2021 ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL + CREATIVE CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
Opening and Closing Night Presentations and Marquee Screenings Added to Lineup of 45th Annual Event
ATLANTA, GA (April 8, 2021) — The Atlanta Film Festival +Creative Conference (ATLFF) announced key programming additions to the lineup of the 45th annual event taking place from Thursday, April 22 to Sunday, May 2, 2021. The announcement today includes 12 films from celebrated filmmakers and Hollywood studios that will be presented on Opening and Closing Night and at Marquee screening events throughout the 11-day festival. These screenings join the previously announced 2021 lineup of 170 works chosen from a record-breaking 9,400 total submissions.
The Opening Night Presentation, sponsored by Moonshine Post-Production, will be “Socks on Fire,” a unique cinematic experience from director Bo McGuire that details an estate battle between a homophobic sister and her drag queen brother in Hokes Bluff, Alabama. The film will screen both at the Plaza Indoors and Drive-In on April 23, and the screenings will be preceded by performances from “Rupaul’s Drag Race” season 12 star Rock M. Sakura and local drag performers.
The Closing Night Presentation on May 1 will feature “The Dry,” a crime mystery starring Eric Bana about a federal agent who begins to connect the dots on two crimes that occurred decades apart. Ten additional Marquee selections will allow ATLFF to present some of the best upcoming films that Hollywood has to offer, including films from top studios and films that previously played at Sundance.
“Each year we strive to present a program of Marquees that bring the flash of major Hollywood films to Atlanta but also maintain our mission to celebrate independent filmmakers,” said Cameron McAllister, Associate Director of ATLFF. “We’re excited that our Opening, Closing, and Marquee selections for 2021 help us accomplish both of those goals and we can’t wait to present them to our audience.”
In addition to Bana in “The Dry,” notable names appearing in the Marquee films include Academy Award-nominee Toni Collette and Damian Lewis in “Dream Horse,” Academy Award-nominee Riz Ahmed in “Mogul Mowgli," Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz in “Nine Days,” and Patti Harrison and Ed Helms in “Together Together.”
In addition to the Opening, Closing, and Marquee announcements, additional film programming was announced or enhanced today. “Carterland,” a moving documentary based on the presidency of Georgia’s own Jimmy Carter and directed by Georgia-raised brothers Jim and Will Pattiz, will have its world premiere at ATLFF on April 24 at the Carter Presidential Center with special guests in attendance. The film was previously announced as part of the first wave of programming in February.
The Atlanta Film Festival is the annual centerpiece of educational and enriching film programing that is provided year-round by its parent organization, the Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS). Now in its fifth decade, ATLFF is one of only a handful of film festivals worldwide that is Academy Award-qualifying in three or more categories.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, ATLFF 2021 will be presented via a mix of drive-in, virtual, and socially distanced in-person screenings. As in 2020, the Creative Conference events will all be virtual. Drive-in screenings will be held at the Plaza Drive-In (1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE) and Dad’s Garage Drive-In (569 Ezzard St SE), while the in-person screenings will take place at the Plaza Theatre.
The full schedule of 188 films is now available at www.AtlantaFilmFestival.com and through the ATLFF app. Festival passes and tickets for individual events are on sale now on the site. Drive-in screenings cost $15-50 (depending on the number of people in the vehicle), virtual events cost $9.99, and tickets to in-person screenings cost $20. The virtual catalog is now accessible for pre-orders, and all virtual screenings and events will be presented via Eventive
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