AFI Fest marks the end of the Fall film festival circuit before the industry shifts gears toward Awards season. And while that means there are plenty of titles at the Hollywood-set festival premiered elsewhere earlier in the year, it still offers some premieres of its own. IndieWire reports that AFI Fest 2023 announced its full lineup with Sam Esmail‘s drama “Leave The World Behind” opening the festival.
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There are a couple of premieres in the lineup too: Rob Reiner‘s “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” documentary and Matthew Brown‘s “Freud’s Last Session” with Anthony Hopkins. Bradley Cooper‘s “Maestro” closes out the festival, while Tyler Perry‘s “Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story” serves as the centerpiece film. All told, the fest’s full lineup includes 141 titles, with 18 of those Best International Feature Oscar submissions. There’s also three red carpet premieres, 10 Special Screenings, 15 Luminaries, 12 Discovery, 16 World Cinema, 13 Documentary, 42 Short Film Competition, and 30 films in the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented by AMC Networks.
AFI culled a number of significant films from previous fests for its lineup, too. Andrew Haigh‘s buzzy drama “All Of Us Strangers” with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott leads the way there, along with Jeff Nichols‘ “The Bikeriders.” But there’s also “Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Evil Does Not Exist,” Wim Wender‘s “Perfect Days,” Steve McQueen‘s Nazi occupation doc “Occupied City,” Michel Franco‘s “Memory,” and more.
Finally, AFI Fest 2023 also has a panel program that celebrate the greatest film books of all time. THR reporter Scott Feinberg moderates the panel, which included 300 of the world’s most noted filmmakers, executives, and authors casting ballots to determine the 100 great books about film ever published. The Hollywood Reporter will reveal the list in a special issue October 11, then AFI Fest will gather as many as them as possible for the panel on October 28.
Check out the AFI Fest 2023 website for the full lineup, which includes many more buzzy 2023 films than listed above.
