The Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival closed its 42nd run April 22 after hosting 10 days of films, parties, and creative conferences.
Taking advantage of Georgia’s huge tax incentives, Atlanta, Georgia remains home to countless large-budget productions—including “Stranger Things” Season 3, which resumed shooting April 23. But the real highlight of the festival was not herculean bank breakers but rather films spotlighting change in the industry; 70 percent of this year’s films screened in the festival were directed by women and/or filmmakers of color.
For short film directors and animators, the ATLFF is an important step on the road to the Academy Awards, as the Best Animated Short and Best Narrative Short will qualify for the awards shortlist. This year the Taiwanese eye-popping “Fundamental” by Shih-chieh Chiu, and Luis De Filippis’ “For Nonna Anna,” about a trans girl caring for her Italian grandma, took home those prizes, respectively. Members of the 2018 ATLFF Jury included SXSW 2017 Narrative Grand Jury Prize winner Asa Asensio (“Most Beautiful Island”) and animator-producer Marcus Rosentrater (“Archer”).
Festivities kicked off with Carlos López Estrada’s “Blindspotting,” a tale of two childhood friends observing the rapid gentrification of their old neighborhood in the Bay area. Art imitates life as real lifelong friends Daveed Diggs (of “Hamilton”) and Rafael Casal co-wrote and starred in the feature and attended the opening night ceremony. Diggs was presented with the ATLFF Innovator Award after the movie was picked up by Lionsgate at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s scheduled for a limited release on July 20 with an expansion July 27.
Other buzzy films to screen at ATLFF included Jason Reitman’s “Tully,” starring Charlize Theron and distributed by Focus Features, and Brett Haley’s “Hearts Beat Loud,” starring Nick Offerman and acquired by Gunpowder & Sky, a new global content studio helmed by the former CEO of Viacom, Van Toffler. Both films open this summer in select theaters.
After the awards season success of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” it’s no surprise that a horror flick, “Tell Me Your Name,” was an audience favorite. Shot in Georgia, director Jason Devan’s tale of an adolescent girl’s exorcism premiered at the 2018 Cinequest Film & VR Festival.
Winner of Best Narrative Feature went to the Spanish-language surrealist family drama “Wind Traces,” directed by Jimena Montemayor and made by a mostly female crew. Starring Argentina’s Dolores Fonzi (“Truman”), the film won big at the Guadalajara Festival in March. The Filmmaker to Watch award went to Connor Simpson for his short film project “Kudzu,” about a young boy in rural Alabama dealing with the disappearance of a friend.
YouTube star-cum-director Bo Burnham was on hand for closing night to present his A24-backed production “Eighth Grade,” an intimate portrait of life as a lonely adolescent in 2018 told through iPhone and Macbook screens. The film’s breakout star, Elsie Fisher, also attended. When asked how he cast the young performer, Burnham said, “She had to be confident playing shy without seeming too confident—which is [very rare for young actors].” Acknowledging that it was seemingly odd for an adult male to be writing and directing a film about a young teenage girl, Burnham gave the young actor credit where it’s due: “She really carried the production.”
For more information on this year’s Atlanta Film Festival and their year-round programming, visit atlantafilmfestival.com.
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