Austin Film Festival Opens With Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut
Summary
The 33rd edition runs through November 4 with nearly 200 films, and its writers conference, where script competition winners are named Saturday, runs through November 1.
"The Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference opens its 33rd edition on October 29 with The Debut, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, No Film School reported. The festival runs through November 4 with nearly 200 films from 24 countries, and Tony Gilroy's Behemoth!, starring Pedro Pascal, screens as the centerpiece.
The writers conference, the festival's core, runs October 29 through November 1, with sessions including a conversation with Jim Downey and a Script to Screen panel on The Town with screenwriter Peter Craig. The festival's script competition drew some 12,500 entries this year and narrowed them to 78 finalists, with winners due at the awards luncheon on October 31.
The program also gives a stage to small independent work. IF Magazine reported that Melbourne collective RIPPA Films will premiere its short Gracie Sees a Ghost, written by Jesse Bouma and directed by Gemma Carfi, as a proof of concept for a feature whose first draft is complete. Deadline reported that the UK sci-fi comedy Time Travel Is Dangerous!, narrated by Stephen Fry, is also premiering at the festival ahead of sales at AFM."
