The American Film Institute Announces Its Red Carpet Centerpiece Galas And Special Screenings

The American Film Institute (AFI) today announced its red carpet Centerpiece Galas and Special Screenings – comprised of award season contenders and the year’s most highly anticipated works from film masters, moving image icons and breakthrough talents – for AFI FEST 2012 presented by Audi. This year’s line up includes feature films of iconic figures such as President Abraham Lincoln, prolific filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac, as well as non-fiction and inspired-by stories about the Central Park Five and West of Memphis teenagers, Southeast Asia tsunami survivors and much more.

As previously announced, the World Premiere of HITCHCOCK (DIR Sacha Gervasi) is the Opening Night Gala and the World Premiere of LINCOLN (DIR Steven Spielberg) is the Closing Night Gala.

The Centerpiece Galas are LIFE OF PI in 3D (DIR Ang Lee); ON THE ROAD (DIR Walter Salles);RISE OF THE GUARDIANS in 3D (DIR Peter Ramsey); and RUST AND BONE/DE ROUILLE ET D’OS (DIR Jacques Audiard) featuring A Tribute to Marion Cotillard. All galas will be presented in the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

AFI FEST’s Special Screenings are THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE (DIR Ken Burns); GINGER AND ROSA (DIR Sally Potter); HOLY MOTORS (DIR Léos Carax); THE IMPOSSIBLE (DIR Juan Antonio Bayona); QUARTET (DIR Dustin Hoffman in his directorial debut); ROOM 237 (DIR Rodney Ascher); SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (DIR David O. Russell); and WEST OF MEMPHIS (DIR Amy Berg).

OPENING NIGHT GALA:

HITCHCOCK: The love story between the iconic filmmaker and his wife, Alma Reville, during the filming of PSYCHO in 1959. DIR Sacha Gervasi. SCR John J. McLaughlin. CAST Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith. USA. World Premiere.
Thursday, November 1, 7:00 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

CENTERPIECE GALAS:

LIFE OF PI in 3D: Director Ang Lee (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with another survivor – a fearsome Bengal tiger. DIR Ang Lee. SCR David Magee. CAST Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gérard Depardieu. USA.
Friday, November 2, 7:30 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

ON THE ROAD: Jack Kerouac’s seminal pseudo-autobiography arrives on the big screen at the intersection of fact and fiction. DIR Walter Salles. SCR Jose Rivera, Jack Kerouac. CAST Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Tom Sturridge, Danny Morgan, Alice Bragga, Elisabeth Moss, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortenson. France/UK/USA/Brazil.
Saturday, November 3, 8:00 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS in 3D: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman and Jack Frost are The Guardians – legendary characters with previously unknown extraordinary abilities charged with protecting children everywhere from an evil spirit’s attempt to take over the world. DIR Peter Ramsey. SCR David Lindsay-Abaire. CAST Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law. USA.
Sunday, November 4, 4:00 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

RUST AND BONE (DE ROUILLE ET D’OS) featuring A Tribute to Marion Cotillard: An unusual love story between a back alley boxer and a woman who has suffered a profound loss. DIR Jacques Audiard. SCR Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain. CAST Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Celine Sallette, Corinne Masiero, Bouli Lanners, Jean-Michel Correia. France/Belgium.
Monday, November 5, 7:30 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

CLOSING NIGHT GALA:

LINCOLN: Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award^® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN, a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come. DIR Steven Spielberg. SCR Tony Kushner. CAST Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones. USA. World Premiere.
Thursday, November 8, 7:00 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK: When a history teacher is cuckolded by his wife and a co-worker, he goes ballistic, lands in jail, then moves in with his sports-obsessed parents. DIR David O. Russell. SCR David O. Russell, Matthew Quick. CAST Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, Julia Stiles, John Ortiz, Paul Herman, Dash Mihok, Shea Whigham. USA.
Friday, November 2, 8:00 p.m., Rigler, Egyptian.

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE: Ken Burns’ documentary about what was known as the crime of century showcases a group of teenagers who were forced to give false confessions and were wrongfully convicted for raping and beating New York City jogger Trisha Meili. DIR/SCR Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, David McMahon.
Saturday, November 3, 3:30 p.m., Rigler, Egyptian.

HOLY MOTORS: Denis Lavant plays Mr. Oscar, a shadowy figure who inhabits many roles while fulfilling assignments from inside a white limousine in Léos Carax’s beguiling work. DIR/SCR Léos Carax. CAST Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue. France/Germany.
Saturday, November 3, 7:00 p.m., Rigler, Egyptian.

THE IMPOSSIBLE: A family is swept up in the monumental turmoil of the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami along with thousands of strangers. DIR Juan Antonio Bayona. SCR Sergio G. Sánchez. CAST Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura, Sönke Möhring, Geraldine Chaplin. Spain/USA.
Sunday, November 4, 8:30 p.m., Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

ROOM 237: Rodney Asher’s documentary delves into the symbols and messages hidden within Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed film, THE SHINING, revealing more secrets after 30 years. DIR Rodney Ascher. CAST Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan, Jay Weidner. USA.
Sunday, November 4, 9:00 p.m., Chinese 1.

QUARTET: A birthday concert for Verdi at a home for retired opera singers is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, a diva and former wife of one of the residents. DIR Dustin Hoffman in his directorial debut. SCR Ronald Harwood. CAST Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon. UK.
Sunday, November 4, 9:00 p.m., Rigler, Egyptian.

GINGER AND ROSA: As the Cold War meets the sexual revolution in 1960s London, the lifelong friendship of two teenage girls (Elle Fanning, Alice Englert) is shattered by ideological differences and personal betrayals. DIR/SCR Sally Potter. CAST Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt, Timothy Spall, Jodhi May. UK/Denmark.
Wednesday, November 7, 8:00 p.m., Chinese 1.

WEST OF MEMPHIS: Amy Berg’s film casts a light on the brutal murder of three young boys and the 18-year struggle to exonerate the teenagers who were convicted of the crimes. DIR Amy Berg. SCR Billy McMilin, Amy Berg. CAST Damien Echols; Lorri Davis; Jason Baldwin; Jessie Misskelley, Jr.; Pam Hicks. USA.
Date, time and venue TBC.

For the fourth consecutive year, AFI FEST will continue its unprecedented offer of free tickets to all screenings, but only the Star Patron Package and Marquee Patron Package will provide reserved seating for the galas, including the World Premiere opening night gala of HITCHCOCK and the World Premiere closing night gala of LINCOLN. These and other AFI FEST passes, including the Special Screenings Pass, are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST. The American Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and cultural organization, and packages and passes are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

AFI members will have a 24-hour advance window on Wednesday, October 24 before free tickets become available to the general public. In addition, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all Patron Packages and Passes. Information about AFI Membership is available at AFI.com/membership.

AFI FEST, which presents the best of world cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 1 through 8 in Hollywood, California, at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Bernardo Bertolucci is this year’s Guest Artistic Director. The complete festival program will be announced on Monday, October 15.

For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, twitter.com/AmericanFilm and youtube.com/AFI.