AFI gets ready for a stellar 19th Film Festival

November 3rd to the 13th, 2005 With 16 World Premieres and 17 North American Premieres the AFI FEST 2005 presented by Audi is paving the way for a dynamic Los Angeles Film Festival. Now in its 19th year the Festival is known as one of the top-ten Film Festivals in the US. Known for its stellar presentation of programming and outstanding participation of filmmakers and cast, the Festival draws a large number of passionate film goers in Southern California and many international guest as well.

AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in Los Angeles and truly a well respected festival with in the industry. The festival spans 10 days each November, featuring international competitions of brand new films from emerging filmmakers, global showcases of the latest work from the great film masters and nightly red-carpet gala premieres.

WALK THE LINE will open AFI FEST 2005 on Thursday, November 3, 2005, at ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome. The Opening Night Film and Gala are presented by Audi of America with support from the Hollywood Sign Trust. Twentieth Century Fox's WALK THE LINE Directed by James Mangold is making it’s US Premiere as the Opening Night film. Mangold who is known for HEAVY; and GIRL INTERRUPTED, new film WALK THE LINE shares with us the years of legendary rocker Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter. Staring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon co-starring as June Carter. The Film made its World Premiere recently at the Toronto Film Festival and has already created an Oscar buzz for Mangold and Witherspoon.

WALK THE LINE was created over seven years with the cooperation of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. It re-enacts the true story of Cash's rise to fame and when rock and roll exploded from a meager studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The infamous "Man in Black" soon became Cash’s trade mark and his historic concert at Folsom Prison solidified his place as a music icon of the era. The tender love story of Cash and June Carter blends their talent and love into a idealistic story woven with sometimes tragic highs and lows. The film is produced by Cathy Konrad and James Keach, based on a script written by Mangold and AFI Conservatory alumnus/faculty member Gill Dennis.

The closing gala night film is Touchstone Pictures CASANOVA on November 13th. This will be the North American premiere of CASANOVA, directed by Oscar®-nominated Lasse Hallström well known for CHOCOLAT and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES. CASANOVA and starring Heath Ledger as the notorious lothario. CIDER HOUSE RULES made its US premiere at AFI FEST in 1999.

CASANOVA has a strong cast with stars Sienna Miller, Lena Olin, Oliver Platt and Jeremy Irons. Set in 18th century Venice, the film is a charming sophisticated comedy gives the legend of Giacomo Casanova a contemporary edge as Casanova meets his ultimate romantic match in Francesca Bruni (Sienna Miller), succumbing to the only woman to ever refuse his charms. The film was produced by Mark Gordon, Betsy Beers and Leslie Holleran, based on a script by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kimberly Simi from a story by Kimberly Simi and Michael Cristofer.

AFI FEST 2005 will also present 16 feature-length World Premieres,10 narrative features and six documentary features, as well as 17 North American Premieres 13 narrative features and four documentary features.


The 16 World Premieres at AFI FEST 2005 are:
ADIOS MOMO (Uruguay, narrative) - directed by Leonardo Ricagni
AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (USA, narrative) - directed by Courtney Solomon
THE ART OF FLIGHT (Sudan/Egypt, documentary) - directed by Davin Anders Hutchins
BUCKLE BROTHERS (USA, documentary) - directed by Marquette Williams
DIRTY (USA, narrative) - directed by Christopher Fisher
FACTOR 8: THE ARKANSAS PRISON BLOOD SCANDAL (USA/Canada, documentary) - directed by Kelly Duda
FOUR CORNERS OF SUBURBIA (USA, narrative) - directed by Elizabeth Puccini
FUCK (USA, documentary) - directed by Steve Anderson
THE GIGOLOS (UK, narrative) - directed by Richard Bracewell
THE GOODTIMESKID (USA, narrative) - directed by Azazel Jacobs
THE KID AND I (USA, narrative) - directed by Penelope SpheerisTHE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF MY VERY BEST YEARS (Bolivia, narrative) - directed by Martin Boulocq
ON THE OTHER SIDE (Mexico, narrative) - directed by Gustavo Loza
PABLO - THE POET'S LIFE (Chile/Italy/UK, documentary) - directed by Dario Baldi
THE REFUGEE ALL STARS (USA, documentary) - directed by Zach Niles and Banker White
RIPLEY UNDER GROUND (UK, narrative) - directed by Roger Spottiswoode

The 17 North American Premieres are:
ALMOST HEAVEN (Germany/Jamaica, narrative) - directed by Ed Herzog
BACK TO BOSNIA (USA, documentary) - directed by Sabina Vajraca
CINEMA, ASPIRIN AND VULTURES (Brazil, narrative) - directed by Marcelo Gomez
DARK HORSE (Denmark, narrative) - directed by Dagur Kari
HORST BUCCHOLZ…MY PAPA (Germany, documentary) - directed by Sandra Hacker and Christopher Buchholz
IN BED (Chile/Germany, narrative) - directed by Matìas Bize
INITIAL D (Hong Kong, narrative) - directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak
JOY (Israel, narrative) - directed by Julie Shles
NEXT DOOR (Norway, narrative) - directed by Pål Sletaune
PELE FOREVER (Brazil, documentary) - directed by Anibal Massaini Neto
QUEENS (Spain, narrative) - directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira
THE RED SHOES (South Korea, narrative) - directed by Kim Yong-gyun
ROSARIO TIJERAS (Columbia/Mexico, narrative) - directed by Emilio Maille
SCREAMING MASTERPIECE (Iceland, documentary) - directed by Ari Alexander Ergis
TBILISI-TBILISI (Georgia, narrative) - directed by Levan Zakareishville
WRONG SIDE UP (Czech Republic, narrative) - directed by Petr Zelenka
ZIM & CO (France, narrative) - directed by Pierre Jolivet


In 2004, AFI FEST and the American Film Market AFM established a strategic partnership, creating the only festival/market combination in North America. This alliance has successfully resulted in a unique combination of commerce and culture. The AFM runs November 2-9, 2005 and have been established as a successful film market. This year AFM has grown by close to 20% and has expanded the Film Market to neighboring hotels in Santa Monica, California. For more information, visit www.americanfilmmarket.com.

The AFI FEST 2005 presented by Audi will take place for ten days from November 3rd to the 13th in Los Angeles California, with most screenings taking place at the ArchLight Cinemas.

Keiko Beatie