The San Diego Film Festival, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation, will unveil its 14th cinematic event Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. The five-day event will showcase 110 films in narrative, documentary, spotlight and short categories.
“We are excited to debut this year’s diverse selection of films to our enthusiastic film-loving community,” said Tonya Mantooth, executive vice president and director of programming for the San Diego Film Festival. “Our 2015 film slate has it all, from Hollywood’s most buzzed about award-season contenders to first-time filmmakers looking to make their mark on the festival scene – this year’s lineup has something to offer for everyone.”
Leading the program are gala presentation screenings, which include Daniel Alfredson’s “Go With Me” starring Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles and Ray Liotta; Paolo Sorrentino’s “Youth” starring Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda; Reed Morano’s “Meadowland” starring Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson and Juno Temple; Tony McNamara’s “Ashby” starring Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolf, Emma Roberts and Sarah Silverman; Lawrence Roeck’s “Diablo” starring Scott Eastwood, Camilla Belle and Danny Glover; Adam Salky’s “I Smile Back” starring Sarah Silverman and John Charles, and Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim’s documentary “He Named Me Malala.”
Academy Award winner and 2015 Cinema Vanguard Award recipient Adrien Brody stars in the highly anticipated opening night film “Septembers of Shiraz,” alongside Academy Award nominee Salma Hayek and Academy Award nominee Shorheh Aghdashloo. A successful jeweler is ripped apart from his family and wrongly imprisoned and abused by the Revolutionary Guard under alleged suspicion of being a traitor. We witness the dramatic societal shift and underlying class struggle as he and his family try to maintain dignity and survive under a harsh and intolerant new regime. Brody will be in attendance for the opening night screening of “Septembers of Shiraz” on Septe.30 at 7 p.m. followed by a question and answer session with critic and festival host Jeffrey Lyons.
Additional films have been added to the 2015 San Diego Film Festival program, including Goosebumps, Mississippi Grind and The Dark Horse. Tickets to all 110 film screenings are available now via sdfilmfest.com.
With over 400 million books in print in 32 languages, the “Goosebumps” book series has fans all over the world — and now the phenomenon is coming to the big screen, starring Jack Black.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Mississippi Grind” stars Emmy Award nominee Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds and Sienna Miller. Convinced that his newfound friend (Ryan Reynolds) is a good-luck charm, a gambling addict (Ben Mendelsohn) takes the man on a road trip to a high-stakes poker game in New Orleans. It’s a film about friendship, addiction, regret, family, and the paths we sometimes unexpectedly find ourselves on.
“The Dark Horse” is directed by James Napler Robertson and stars Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Sia Trokenheim and Kirk Torrance.
In addition, the local film festival will screen narrative, documentary and short films, both in and out of competition, vying for top award honors.
Screenings will take place at the Reading Theater in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and ArcLight Cinemas in La Jolla. The complete list of 2015 San Diego Film Festival titles, including descriptions, is available at sdfilmfest.com.
Passes are currently on sale to VIP members and the general public. Besides the screenings and events, passes provide access to the official festival lounge and parties where pass holders interact with Film Festival filmmakers and professionals in the film community.
More films will be added to the program and announced soon.
2015 SAN DIEGO FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP
Gala Films
- Ashby: Director Tony McNamara, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Diablo: Director Lawrence Roeck, Canada (world premiere)
- Go With Me: Director Daniel Alfredson, USA/Canada/Sweden (U.S. premiere)
- He Named Me Malala: Director Davis Guggenheim, USA/UK/Pakistan/Kenya/Abu Dhabi/
Amsterdam/Nigeria/Jordan/Oslo (West Coast premiere) - I Smile Back: Director Adam Salky, USA (West Coast premiere)
- Meadowland: Director Reed Morano, USA (West Coast premiere)
- Youth: Director Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/UK/Switzerland (San Diego premiere)
Narrative Competition
- Ambassador to Bern: Director Attila Szász, Hungary (West Coast premiere)
- Black Fly: Director Jason Bourque, Canada (U.S. premiere)
- Diablo: Director Lawrence Roeck, Canada (world premiere)
- Echoes of War: Director Kane Senes, USA (West Coast premiere)
- I Smile Back: Director Adam Salky, USA (West Coast premiere)
- Kidnap Capita: Director Felipe Rodriguez, Canada (North American premiere)
- Lift Me Up: Director Mark Cartier, USA (world premiere)
- Moments of Clarity: Director Stev Elam, USA (West Coast premiere)
- Op. Neighborhood Watch: Director Mark Cartier, USA (world premiere)
- Sex, Death and Bowling: Director Ally Walker, USA (world premiere)
- This Is Happening: Director Ryan Jaffe, USA (California premiere)
- Victoria: Director Sebastian Schipper, Germany (West Coast premiere)
- Well Wishes: Director Anderson Boyd, USA (world premiere)
- West of Redemption: Director Cornelia Duryée Moore, USA (California premiere)
- Western Religion: Director James O’Brien, USA (West Coast premiere)
Narrative Spotlight
- Goosebumps: Director Rob Letterman, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Labrynth of Lies: Director Giulio Ricciarelli, Germany (U.S. premiere)
- Seashore: Director Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, Brazil (San Diego premiere)
- Superbob: Director Jon Drever, U.K. (U.S. premiere)
- Terminus: Director Marc Furmie, Australia (North American premiere)
- The Cut: Director Fatih Akin, Turkey (California premiere)
- Uncle John: Director Steven Piet, USA (San Diego premiere)
Documentary Competition
- Bonobos: Back to the Wild: Director Alain Tixier, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Deep Run: Director Hillevi Loven, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Frame by Frame: Director Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli, Afgahnistan/USA (West Coast premiere)
- India’s Daughter: Director Leslee Udwin, U.K. (California premiere)
- Janey Makes a Play: Director Jared Callahan, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Landfill Harmonic: Director Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley, Paraguay/USA (West Coast premiere)
- No Greater Love: Director Justin D. Roberts, USA (West Coast premiere)
- Return To Dak To: Director Christopher Upham, USA (world premiere)
- Storied Streets: Director Jack Robbins, USA (California premiere)
Documentary Spotlight
- Cooking Up A Tribute: Director Luis González and Andrea Gómez, Spain (California premiere)
- Finding Center: Director Russell Tafarella, USA (San Diego premiere)
- King Georges: Director Erika Frankel, USA (California premiere)
- The Rocky Mountain Traverse: Director David Pearson and Bryan Smith, Canada/USA (California premiere)
Shorts
Animation:
- Eggplant: Director Yangzi She, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Golden Shot: Director Gökalp Gönen, Turkey (San Diego premiere)
- In the Distance: Director Florian Grolig, Germany (North American premiere)
- My Kingdom: Director Debra Solomon, USA (California premiere)
- SOAR: Director Alyze Tzue, USA (West Coast premiere)
- The Fallen Phoenix: Director Gwen Barriac and Heather Larkin, USA (San Diego premiere)
- The Present: Director Jacob Frey, Germany (San Diego premiere)
Crossroads:
- Bandito: Director Evan Ari Kelman, USA (San Diego premiere)
- In Her Place: Director Kevin Hamedani, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Oasis: Director Carmen Jimenez, USA/Canada/Spain (San Diego premiere)
- Stanhope: Director Solvan Naim, USA (world premiere)
- Stealth: Director Bennett Lasseter, USA (San Diego premiere)
For Shorts & Giggles:
- Death of a Government Clerk: Director Mykyta Samusiev, USA (California premiere)
- Green Thumb: Director Kiel Murray & Phil Lorin, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Open 24 Hours: Director Henry Chaisson, USA (California premiere)
- Pant Suits: Director Saralyn Armer, USA (California premiere)
- The Gift: Director Stu Weiner, USA (West Coast premiere)
- The Gunfighter: Director Eric Kissack, USA (San Diego premiere)
- World Class: Director Aina Dumlao and Bru Muller, USA (West Coast premiere)
Same Planet, Different World:
- Eva: Director Guclu Aydogdu, Turkey (West Coast premiere)
- Infinite: Director Ryan Stratton, USA (California premiere)
- The Future Perfect: Director Nick Citton, Canada (San Diego premiere)
- The Last Generation to Die: Director Tim Maupin, USA (San Diego premiere)
- The Shaman: Director Marco Kalantari, Austria (San Diego premiere)
Shorts in Front of Feature Films:
- Baja Secret Miracle: Director Eliana Alvarez Martinez, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Birthday: Director Chris King, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Day One: Director Kenry Hughes, USA (San Diego premiere)
- For Blood: Director Chadwick Pelletier and John T. Connor, USA (world premiere)
- Tomgirl: Director Jeremy Asher Lynch, USA (San Diego premiere)
Stranger in a Stranger Land:
- Fairy Knowledge: Director Chris Wyatt, USA (California premiere)
- DOT: Director Tali Barde, Germany (San Diego premiere)
- Myrna the Monster: Director Ian Samuels, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Sub Rosa: Director Thora Hilmarsdottir, Iceland/U.K. (San Diego premiere)
- Surf Noir: Director Tommy Bertelsen, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Theodra: Director Henry Chaisson and Travis Bogosian, USA (California premiere)
Two Sides of the Same Coin:
- Blue-Eyed Blonde: Director Pascal Plante, Canada (U.S. premiere)
- Daydreamer: Director Thaddäus Reich, Austria (California premiere)
- Dead End: Director Jay Torres, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Injury Time: Director Jack Sheridan, Australia (West Coast premiere)
- Sabre Dance: Director Ilya Rozhkov, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Someone Else: Director James Mason, Australia (world premiere)
When Worlds Collide:
- Golden Thread: Director Jade Aksnes, USA (San Diego premiere)
- KOZA: Cancoon: Director Manuel Inacker, Germany (world premiere)
- Oh Lucy!: Director Atsuko Hirayanagi, Japan/Singapore/USA (San Diego premiere)
- Tumble Dry Low: Director Jefferson Stein, USA (San Diego premiere)
- Winter Light: Director Julian Higgins, USA (San Diego premiere)
Founded in 2001, the San Diego Film Festival is the region’s premier showcase for outstanding U.S. and international independent filmmaking. The five-day event embraces the region’s diverse cultural landscape, enhances the arts community and expands the economic vitality of San Diego.
The San Diego Film Foundation is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that produces the annual San Diego Film Festival. Its mission is to support the art of independent filmmaking through producing an annual film festival, developing stimulating film-related events throughout the year, supporting and nurturing student filmmaking programs in local schools, supporting the development of the local filmmaking industry, and enhancing the economic growth of San Diego.
