Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Luca Guadagnino’s “After Hunt” opens the 27th edition of the Rio International Film Festival, the largest fest in Latin America. Starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebili and Andrew Garfield, the film will be screened at the opening ceremony of the fest at the Cinellendia (Cinemaland) Square Landmark Theatre Odeon in downtown Rio on October 2nd.
Over October 2-12, Rio Filmfest’s Unspur features around 260 films, 124 from Brazil and the rest from dozens of countries around the world. As Rio residents are called, Carioca’s chance will attend highlights of the world production highlights this year, as well as four outdoor sites spread among Rio’s 6.7 million residents, in addition to the theater’s 25 screens.
“After the Hunt” premiered the world at the Venice Film Festival and also opened the New York Film Festival. The psychological thriller focuses on a university professor (Julia Roberts) who has to deal with the sex harassment case, a common problem in the Brazilian education system.
“Lucas Guadagnino is one of today’s most complete modern directors and has a vision of understanding the world beyond the superficial one: cinemas.
Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” will close the festival’s extensive programming on October 11th. The screening is also home to the next day’s festival awards ceremony. “Hamnet” recently won the highly coveted people’s choice award in Toronto, bolstering Oscar chances.
French star Juliet Binoche will be attending the Rio Film Festival and will be releasing his first film, “In-I in Motion.” The film represents the creative process behind the performance, co-created by Binoche and highly acclaimed British choreographer and dancer Akram Khan in 2007.
Another highlight of the festival is the acclaimed “Lagrazia” by Italian Hermer Paolo Sorrentino, who opened this year’s Venice Film Festival. In the plot, the fictional Italian president faces a moral and ethical dilemma.
neon
Another program highlight, Denmark-Norway’s Helmer Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” has confirmed he is a strong candidate for the Oscar. The drama is a candidate in Norwegian international feature film category and is cited as a candidate for Best Picture, Best Actress (Renai Trains) and Best Actor (Stellan Skarsgård).
Kristen Stewart’s feature directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” is even more outstanding. Based on Lydia Yunavich’s bestselling memoir in 2011, the film sees Imogen’s poo portraying the author as an aspiring Olympic swimmer who escapes an abusive home on her journey, addiction, loss of children, and ultimately finding her voice through writing and art, and becoming an author.
Other highlights from the Rio Film Festival include veteran French Helmer Françozone’s “The Stranger,” based on Albert Camus’s 1942 classic novel. Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is a docu-drama film that follows the murder of an honorable five-year-old Palestinian girl who lived in the Gaza Strip. Hong-Sunso is “What Are You Saying to You” in “What Nature Says to You,” a Korean drama with minimalist stories that explore themes of love, art and family.
Agniezka Holland’s “Franz” is a biographer starring Idan Weiss as a submission of Franz Kafka and Poland to Oscar’s best international feature film. Famous director Werner Herzog’s latest “Ghost Elephants” is a documentary following South African naturalist Steve Boys in search of what he believes to be an undiscovered species of African elephants in the Highlands Plateau, Angola.
Claire Dennis “Fence” is an English French adaptation of Bernard Marie Cortez’s play “Black Battles with the Dogs,” exploring the grip of colonialism against West African communities.
Participating in the programme are other major titles, such as Edward Berger’s “The Little Player Ballad,” Lynn Ramsey’s “Die, My Love,” Sergei Roznica’s “Two Prosecutors,” and Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Vie Prive.” The Alpha by Julia Docornau, the Mastermind by Kelly Reihard, the Orphan by Lazlo Nemez, the Dream by Michel Franco, and the Fantasy of Yakushima by Naomi Coworth.
