22nd Annual ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Line-up Announced

Oscar bait performances by Meryl Streep, Judy Dench, and Bruce Dern, an evening with Oliver Stone, and a tribute to the late Ray Harryhausen are some of the many highlights of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Cinema St. Louis announced the 2013 line-up earlier this week and it’s the usual hi-quality mix of independent films, foreign films, locally-made films, end-of-year studio awards product, and retro programming.

Now in its 22nd year, the Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), put on by Cinema St. Louis, is one of the largest international film festivals in the Midwest. This year’s SLIFF will be held November 14-24, 2013. SLIFF’s main venues are the Hi-Pointe Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium, Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium and the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, IL. SLIFF showcases the very best in cutting-edge features and shorts from around the globe. The majority of the more than 400+ films screened – many of them critically lauded award-winners – will receive their only St. Louis exposure at the festival.
Highlights of this year’s fest include:

Nebraska – An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize. Bruce Dern and Will Forte star in the newest film from director Alexander Payne (Friday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. at the Tivoli)

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan – This is the definitive documentary about Ray Harryhausen. Aside from interviews with the great man himself, shot over five years, there are also interviews and tributes from Vanessa Harryhausen, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker, John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many more. Harryhausen provided unprecedented access to film all aspects of his collection including models, artwork and miniatures as well as Harryhausen ‘s private study, where he designed most of his creations, and his workshop where he built them. In addition the documentary will use unseen footage of tests and experiments found during the clearance of the LA garage. Never before has so much visual material been used in any previous documentary about Harryhausen. This will be shown on a double-feature with Harryhausen’s showcase masterpiece The 7th Voyage of Sindbad (1958). This program will be introduced by We Are Movie Geek’s own Tom Stockman. (Friday, November 15th, 7 p.m. at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium)

To Catch a Thief (1955) – When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must ferret out the real thief in order to prove his innocence. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly star in this Alfred Hitchcock-directed thriller. (Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m., at the Plaza Frontenac)

Philomena – A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman’s search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent. Stars Judy Dench. (Sunday, Nov. 17, 3:15 p.m., at the Tivoli)

August: Osage County – A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts star in the film of Tracy Lett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play that has string Oscar Buzz. (Sunday, Nov. 17, 6 p.m., at the Tivoli)

Blackmail (1929) – A woman kills a rapist and faces extortion, forcing her controlling boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective, into a moral and ethical quandary. This is a silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. With live accompaniment by the Rats & Motion Picture Orchestra’s Matt Pace and Brien Seyle. (Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. at the Tivoli)

JFK and an Evening With Oliver Stone – The 1990 film JFK will be shown on the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination with director Oliver Stone in attendance. Mr. Stone will participate in a Q&A after the screening – more details about this event can be found in our article HERE.  (Friday, Nov. 22, 7 p.m. at the Tivoli)

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – A chronicle of Nelson Mandela’s life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Mandela is played by Idris Elba. (Saturday, Nov. 23, 6 p.m. at the Tivoli)

The Invisible Woman – Tells of author Charles Dickens, who at the height of his career, meets a younger woman who becomes his secret lover until his death. Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones star. (Sunday, Nov. 24, 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Frontenac)

Something in the Water – a look at the classic rock scene here in St. Louis in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. (Sunday, Nov. 24, 6:30p.m., Wildey Theater in Edwardsville)

Of course, this is just a small fraction of the films that will be shown over the 10-day fest. There are hundreds more lined up. For more information and a complete list of films being shown, visit the Cinema St. Louis site HERE.
http://www.cinemastlouis.org/2013-sliff

Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks for more coverage of the 22nd annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival.

 Tickets will go on sale to the general public Oct. 14