SLIFF 2013: Oliver Stone Headlines the 22nd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival

The highlight of the 22nd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), held Nov. 14- 24, (aside from the Ray Harryhausen Tribute November 15th) is an appearance by famed writer/director Oliver Stone. A three-time Academy Award® winner, Stone has written and directed more than 20 feature films, among them some of the most influential and iconic films of the last decades. Stone will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at the Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Blvd. Directors who have previously been honored with a SLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award include Paul Schrader, John Sayles, Michael Apted, and Joe Dante.

Held on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the program will feature a screening of the director’s cut of Stone’s “JFK.” The evening will begin with a clip reel surveying Stone’s career, the presentation of the award, and a conversation between Stone and St. Louis Post-Dispatch film critic Joe Williams that explores the director’s career generally and “JFK” specifically.

At the conclusion of the interview, Stone will introduce a Kennedy-focused segment from his most recent work, “The Untold History of the United States,” and “JFK” will screen after the excerpt.

Stone served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-68 and was decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning from Vietnam, he completed his undergraduate studies at New York University Film School in 1971, where he made several short films. Before establishing himself as a leading director, Stone wrote screenplays, many of them controversial, including the Oscar®-winning “Midnight Express” (1979), “Conan the Barbarian” (1982), “Scarface” (1983), and “Year of the Dragon” (1985).

Stone’s films have often reached wide, international audiences and have had significant cultural impact. These include “Salvador” (1985), “Wall Street” (1987), “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), and “The Doors” (1991). Many of his films have been at deep odds with conventional myth, including “Platoon” (1986), “JFK” (1991), “Natural Born Killers” (1994), “Nixon” (1995), and “World Trade Center” (2006). His other films include “U Turn” (1997), “Any Given Sunday” (1999), “Alexander” (2004), “W.” (2008), “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (2010), and “Savages” (2012). His documentaries include “Persona Non Grata” (2003), “South of the Border” (2009), and a trio of works on Fidel Castro – “Comandante” (2003), “Looking for Fidel” (2004), and “Castro in Winter” (2012). His newest work, “The Untold History of the United States” (2012), is a monumental 10-hour interrogation of the conventional triumphalist narrative of U.S. history.

Tickets for “JFK” with Oliver Stone are $25. They are available in advance at the Tivoli box office and online through Landmark Theatres’ Web site: tickets.landmarktheatres.com.

For more information, the public should visit www.cinemastlouis.org or call 314-289-4150.