AFI Fest finally announced its opening night film for the 2017 annual November awards season centric festival and, surprisingly, it’s not a world premiere. Dee Rees‘ “Mudbound,” which debuted at Sundance in January, will open the festival on Thursday, Nov.7 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
The period drama will receive a limited release in theaters and debut on Netflix on Nov. 17.
In a release, AFI Fest director Jacqueline Lynaga remarked, ” ‘Mudbound’ will launch eight exhilarating days of great movies, filmmakers and discovery in the heart of Hollywood. Emblematic of what AFI FEST is, director Dee Rees’ film is rich with cinematic artistry — exemplifying storytelling at its finest, on both an epic and a human scale.”
Last year, Warren Beatty‘s “Rules Don’t Apply” opened AFI Fest. Previous festival kickoffs include the world premieres of Angelina Jolie‘s “By the Sea” in 2015, J.C. Chandor‘s “A Most Violent Year” in 2o14, John Lee Hancock‘s “Saving Mr. Banks” in 2013 and Sacha Gervasi’s “Hitchcock” in 2012. This is the first opener in recent memory that debuted at another festival.
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The festival previously announced that Ridley Scott‘s “All The Money In The World” would close the eight-day event on Nov. 16.
For “Mudbound,” this slot at AFI is an opportunity to showcase Rees’ powerful film to a large industry audience. Netflix has high awards season hopes for the film, which could find itself in contention for Supporting Actress (Mary J. Blige), Adapted Screenplay (Rees, Virgil Williams) and, potentially, Best Picture.
“Mudbound” avoided the festival circuit following Park City until screenings at the London, Toronto and Mill Valley Film Festivals over the past two months. It will also screen at the New York Film Festival on Thursday, Oct. 12. The idea AFI would select “Mudbound” as its opening night after so many other festival screenings and the tradition of a world premiere is slightly puzzling, however. It means the festival had a difficult time landing one (other options could have included “Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Post” or “The Greatest Showman,” etc.) or they simply believed Rees’ passion project deserved the spotlight.
AFI Fest 2017 runs from Nov. 9-16 in the center of Hollywood.