All in all there'll be some 200 movies showing at the event. The Festival ha just been infused with a heaping helping of new leadership (and capital- don't forget that) and is poised for one heck of a showing.
There were over 1300 entries from 55 different countries (!) in total and the final 200 represent the best of the best as chosen by the SDFF. Of those 200, the following movies represent the 'headliners'- the big boys that'll be showing for the first time (or just the first time on the West Coast).
It's a pretty impressive list to be honest. Lots of big stars and a few very interesting films that weren't on my radar before I saw the release.
Highlights of the Headline Films for the 2012 San Diego Film Festival include:
● The Sapphires – Opening Night Premiere, The Gaslamp
Director: Wayne Blair
Cast: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell
Synopsis: It's 1968, and four young, talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when theirall-girl group, The Sapphires, entertain the US troops in Vietnam.
7:00pm Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Reading Theater
● The Oranges – Spotlight at La Jolla
Director: Julian Farino
Cast: Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, Catherine Keener, Allison Janney, Oliver Platt, Adam Brody, Alia Shawkat
Synopsis: THE ORANGES is a comedy about two families, who have been lifelong friends, and the hilaritythat ensues when a rebellious daughter returns home for the holidays and causes a scandal that forces everyone to re-examine what happiness really means tothem.
6:30pm Saturday September 29 at Reading Theater
● Quartet – Closing Night, La Jolla
Director: Dustin Hoffman
Cast: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly
Synopsis: Cecily, Reggie and Wilfred are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert tocelebrate Verdi's birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on... and it does.
7:30 pm Saturday, Sept. 29th at Museum of Contemporary Art LaJolla
● Seven Psychopaths – Horror Fest at Gaslamp
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell
Synopsis: Written and Directed by Oscar®-winner Martin McDonagh, the comedy Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Co-starring Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko and Zeljko Ivanek.
9:00 pm Saturday, Sept. 29th at Reading Theater
● Grassroots – Closing Night, Gaslamp
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Cast: Cobie Smulders,Lauren Ambrose, Jason Biggs, Joel David Moore, Christopher McDonald, Tom Arnold
Synopsis: After losing his job, a journalist reluctantly agrees to help his oddball friend with his bid to earn a seat on the Seattle City Council.
7:00pm Sunday, Sept. 30th at Reading Theater
Highlights of the Premiere Films for the 2012 San Diego Film Festival include:
Red Line – World Premiere
Director: Robert Kirbyson
Cast: Nicole Gale Anderson, John Billingsle, Kunal Sharma
Synopsis: Moments after departing from the Hollywood & Highland Metro Station, commuters on L.A.’s subway system experience a sudden explosion. Most passengers die on impact as the train is violently derailed and sent smashing into the tunnel’s walls.
6:00 PM, Saturday, Sept. 29th at Gaslamp
5:30 pm Sunday, Sept. 30h at Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla
The Story of Luke – World Premiere
Director: Alonso Mayo
Cast: Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Green, Kristin Bauer, Cary Elwes
Synopsis: Luke’s world is turned upside down when his grandmother dies and he is forced to live with his dysfunctional relatives who have no patience for him or his senile grandfather, who they quickly force into a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: “Get a job. Find a girl. Live your own life. Be a man!” For the first time in his life, Luke has a mission. He is about to embark on a quest.
7:00 PM, Saturday, September 29th at Gaslamp
Man Inside – US Premiere
Director: Dan Turner
Cast: Ashley Thomas, Peter Mullan, Michelle Ryan
Synopsis: Clayton Murdoch carries a terrible darkness inside him. As a boy he was exposed, by his father, to murder and gang culture,
With his father now in prison, Clayton struggles to overcome what he was groomed to become, in a city where every day there is a constant threat of violence and death.
8:30 PM, Thursday, Sept 27th at Gaslamp
3,2,1...Frankie Go Boom – West Coast Premiere
Director: Jordan Roberts
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Chris O'Dowd, Lizzy Caplan, Ron Perlman, Chris Noth, Whitney Cummings, Nora Dunn, Sam Anderson
Synopsis: A comedy about two brothers a girl with a broken heart, a sex tape, an angel and a pig.
7:00 PM, Friday Sept 28th at Gaslamp and Sat, September 29th at 8:00 PM Coast Room La Jolla
Things kick off on Wednesday the 26th and run through the 30th. Here's your full list of deets:
The San Diego Film Festival is scheduled for Wednesday, September 26, 2012 – Sunday, September 30, 2012. For the first time, the Festival will be held at two venues: the Reading Theater in the Gaslamp Quarter (701 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, 92101), and the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, Sherwood Auditorium (700 Prospect Street, La Jolla, 92037). Tickets start at $14 for pre-sale/$16 at the door, and go up to $75 for a one day pass, and range up to $500 for a Festival VIP Pass to all screenings, premieres, events, and panels on all days. A dramatic expansion this year, Festival organizers anticipate hosting over 100 film screenings.