustier, director Quentin Dupieux. A young journalist tries to make a film about madman surrealist Salvador Dali, but Dali takes over the production, and creates a time-warping dreamscape of outrageous behavior, destructive mayhem and chaotic satire.
Daytime Revolution with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, director Erik Nelson. You wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t true. For one extraordinary week in 1972, the Revolution WAS televised. John and Yoko, acting as producers and hosts, took over the most popular show on daytime TV, The Mike Douglas Show, and made it a cultural, political and musical adventure with a wild mix of guests including Jerry Rubin, George Carlin and Chuck Berry.
Goodrich with Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis, director Hallie Meyers-Shyer. Andy Goodrich’s (Michael Keaton) life is upended when his wife enters a rehab program, leaving him on his own with their young kids. Goodrich leans on his daughter from his first marriage, Grace (Mila Kunis), as he ultimately evolves into the father Grace never had.
The Gutter with Shameik Moore, Susan Sarandon, directors Yassir and Isaiah Lester. A broad, brash and boisterous bowling comedy that is also clever and self-deprecating. Sets up the pins (and jokes) like The Big Lebowski and Kingpin, and knocks ‘em down with energy and irreverence.
Joker: Folie A Deux with Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, director Todd Phillps. As Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) awaits trial for his crimes as Joker, still struggling with his dual identity, he stumbles upon true love, and discovers the music that’s always been inside him.
Oh Canada with Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, director Paul Schrader. Adapted from Russell Banks’ novel, Foregone, Schrader and Gere embrace and grapple with big themes. Mortality, memory, truth, self-reckoning and redemption are faced and reflected in a montage of myth and reality.
Porcelain War with Anya Stasenko, Andrey Stefanov, directors Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and early Oscar contender, this film tells the story of three Ukrainian artists, under roaring fighter jets and missile strikes, defiantly finding inspiration and beauty as they defend their culture and their country against Russian aggression.
A Real Pain with Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, director Jesse Eisenberg. Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. Balancing humor and emotion, the narrative shifts when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Eisenberg writes, directs, acts and produces, and was honored with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance.
Universal Language with Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, director Matthew Rankin. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award; space, time and personal identities intersect and echo into an affectionate, cross-cultural, surreal satire.
And more to come! Updates posted on Facebook.
