AFI Fest 2022 Announces Full Slate Of Red Carpet Galas

Earlier today, the American Film Institute (AFI) that six Red Carpet Premiere films will screen at AFI Fest 2022, which runs from November 2nd to 6th. The films include: Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, directed by Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu; the U.S. Premiere of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, which is co-directed by Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and Emmy Award® winner Mark Gustafson; Is That Black Enough For You?!?, directed by Elvis Mitchell; Living, directed by Oliver Hermanus; She Said directed by Emmy Award®-winning director Maria Schrader (who you might recogonize from her recent directorial effort I'm Your Man); and The Son, directed by Academy Award® winner Florian Zeller (whose previous film, The Father, screened at AFI Fest 2020). All films will screen at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.

“Now is the time to open our hearts and minds to stories on the big screen,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “AFI is honored to gather audiences and artists in the heart of Hollywood to experience the work of these master storytellers.”

More About the Red Carpet Premieres 

Daniel Giménez Cacho in Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Five-time Academy Award® winner Alejandro González Iñárritu brings us Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Bardo is an epic, visually stunning and immersive experience set against the intimate and moving journey of Silverio, a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, who returns to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit. The folly of his memories and fears have decided to pierce through the present, filling his everyday life with a sense of bewilderment and wonder. Mexican actor Daniel Giménez Cacho plays Silverio Gama in an indelible performance. Shot on resplendent 65mm by Academy Award® nominee Darius Khondji and written by Iñárritu and Nicolás Giacobone, Bardo marks Iñárritu’s first film to be shot in Mexico since 2000’s international sensation Amores Perros. The film features production design by the Oscar®-winning Mexican designer Eugenio Caballero and costume design by Anna Terrazas. Cast includes Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid and Iker Solano.

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths will screen on Thursday, November 3rd. After this, Netflix will release Bardo in limited theatrical release on November 4th and will start streaming on Netflix on December 16th.

Harry Belafonte in Is That Black Enough For You?!?. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Is That Black Enough For You?!?

From celebrated writer and film historian Elvis Mitchell, Is That Black Enough For You?!? is both a documentary and deeply personal essay. The film examines the craft and power of cinema from a perspective often overlooked: the African American contribution to films released from the landmark era of the ‘70s. It is a deep dive into the impact that point of view had on movies, as well as popular culture, and serves as a love letter to film, posing questions that have never been asked, let alone answered. Crucial artistic voices, including director Charles Burnett, Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne, Zendaya and others, offer their distinctive prism on the creators and films that dazzled and inspired. The film provides insight into the history of Black representation going back to the earliest days of cinema, and the cultural impact of witnessing unapologetic Blackness. Produced by Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher, Angus Wall and Ciara Lacy, Is That Black Enough For You?!? marks Mitchell’s directorial debut.

Is That Black Enough For You?!? will screen on Friday, November 4th. It will then release on Netflix a week later, on November 11th.

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan in She Said. Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.

She Said

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation — a story that helped propel the #MeToo movement, shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and altered American culture forever. The film is based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the New York Times bestseller “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement“ by Kantor and Twohey. The film costars Oscar® nominee Patricia Clarkson, Emmy® winner Andre Braugher and Tony® winner Jennifer Ehle, with Academy Award® nominee Samantha Morton. She Said is directed by Emmy® winner Maria Schrader from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and produced by Academy Award®winners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Oscar® winner Brad Pitt and Lila Yacoub and by Oscar® nominee Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle for Annapurna Pictures. Universal Pictures presents an Annapurna & Plan B production.

She Said will screen on Friday, November 4th. Universal Pictures will then release the film nationwide in theaters on November 18th.

Zen McGrath, Laura Dern, and Hugh Jackman in The Son. Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

The Son

A drama that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart, The Son centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears with their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing from school for months and is troubled, distant and angry. Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have liked his own father to have taken care of him while juggling work, his and Beth's new son, and the offer of his dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto the Nicholas in the present. The film is directed by Academy Award® winner Florian Zeller and was written by Zeller and Academy Award® winner Christopher Hampton.

The Son will screen on Saturday, November 5. Then, it will be released by Sony Pictures Classics in New York & Los Angeles theaters on November 11th.

Guillermo Del Toro taking a look at Gepetto’s workshop. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and Emmy Award®-winning stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson reimagine the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy with a whimsical tour de force that finds Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that transcends worlds and reveals the life-giving power of love. The cast includes Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, Christoph Waltz and Tilda Swinton.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio will screen on Saturday, November 5. Then, it will released in limited theatrical release on November 25th, before streaming on Netflix on December 9th.

Bill Nighy in Living. Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Living

1953. A London shattered by WWII is still recovering. Williams (Bill Nighy), a veteran civil servant, is an impotent cog within the city’s bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild. Buried under paperwork at the office, lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a shattering medical diagnosis forces him to take stock – and to try and grasp fulfillment before it goes beyond reach. At a seaside resort, chaperoned by a local decadent (Tom Burke), he flirts with hedonism before rejecting it as his solution. Back in London, he finds himself drawn to the natural vitality of Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood), a young woman who once worked under his supervision and is now determined to spread her wings. Then one evening he is struck by a revelation – one as simple as it is profound – and with a new energy, and the help of Peter (Alex Sharp), an idealistic new recruit to his department, he sets about creating a legacy for the next generation. LIVING is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru and is directed by Oliver Hermanus from a script by Kazuo Ishiguro (author of the novels “The Remains of The Day” and “Never Let Me Go”). The film is produced by Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen for Number 9 Films.

Living will screen on Sunday, November 6. After the festival is over, Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in New York & Los Angeles theaters on December 23rd.

AFI Fest 2022 will take place in Los Angeles exclusively from November 2nd to November 6th. Tickets and passes to AFI Fest 2022 will be available to AFI members beginning on October 3rd and to the public starting October 4th on FEST.AFI.com.

As previously announced, the world premiere of Apple Original Film's Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me will open the festival and the U.S. premiere of Steven Spielberg's latest, The Fabelmans will close AFI Fest 2022.

AFI Members receive exclusive early access to purchase passes and tickets and other exclusive benefits. To become an AFI member, visit AFI.com/join/.

My Take

Okay, this just got interesting. AFI's Fest lineups have always been good, but this is the best lineup I've experienced in my two years of covering the festival.

The major thing here is that AFI seems to be programming Academy Award hopefuls to ensure attendees that would normally attend virtually feel compelled to participate in the in-person only AFI Fest 2022, rather than skip out because of the lack of accessibility.

For me, I'm definetly going to find a way to make it to AFI Fest in Los Angeles this year, because this would seem to be an unmissable festival.

So, is this an unmissable festival for you? If you're going, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. On the flip side, I'd also like to hear from you if you're not going and why in the comments.

Until next time!

Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel, Shane Conto, Joseph Davis, David Walters, Ambula Bula, Matthew Simpson, Thom Blackburn, Aaliyah, Libby Stephenson, and Roze for supporting Austin B Media on Patreon!