The 18th FilmColumbia Festival in Chatham, NY runs from October 22-29. And over the course of 8 days, the festival will play a variety of upcoming releases, including about a dozen films aiming for awards season contention.
FilmColumbia kicks-off on Sunday the 22nd with “The Square”, starring newly minted Emmy winner Elizabeth Moss, which won the Palme D’Or at Cannes – followed by George Clooney’s “Suburbicon” with Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.
Monday night sees Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison in the drama “The Current War”. Tuesday features Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne in “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying”. And on Wednesday – Annette Bening – once again aiming for her first Oscar with “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”.
Thursday’s showcase film is director Michael Haneke’s sort-of “sequel” to “Amour”, “Happy End”, with Jean-Louis Trintignant and “Elle” Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert. And on Friday night, Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland in “Leisure Seeker”.
Saturday is jam-packed: first the acclaimed drama “The Florida Project” with Willem Dafoe. Next: Diane Kruger’s “In the Fade”, followed by the romantic drama “Call Me By Your Name”, and finally the annual “Saturday Night Sneak” – no one knows what the film is until the curtain opens. I have a guess, but I’ll keep that to myself for now.
And closing out the Festival on Sunday the 29th is the Toronto Film Festival Audience Award winner “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. Frances McDormand is getting major Best Actress buzz, and Sam Rockwell is said to be an early contender for Supporting Actor honors.
Held in October each year, primarily at the historic Crandell Theater in Chatham, FilmColumbia advance screenings since 2011 have included Best Picture Oscar winners “The Artist”, “Birdman” and “Spotlight”, as well as fellow Oscar winners “The Descendants”, “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Dallas Buyers Club”, “Still Alice”, and “The Imitation Game” – and a host of nominees including “My Week with Marilyn”, “Nebraska”, “Philomena”, “August: Osage County”, “Inside Llewyn Davis”, “Foxcatcher”, “Wild”, “Brooklyn”, “Jackie”, “Loving” and “Lion”.
For complete lineup and ticket information, visit FilmColumbia.org.