SCAD 26th Annual Film Festival: A preview of what's to come

Though the film industry has spent past months in limbo due to the ongoing actors’ strike and the recently concluded writers’ strike, the 26th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival will continue to bring big names and stellar films to the city Oct. 21 to Oct. 28.

Several Oscar hopefuls will also be screened throughout the week, giving local audiences a first look at titles due to hit theaters in the coming months. Three presentations will even highlight their Savannah area connections, as “Origin,” “May December” and the musical “The Color Purple” were all filmed in Georgia coastal areas.

In its 26th year, the festival will screen 165 films, including 49 narrative features and 17 documentary features.

Early critical buzz and film festival reports suggest that many great movies are scheduled, including the newest films from award-winning filmmakers like Bradley Cooper, Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay, Emerald Fennell, Andrew Haigh, Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos, Alexander Payne and George C. Wolfe.

Additionally, stars like Kevin Bacon, Greta Lee, Peter Sarsgaard, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Cailee Spaeny will walk the red carpet during the week.

Among the notable features:

Nyad - Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster star in this biopic about marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, who swam from Florida to Cuba at age 60. A Q&A with director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi will follow.


Origin - Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.

DuVernay directs an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction bestseller “Caste,” centering the narrative on the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist played by Oscar-nominated actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. A Q&A with the director will follow, as part of closing night festivities.

All of Us Strangers - Oct. 26 at 9 p.m.

Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy star in Andrew Haigh's surreal fantasy romance about a screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home after meeting a mysterious new man. Haigh will attend a Q&A afterward.


American Fiction - Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

This satire, starring Jeffrey Wright as a frustrated novelist who leans into stereotypical tropes to write a breakthrough book, won the People's Choice Award for best film at the Toronto Film Festival. Director Cord Jefferson will receive the Breakthrough Director Award following this screening.

Anatomy of a Fall - Oct. 21 at 4 p.m.

Actress Sandra Huller has received considerable praise for her performance in this French courtroom thriller wherein her character is accused of murdering her husband. The film won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

The Holdovers - Oct. 27 at 9:30 p.m.

Paul Giamatti reunites with "Sideways" director Alexander Payne for this period comedy set over the holidays at a prep school. Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa co-star.

Maestro - Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

Bradley Cooper co-wrote, directed and stars in this biopic about genius musician Leonard Bernstein and his relationship with his wife Felicia, played by Carey Mulligan.

May December - Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.

Director Todd Haynes reunites with "Far From Heaven" star Julianne Moore for this drama about a tabloid romance between a high school teacher and student. Natalie Portman plays an actress researching the scandal; Moore and "Riverdale" star Charles Melton play the couple. Haynes will receive a directing prize afterward.

Memory - Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.

Sarsgaard and Oscar winner Jessica Chastain star in this romance about two classmates who reconnect after their high school reunion. Sarsgaard, who won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for this work, will receive the Vanguard Award after the screening.

Poor Things - Oct. 23 at 9 p.m.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with "The Favourite" star Emma Stone in this wild, "Frankenstein"-like tale about a woman brought back from the dead by a scientist. Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo co-star.

Priscilla - Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

Spaeny will be presented with the Breakthrough Award following the screening of this Priscilla Presley biopic, directed by Coppola.

Rustin - Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m.

Wolfe directs this biopic of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. Colman Domingo plays the title character. Wolfe will receive the Storyteller Award after the screening.

Saltburn - Oct. 24 at 9 p.m.

Fennell, who directed "Promising Young Woman," returns with the story of a strange Oxford student (Barry Keoghan) who ends up spending the summer at the family estate of a classmate (Jacob Elordi). Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant also star. Fennell will receive the Spotlight Director Award afterward.

The Zone of Interest - Oct. 22 at 11:30 a.m.

Huller also appears in this Jonathan Glazer-directed film set at the Auschwitz concentration camp alongside actor Christian Friedel, who will participate in a Q&A afterward.

Also of note, screenings of "Past Lives," "Elemental," "Trolls Band Together," "Barbie," "Oppenheimer" and a first look at the making of "The Color Purple" are scheduled.