Aspen Film announced today its full program for the 24th Academy Screenings at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. This annual feast of film runs December 22 – January 2 and celebrates the forthcoming award season contenders.
As a longtime favorite winter destination for voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and various guilds, what began as an intimate and exclusive industry-only event has grown into an Aspen holiday tradition bringing together film professionals, visitors and residents alike. From starry features to fresh independent voices, Aspen Film's Academy Screenings brings the heat of the awards season race to the mountains.
"From star-studded features directed by master filmmakers to the best independent documentaries and foreign films of the year, this big-screen celebration spotlights the highest caliber and most talked about films vying for Oscar®," says Aspen Film Artistic Director Maggie Mackay. "Whether you're a film industry professional in Aspen for the holidays or a movie lover catching up on awards season, the festival offers a unique opportunity to see an exciting and eclectic selection of movies as they should be experienced – in a gorgeous landmark theatre surrounded by an enthusiastic community of film lovers."
The 24th Aspen Film Academy Screenings full program is online now at the newly redesigned aspenfilm.org. Aspen Film REEL PEOPLE member pre-sales begin Friday, December 4 with tickets to the general public available on Wednesday, December 9 through the Wheeler Opera House box office: aspenshowtix.com or 970.920.5770 / 866.449.0464.
Single tickets are $20 with a 25% discount for Aspen Film REEL PEOPLE members. VIP and Priority Pass options are available to new and current members.
Voting members of AMPAS, BAFTA and associated guilds receive a complimentary Industry Pass to Academy Screenings, which allows complimentary entry to all screenings and events. Please contact Aspen Film directly to obtain a pass: info@aspenfilm.org or 970.925.6882.
This year, Aspen Film is presenting three new special events over the course of the festival. All special events are complimentary, open to the public and held in the Wheeler Opera House lounge.
Opening Reception
Tuesday, December 22, 5:30pm
Kick-off your holiday week with cocktails + hors d'oeuvres before our Opening Night presentation of Spotlight.
Hosted by Aspen Film + The Aspen Times
Milk, Cookies and a Movie
Saturday, December 26, 2:00pm
Bring the whole family to cozy up just before our presentation of animated feature Shaun the Sheep Movie; Complimentary film admission for all kids.
Hosted by Aspen Film + Paradise Bakery
Breakfast at the Fest
Friday, January 1, 12:30pm
Nurse your New Year's Day hangover at brunch before our presentation of Youth. Mimosas and Bloody Mary's included.
Hosted by Aspen Film + Green Cuisine Aspen
24th Aspen Film Academy Screenings Program
Tuesday, December 22
SPOTLIGHT, 7:30pm (128 min., USA)
Based on the investigation that lead to the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning expose on the Catholic Church abuse scandal, veteran filmmaker Tom McCarthy's latest, and arguably his best, stars an incredible ensemble cast led by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d'Arcy James, John Slattery and Liev Schreiber.
Director/Writer: Tom McCarthy Writer: Josh Singer Producers: Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Faust Cinematographer: Masanobu Takayanagi Editor: Tom McArdle Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Jamey Sheridan, Billy Crudup
Wednesday, December 23
SUFFRAGETTE, 5:30pm (106 min., U.K.)
Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep star in a powerfully realized historical drama about a struggling young mother who hesitantly joins the suffrage movement only to become one of its most powerful advocates. Deeply moving and surprisingly timely, Suffragette is more than a movie, it is a call to arms.
Director: Sarah Gavron Writer: Abi Morgan Producers: Alison Owen, Faye Ward Cinematographer: Edu Grau Editor: Barney Pilling Cast: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw, Meryl Streep
45 YEARS, 8:00pm (95 min., U.K.)
On the eve of their 45th anniversary, a couple makes a startling discovery from their past that forces them to face hard truths about their marriage and themselves. Starring two beloved Brit actors, silver-screen grand dame Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, 45 Years is an emotionally gripping love story unlike any we've ever seen.
Director/Writer: Andrew Haigh Producer: Tristan Goligher Cinematographer: Lol Crowley Editor: Jonathan Alberts Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay
Saturday, December 26
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE, 3:00pm (86 min., U.K./France)*
Shaun the little sheep, seeking respite from his humdrum country routine, hatches an ill-advised escape plan that lands him and his flock dangerously far from home. From the masterminds behind Wallace & Gromit comes an animated romp to delight kids and grownups alike.
Directors/Writers: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak Producers: Julie Lockhart, Paul Kewley Cinematographers: Charles Copping, Dave Alex Riddett Editor: Sim Evan-Jones Cast: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes
*Complimentary film admission for all kids.
THE END OF THE TOUR, 5:30pm (106 min., USA)
Jason Segel, cast against type, delivers a knockout performance as beloved American author David Foster Wallace in this poignant and warmly funny road movie about two young scribes waging a duel of wits over art and life. Jesse Eisenberg shines as the Rolling Stone writer tasked with covering Wallace on the book tour for his epic novel Infinite Jest.
Director: James Ponsoldt Writer: Donald Margulies Producers: James Dahl, Matt DeRoss, David Kanter, Mark C. Manuel, Ted O'Neal Cinematographer: Jakob Ihre Editor: Darrin Navarro Cast: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Chlumsky, Joan Cusack, Ron Livingston, Mamie Gummer, Mickey Sumner
CONCUSSION, 8:15pm (121 min., USA)
Tackling a timely controversy with bracing clarity and sensitivity alike, Peter Landesman's thriller stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian neuropathologist forced to speak truth to no less an American power than the NFL when he discovers the link between football and brain trauma. A powerhouse supporting cast includes Alec Baldwin and Albert Brooks.
Director/Writer: Peter Landesman Producers: Ridley Scott, Giannina Scott, David Wolthoff, Larry Shuman, Elizabeth Cantillon Cinematographer: Salvator Totino Editor: William Goldenberg Cast: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Arliss Howard, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Morse, Albert Brooks
Sunday, December 27
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, 5:00pm (119 min., USA)
English, Italian, French, German, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Arabic w/English subtitles
In a tradition that stretches back to his first hit, Roger & Me, Academy Award-winning documentarian Michael Moore sets out on an eye-opening trek across Europe to investigate, with his signature warmth and humor, everything from healthcare to prison reform to women in politics. On a mission to help save America from itself, Moore asks us to consider how things might be done differently.
Director/Writer/Producer: Michael Moore Producers: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal Cinematographers: Richard Rowley, Jayme Roy Editors: Pablo Proenza, T. Woody Richman, Tyler Walk Featuring: Michael Moore
BRIDGE OF SPIES, 8:00pm (141 min., USA)
English and Russian w/English subtitles
Steven Spielberg delivers a crackling Cold War-era thriller starring Tom Hanks, in original form as an all-American man-of-the-law who risks everything when called upon to defend an accused Soviet spy. An incredible supporting cast and a near perfect script from Matt Charman and Joel and Ethan Coen position Bridge of Spies as a new American classic.
Director/Producer: Steven Spielberg Writers: Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Producers: Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski Editor: Michael Kahn Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch, Alan Alda
Monday, December 28
LOVE & MERCY, 3:00pm (120 min., USA)
Featuring riveting performances from Paul Dano and John Cusack, Love & Mercy recounts the turbulent life of tortured Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson with compassion and honesty. Centered on the making of Pet Sounds, the group's seminal album, Bill Pohlad's touching portrait is a musical delight that packs a deeply emotional punch.
Director/Producer: Bill Pohlad Writers: Oren Moverman, Michael Alan Lerner Producers: Claire Rudnick Polstein, John Wells Cinematographer: Robert Yeoman Editor: Dino Jonsäter Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti
ROOM, 5:30pm (118 min., Ireland/Canada)
Indie darling Brie Larson and wildly talented young newcomer Jacob Tremblay deliver two of the year's most talked-about performances in this alternately harrowing and touching adaptation of a best-selling novel, which explores the strength of parental love under the worst of circumstances.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson Writer: Emma Donoghue Producers: Ed Guiney, David Gross Cinematographer: Danny Cohen Editor: Nathan Nugent Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H. Macey, Tom McCamus, Sean Bridgers
TRUMBO, 8:30pm (124 min., USA)
Supported by an A-list cast including Helen Mirren (brilliant as infamous gossip columnist Hedda Hopper), Louis C.K., John Goodman, and Diane Lane, Bryan Cranston delivers an electric, nuanced performance as blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Jay Roach's engaging, quick-witted biopic, which doubles as a moving exploration of Hollywood's tarnished golden age.
Director: Jay Roach Writer/Producer: John McNamara Producers: Michael London, Janice Williams, Shivani Rawat, Monica Levinson, Nimitt Mankad, Kevin Kelly Brown Cinematographer: Jim Denault Editor: Alan Baumgarten Cast: Bryan Cranston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., John Goodman
Tuesday, December 29
THE DANISH GIRL, 5:30pm (120 min., U.K./Germany/USA)
Two Oscar winners -director Tom Hooper and actor Eddie Redmayne -join forces in this extraordinary period biopic, at once a tender love story and a raw portrait of self-discovery. Redmayne astounds as Einar Wegener, an artist in 1920s Denmark whose gender transition sends his wife, fellow artist Gerda, on a transformational journey of her own.
Director/Producer: Tom Hooper Writer: Lucinda Coxon Producers: Gail Mutrux, Anne Harrison, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner Cinematographer: Danny Cohen Editor: Melanie Ann Oliver Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Wishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts
*PRIVATE SCREENING: Complimentary and exclusive to AMPAS, BAFTA and associated guild members as well as new and current Aspen Film REEL PEOPLE Members.
AMY, 8:15pm (128 min., U.K.)
Acclaimed Senna director Asif Kapadia returns with another stunning archival portrait -this one documenting the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the late 27-year-old musical genius Amy Winehouse. Emotionally wrought and deeply engaging, Amy asks us to consider the demands we place on those graced by fame.
Director: Asif Kapadia Producer: James Gay-Rees Editor: Chris King Featuring: Amy Winehouse, Tony Bennett, Yasiin Bey
Wednesday, December 30
BEST OF ENEMIES, 3:00pm (87 min., USA)
The concept of politics as televised blood sport was born at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, when William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal went full contact in a series of nationally televised debates. This electrifying documentary by Robert Gordon and Academy Award-winning documentarian Morgan Neville returns to that watershed moment as we gear up for another national election in a deeply divided country.
Directors/Producers: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon Producer: Julie Goodman Cinematographers: David Leonard, Graham Willoughby, Mark Schwartzbard Editors: Eileen Meyer, Aaron Wickenden Featuring: William F. Buckley, Gore Vidal
MUSTANG, 5:30pm (94 min., France)
Turkish w/English subtitles
France's official Oscar submission happens to be Turkish: full of heartbreak and hope alike, Deniz Gamze Ergüven's gorgeous and refreshingly original coming-of-age tale details the adventures and struggles of five adolescent sisters exploring life in their small village as best they can under their vindictive uncle's lock and key as their grandmother grooms them for marriage.
Director/Writer: Deniz Gamze Ergüven Writer: Alice Winocour Producer: Charles Gillibert Cinematographers: David Chizallet, Ersin Gok Editor: Mathilde van de Moortel Cast: Günes Sensoy, Doga Dogusluand, Elit Iscan, Tugba Sunguroglu, Ilayda Akdogan
SICARIO, 8:15pm (121 min., USA)
English and Spanish w/English subtitles
A rock-star cast at their best (Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin) drives Denis Villeneuve's blistering thriller about an FBI agent navigating the geographical and moral gray area that is the U.S.-Mexico border, where the ceaseless drug wars take their Pyrrhic toll against a harsh desert backdrop captured by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins.
Director: Denis Villeneuve Writer: Taylor Sheridan Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill Cinematographer: Roger Deakins Editor: Joe Walker Cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, John Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya
Friday, January 1
YOUTH, 2:30pm (123 min., Italy/France/U.K./Switzerland)
By turns delirious and devastating, Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino's visually dazzling follow-up to his Academy Award-winning The Great Beauty is generating Oscar buzz of its own. Supported by an incredible cast that includes Jane Fonda, Paul Dano and Rachel Weisz, Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel captivate as old friends looking back on their lives while the future unfolds around them.
Director/Writer: Paolo Sorrentino Producers: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori Cinematographer: Luca Bigazzi Editor: Cristiano Travaglioli Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda
TANGERINE, 5:30pm (87 min., USA)
When rumors of her boyfriend's infidelities reach a just-out-of-jail working girl, she sets off on a mission to hunt him down, traversing Tinseltown on Christmas Eve with her best friend in tow. This gritty, groundbreaking, outrageous tale, shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, is the most talked about indie of the year and the first Oscar contender lead by a transgender cast.
Director/Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor: Sean Baker Writer: Chris Bergoch Producers: Marcus Cox, Karrie Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou Cinematographer: Radium Cheung Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, James Ransone
Saturday, January 2
ANOMALISA, 5:30pm (90 min., USA)
As deeply moving as it is wildly original, this fantastic feat of stop-motion animation from Duke Johnson and acclaimed filmmaker Charlie Kaufman introduces us to a sales guru in midlife crisis -and the one woman who can pierce the dull roar in his head.
Director/Writer/Producer: Charlie Kaufman Director/Producer: Duke Johnson Producers: Rosa Tran, Dino Stamatopoulos Cinematographer: Joe Passarelli Editor: Garret Elkins Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan, David Thewlis
CAROL, 8:15pm (118 min., USA)
A chance meeting sparks a forbidden love affair between two women from different worlds in this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's groundbreaking 1952 novel The Price of Salt. Stunning cinematography, brilliant direction by Todd Haynes, and epic performances from Oscar familiars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara make Carol a cinematic masterpiece.
Director: Todd Haynes Writer: Phyllis Nagy Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Christine Vachon Cinematographer: Edward Lachman Editor: Affonso Gonçalves Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy, Sarah Paulson
Aspen Film Academy Screenings is presented by The Aspen Times, generously supported by grants from the City of Aspen, AspenOUT, Colorado Creative Industries, Embrey Family Foundation, Les Dames d'Aspen, Ltd., The Nick DeWolf Foundation, The Thrift Shop of Aspen and sponsored by Alpine Bank, Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Snowmass, The Gant and Sopris Liquor.
25TH ASPEN SHORTSFEST CALL FOR ENTRIES REMINDER
Aspen Film is currently accepting submissions for the 25th Aspen Shortsfest (April 5-10, 2016), one of the world's premier international short film showcases. This Oscar®-qualifying international competition offers a diverse and exciting selection of drama, comedy, animation and documentary – all at 40 minutes or less.
Late Entry Deadline: December 15, 2015
Extended Entry Deadline: December 31, 2015
For information on how to enter your film for the 25th Aspen Shortsfest, please visit aspenfilm.org .
For more information and to join Aspen Film, please visit aspenfilm.org.
About ASPEN FILM
Established in 1979, Aspen Film is one of Colorado's most active film arts organizations, presenting dynamic programs and featured guest artists throughout the year. Internationally recognized, Aspen Film organizes a major film event in every season, along with an extensive education program: Aspen Filmfest, Academy Screenings, Aspen Shortsfest and Film Educates. With a mission to enlighten, enrich, educate and entertain through film, Aspen Film stimulates thought, encourages dialogue and broadens understanding of our world and selves through the diverse spectrum of ideas presented by filmmakers worldwide. To learn more, visit aspenfilm.org.
