SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2024 Lineup Includes Maria and Better Man

The Savannah College of Art and Design has announced the lineup for the 27th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and it includes closing night film Maria and centerpiece screening Better Man.

Taking place from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2., the eight-day festival honors both professional and student filmmakers, filled with 162 screenings of both features and shorts as well as Q&As with filmmakers and master classes with SCAD students.

The closing night film, Netflix’s Maria, is directed by Pablo Larraín (Spencer) and starring Angelina Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas. The centerpiece screening of Better Man, directed by Michael Gracey, is a biographical concert film about the British pop singer Robbie Williams. He’s portrayed as an animated chimpanzee in the film, voiced by Jonno Davies and played by him using motion-capture technology.

“Lose yourself in the next wave of emergent cinemagic at the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, where SCAD honors the screen’s brightest stars — from Annette Bening to Lupita Nyong’o to Richard Linklater,” said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. “Come for the stars, and stay for a tour of SCAD’s recently expanded Savannah Film Studios backlot, now featuring new streets, storefronts, and dozens more settings for the perfect shoot. Glitz, glamour, and good films — see you later this month at SCAD!” 

See the full lineup with category breakdowns below. Find out more about the festival and tickets here.

Also Read: SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2024 Honorees Include Lupita Nyong’o and Annette Bening

SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2024 Lineup

Gala Screenings

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is renowned for spotlighting major award contenders, screening a multitude of studio and streamer films prior to their wider release. The following 15 films have been selected for distinguished screenings: 

● Blitz — Apple Original Films (Director Steve McQueen) 

● Better Man — Paramount (Director Michael Gracey) 

● The Brutalist — A24 (Director Brady Corbet) 

● Emilia Pérez — Netflix (Director Jacques Audiard) 

● The Fire Inside — Amazon MGM Studios (Director Rachel Morrison) 

● Juror #2 — Warner Bros. Pictures (Director Clint Eastwood) 

● The Last Showgirl — Roadside Attractions (Director Gia Coppola) 

● Maria — Netflix (Director Pablo Larraín) 

● Nickel Boys — Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios (Director RaMell Ross) ● Nightbitch — Searchlight Pictures (Director Marielle Heller) 

● The Piano Lesson — Netflix (Director Malcolm Washington) 

● A Real Pain — Searchlight Pictures (Director Jesse Eisenberg) 

● September 5 — Paramount (Director Tim Fehlbaum) 

● Sweethearts — MAX (Director Jordan Weiss) 

● Unstoppable — Amazon MGM Studios (Director William Goldenberg) 

Special Presentations 

Get an early look at buzzworthy films from the world’s leading filmmakers premiering at the festival or not yet in wide release. In previous years, these films have gone on to win Academy Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and other prestigious accolades: 

● All We Imagine as Light — Janus Films and Sideshow Pictures (Director Payal Kapadia) ● The End — Neon (Director Joshua Oppenheimer) 

● Hard Truths — Bleecker Street (Director Mike Leigh) 

● I’m Hip (Director John Musker) 

● I’m Still Here — Sony Picture Classics (Director Walter Salles) 

● Jean Cocteau (Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland) 

● Love Me — Bleecker Street (Directors Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero) 

● On Becoming a Guinea Fowl — A24 (Director Rungano Nynoi) 

● The Room Next Door — Sony Picture Classics (Director Pedro Almodóvar) 

● The Seed of the Sacred Fig — Neon (Director Mohammad Rasoulof) 

● Small Things Like These — Lionsgate (Director Tim Mielants) 

● State of Silence (Director Santiago Maza) 

● Universal Language (Director Matthew Rankin) 

Signature Screenings

The Signature Screenings series features premiere and special screenings, with some followed by Q&As with select directors, writers, actors, and producers. This year’s selection of films and series include: 

● A Different Man — A24 (Director Aaron Schimberg) 

● Anora — Neon (Director Sean Baker) 

● Back to Black — Focus Features (Director Sam Taylor-Johnson) 

● Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — Warner Bros. Pictures (Director Tim Burton) 

● The Grifters (Director Stephen Frears) 

● His Three Daughters — Netflix (Director Azazel Jacobs) 

● Hit Man — Netflix (Director Richard Linklater) 

● How to Train Your Dragon — Dreamworks (Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois) ● Joker: Folie à Deux — Warner Bros. Pictures (Director Todd Phillips) 

● Saturday Night — Sony Pictures (Director Jason Reitman) 

● SCAD Presents: One Step Away (Director Leslie Merlin) 

● Sing Sing — A24 (Director Greg Kwedar) 

● Young Woman and the Sea — Disney (Director Joachim Rønning) 

Honorees 

This year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival will honor a distinguished group of acclaimed industry talents, with honorees expected to participate in an awards presentation, moderated conversations, and master classes with SCAD acting and film and television students. Previously announced honorees include: 

● Colleen Atwood will receive Variety’s Creative Impact in Costume Design Award at a screening of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. 

● Annette Bening will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at a screening of her 1990 film The Grifters. 

● Jerry Bruckheimer will receive the Legend of Entertainment Award at an In Conversation event discussing his career. 

● Kieran Culkin will receive the Virtuoso Award at a screening of A Real Pain. 

● Colman Domingo will receive the Spotlight Award at a screening of Sing Sing. ● Karla Sofía Gascón will receive the Distinguished Performance Award at a screening of Emilia Pérez. 

● Jharrel Jerome will receive the Lumiere Award at a screening of Unstoppable. ● Richard Linklater will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Screenwriting Award at a screening of Hit Man. 

● Mikey Madison will receive the Breakthrough Award at a screening of Anora. ● Steve McQueen will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award at the opening night gala screening of Blitz. 

● Isabela Merced will receive the Rising Star Award at a screening of Alien: Romulus. ● Lupita Nyong’o will receive the Virtuoso Award at a screening of The Wild Robot. ● Daisy Ridley will receive the Lumiere Award in recognition of her current projects Magpie and Young Woman and the Sea.

● Zoe Saldaña will receive the Vanguard Award at a screening of Emilia Pérez. 

● Chris Sanders will receive the Icon of Animation Award at Variety’s Pixels and Pencils panel. ● Sebastian Stan will receive the Maverick Award at a screening of A Different Man. ● The cast of The Piano Lesson, including actors Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington, 

Skyler Aleece Smith, and Michael Potts, as well as director Malcolm Washington, will receive the inaugural Ensemble Award at the opening night screening of the film. 

First Look: Wicked – Universal 

Members of the Wicked creative team will be on hand for an exclusive panel offering an inside look at the upcoming cinematic event, based on one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage. The panel will include a conversation about the extraordinary process of bringing this story to the big screen and a taste of this spectacular, immersive, cultural celebration before its release Nov. 22. Panelists will include cinematographer Alice Brooks, editor Myron Kerstein, and costume designer Paul Tazewell. 

SAVFF LGBTQ+ Short Film Competition Presented by Amazon MGM Studios 

Recognizing the need for more inclusive storytelling in the filmmaking industry, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival (SAVFF) and Amazon MGM Studios have created a dedicated SAVFF LGBTQ+ Short Film Competition. Amazon MGM Studios will donate $10,000 for the jury-awarded Best Overall Film and $5,000 for an Audience Award. Films in the program are under 40 minutes in length and represent excellence in storytelling and execution in narrative or documentary formats, reflecting unique insight into LGBTQIA+ themes, issues, or ideas. This year’s films include: 

● ALOK (Director Alex Hedison) 

● ILY, BYE (Director Taylor James) 

● Out of the Dark: Cal Calamia (Directors Tom Mason and Sarah Klein) 

● Re-Entry (Director Ariel Mahler) 

● Ripe! (Director Tusk) 

● Stan Behavior (Director Tyler C. Peterson) 

● Twofold (Director Ella Greenwood) 

The jury will consist of David Canfield, Hollywood correspondent at Vanity Fair; Anthony Ramos, vice president of communications and talent at GLAAD; Adam Keen, co-head of global film publicity at Amazon MGM Studios; Rachel Shatto, editor-in-chief at Pride Media; and Seth Fradkoff, senior vice president of publicity at Amazon MGM Studios. 

Amazon MGM Studios will also lead a panel discussion, Authenticity in Action: Collaborating for Real Representation with Amazon MGM Studios, on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Gutstein Gallery. 

Docs to Watch 

The 11th annual Docs to Watch series will be accompanied by a roundtable with the directors hosted by Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter. Selected films include:

● Black Box Diaries — MTV Documentary Films (Director Shiori Ito) 

● Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid! — CNN Films (Director Matt Tyrnauer) ● Daughters — Netflix (Directors Natalie Rae and Angela Patton) 

● Hollywoodgate — self-distributed (Director Ibrahim Nash’at) 

● Piece By Piece — Focus Features (Director Morgan Neville) 

● Porcelain War — Picturehouse (Directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev) ● Sugarcane — National Geographic Documentary Films (Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie) 

● Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story — Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios (Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui) 

● Union — Level Ground (Directors Stephen Maing and Brett Story) 

● Will & Harper — Netflix (Director Josh Greenbaum) 

Pixels and Pencils: Top Animated Contenders Roundtable 

Presented in partnership with Variety, Pixels and Pencils highlights the directors behind the top animated films of the year. Showcasing a broad array of artistic avenues and animation styles, this series culminates in the directors roundtable panel hosted by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. Selected films include: 

● Flow — Sideshow/Janus Films (Director Gints Zilbalodis) 

● Inside Out 2 — Disney and Pixar (Director Kelsey Mann) 

● Memoir of a Snail — IFC Films (Director Adam Elliot) 

● Piece By Piece — Focus Features (Director Morgan Neville) 

● Transformers One — Paramount Pictures (Director Josh Cooley) 

● The Wild Robot — Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation (Writer/Director Chris Sanders) 

After Dark 

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s home for late night fun and genre fare, featuring classic horror and soon-to-be cult classics selected to thrill, scare, and entertain: 

● Alien: Romulus (Director Fede Alvarez) 

● The Substance (Director Coralie Fargeat) 

● Wonders of the Wurlitzer: Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror (1922) 

● Y2K (Filmmakers Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter) 

● After Dark Shorts Program 

○ Bisected (Director Danny Pineros) 

○ Les Bêtes (Director Michael Granberry) 

○ The Preakness (Director Akshay Bhatia) 

○ To Hell With You (Director Jason Sheedy) 

○ Creature (Director Bryan Wynn Sutton) 

○ Strings (Director Paige Archer) 

○ Wake (Director Sean Carter)

Panels 

Join the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for conversations and panels with industry stars and insiders. This year’s panels include: 

● The Behind the Lens series, which celebrates cinematic powerhouses who defy the odds and obstacles to bring us some of the most influential and poignant films and television series in recent years. Panels include: 

○ Behind the Lens: Directors, with panelists Marielle Heller (Nightbitch), Erica Tremblay (Fancy Dance), Jordan Weiss (Sweethearts), Kaila York (The Neighbor Who Saw Too Much), Rachel Morrison (The Fire Inside), and Sophia Takal (The Summer I Turned Pretty). 

○ Behind the Lens: Producers, with panelists Alison Owen (Back to Black), Carla Hacken (Hell or High Water), Daisy Ridley (Young Woman and the Sea, Magpie), Heather Rae (Fancy Dance), Joanna Calo (The Bear), and Laura Lewis (Tell Me Lies). 

○ Behind the Lens: Below the Line, with panelists Alice Brooks (director of photography, Wicked), Amy Williams (production designer, The Idea of You), and Laura Hudock (director of photography, Girls State). 

● The Artisans series, highlighting the contributions of below-the-line talent to the art of cinema, with a focus on costume design and production design: 

○ Below the Line: Costume Design with panelists Arianne Phillips (costume designer, Joker: Folie à Deux and A Complete Unknown), and additional panelists to be announced. ○ Below the Line: Casting with panelists Bernie Telsey (Only Murders in the Building), Jeanne McCarthy (Hacks), Rich Delia (A Family Affair), and Victoria Thomas (Nickel Boys). ○ Below the Line: Production Design with panelists Dina Lipton (Not Dead Yet), Molly Hughes (Thirteen Lives), and Scott Chambliss (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). 

○ Below the Line: The Art of Creating Cinematic Magic, with panelists production designer Michael Ralph and set decorator Bronwyn Franklin. 

● The SCAD Alumni Voices Panel highlights graduates of the university’s top-ranked film and television degree programs. Participants include Calvin Bellas (colorist), Alexis Brown (casting assistant, The Telsey Office), Julie Diaz (supervising dialogue/ADR editor, Y2K) Chadwick Harman (director, Bright Forests), Dominique Koski (coordinator, Brand Partnerships, The Gersh Agency), and Liah Corral Capra (creative executive, Warner Bros. Discovery). 

● The DreamWorks Animation 30th Anniversary Panel will feature SCAD alumni who have made creative contributions at DreamWorks Animation. Alumni participants include Jason Mayer (M.F.A., computer art, 2003), DreamWorks Animation head of effects and a contributor to Kung Fu Panda 4 and The Wild Robot; Emily Wimer (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018), a lead lighting artist and contributor to The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Wild Robot; and Jinguang

Huang (M.F.A., visual effects, 2017), a senior effects artist and contributor to Kung Fu Panda 4, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Wild Robot. 

● Seen on the Screen with Jacqueline Coley – 1st Ever Live Podcast Taping featuring Kris Bowers at SCAD – Make It Universal and Rotten Tomatoes present, ‘Seen on the Screen.’ Join us for the first ever live, in-person podcast taping while we dive into the personal narratives happening behind the scenes at NBCUniversal and Universal Pictures. Hosted by Jacqueline Coley, Awards Editor at Rotten Tomatoes, each episode invites you into intimate conversations with employees, filmmakers and talent that explore how the magic of film impacts their lives. With a blend of entertaining games and thought-provoking questions, Coley guides us through an exciting journey with each guest, asking them to reflect on the films that have rocked their world, scared the daylights out of them and changed them forever. At this special live recording, Coley sits down with Emmy and Grammy nominated composer and Academy Award® winning filmmaker Kris Bowers, known for his genre-defying scores for Bob Marley: One Love, 2023’s The Color Purple, the Emmy winning series Bridgerton and his latest project, DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed hit film, The Wild Robot. 

● Sonic Heroes: The Art of Sound in Disney and Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine on Oct. 30 with panelists Rob Simonsen (composer) and Craig Henighan (Re-recording mixer / supervising sound editor).Get an in-depth look at the artistry behind the music and sound of the iconic Marvel franchise mashup, Deadpool & Wolverine. With illustrative clips and behind-the-scenes insights, they’ll explore how scoring, sound design, and mixing come together to amplify the action and emotion of superhero films, revealing the intricate process that elevates these films from the screen to the audience’s senses. 

● Power Brokers: Inside the Role of Agents with Gersh Panel will feature a panel of diverse agents at Gersh as they demystify the role of agents and offer insights into their influence, responsibilities, and the critical relationships they foster between talent and industry stakeholders. 

● The exclusive Entertainment Weekly’s Breaking Big Panel and Awards, hosted by festival media partner Entertainment Weekly. Participants will be announced at a later date. 

● Variety’s 10 Artisans to Watch, hosted by festival media partner Variety. Participants will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 23. 

Competition Films 

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival celebrates the work of established and emerging filmmakers, from feature-length films to two-minute shorts. The juried competition showcases the best of professional, animated, and student films selected from more than 2,100 entries annually. Festival jurors include Brian Formo, head of studio relations and video at Letterboxd; Kate Erbland, editorial director at Indiewire;

Richard Suckle, producer; Theo Rossi, actor (Sons of Anarchy, Emily the Criminal, True Story); and Zeberiah Newman, director and producer (Relighting Candles, The Late Late Show with James Corden). 

Narrative Features 

From side-splitting comedies to heart-wrenching dramas, the narrative feature films selected represent diversity in storytelling, excellence in acting and directing, and exemplary cinematography and editing: 

● Griffin in Summer (Director Nicholas Colia) 

● Los Frikis (Directors Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson) 

● Or Something (Director Jeff Schroeder) 

● The Queen of My Dreams (Director Fawzia Mirza) 

Documentary Features 

Beyond simple subject matters, documentaries present compelling stories that illuminate and educate audiences in a thought-provoking and timely manner: 

● Champions of the Golden Valley (Director Ben Sturgulewski) 

● Paint Me A Road Out of Here (Director Catherine Gund) 

● Secret Mall Apartment (Director Jeremy Workman) 

● The Ride Ahead (Directors Dan Habib and Samuel Habib) 

Professional Shorts 

Running the gamut of subject matter and style, these short films are selected based on their individual merits in storytelling and execution: 

● After Annecy (Director Rebecca Holstein) 

● Bright Forests (Director Chadwick Harman) 

● Diviners (Director Brian Watkins) 

● Good Boy (Director Tom Stuart) 

● Motherland (Director Jasmin Mozaffari) 

● Tea (Director Blake Winston Rice) 

● The Masterpiece (Director Àlex Lora) 

Documentary Shorts 

In this mesmerizing collection of shorts, filmmakers explore art, history, politics, and personal profiles to offer a captivating panorama of our world: 

● All Things Metal (Director Motoki Otsuka) 

● Good Enough Ancestor (Director Cynthia Wade) 

● I’m Still Here: A Life on Dynamite Hill (Directors Stephen Stinson and Sam Miller) ● Stud Country (Directors Alexandra Kern and Lina Abascal) 

● To Myself With Love: The Bessie Stringfield (Director Diane Fredel-Weis)

● The Hearts of Bwindi (Director Charli Doherty) 

Animated Shorts 

These animated films represent the diversity of the craft, from simple, hand-drawn figures to stop-motion and digital rendering, showcasing unique storytelling at its finest: 

● Love of the Land (Director Travis Van Alstyne) 

● Monsoon Blue (Directors Ellis Kayin Chan and Jay Hiukit Wong) 

● My Weasel Teacher (Director Tian Shi) 

● Remember Us (Director Pablo Leon) 

● Tennis, Oranges (Director Sean Pecknold) 

● The Death Of James (Director Sam Chou) 

● The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess (Director Anna-Ester Volozh) 

Student Shorts 

With solid storytelling and emerging vision, these films represent a broad range of categories including live-action, narrative, documentary, and animation. Shorts from student filmmakers at SCAD and universities around the world that are part of the competition include: 

● Student Documentary Shorts 

○ Burnt Country (Director Kirsten Slemint) 

○ Failure to Fail (Director Haley Breese) 

○ More than Brothers (Director Andrea von Siebenthal) 

○ Phillips: Lover of Horses (Director Kamal Browne) 

○ Secrets of Satellite Beach (Director Megan Mullen) 

○ When the World Changes (Directors Benjamin Caruccio and Changhee Chun) 

● Student Narrative Shorts 

○ ChronoVision (Director Rodrigo Sacca) 

○ Desync (Director Minerva Marie Navasca) 

○ El Alma de la Sed (Director Colleen Ryan) 

○ Mr. Floof (Director Claire Taback Sliney) 

○ Paper Tiger (Director Eva Erhardt) 

○ The Space Messenger (Director Dawson Cifarelli) 

○ The Tempest (Director Jacob Allen Denton) 

○ Works of Mercy (Director Alex Yarber) 

● Student Animation Shorts 

○ Are You There Mr. Wolf? (Directors Annouck François, Alizée Van de Valle, Célina Lebon, Emma Fessart, Jeanne Galland, and Louise Laurent) 

○ Atomic Chicken (Directors Anna Uglova, Capucine Prat, Lucie Lyfoung, Morgane Siriex, Solène Polet, and Thibault Ermeneux)

○ #DoudouChallenge (Directors Alexandra Delaunay-Fernandez, Julie Majcher, Marine Benabdallah-Crolais, Noémie Segalowicz, Scott Pardailhé-Galabrun, and Sixtine Emerat) ○ Electra Wasp (Director Wasan Hayajneh) 

○ El Ombligo de la Luna (Directors Bokang Koatja, Ezequiel Garibay Cires, Julia Grupinska, Sara Lourenço António, and Tian Westraad) 

○ Fester (Director Studio Uproot) 

○ For Such A Time (Director Dennis Davis) 

○ Have You Eaten? (Director Pavida Changkaew) 

○ High Diver (Director Oscar Bittner) 

○ Обіруч (Heart Hug) (Directors Nika Zhukova and Rimma Gefen) 

○ One Last Wish (Director James Domingos) 

○ Tehran Is Ours (Director Hamideh Azimi) 

○ Thao’s Garden (Director Paige Hickman) 

○ The Nectar Instead (Director Yoo Lee) 

○ Time Flies (Director LJ Burnett) 

○ Vainglorious (Director Oshiomati Gabriel Ugbodaga) 

Global Shorts Forum 

The Global Shorts Forum is a curated collection of international shorts across multiple genres that focus on world issues. These include: 

● Latin Lens 

○ Deep in My Heart is a Song (Director Jonathan Pickett) 

○ El Lloron (Director Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez) 

○ Iron Lung (Director Andrew Reid) 

○ ¡salsa! (Director Antonina Kerguelen Roman) 

○ Toros Bravos: Julián Cartas (Director Jack LaCalle) 

○ We Exist in Memory (Director Darian Woehr) 

○ When Everything Burns (Director María Belén Poncio) 

● Visions de France 

○ D’Oran à Almería (From Oran to Almería) (Director Lina Saïdani) 

○ Flatastic (Director Alice Saey) 

○ L’Invulnérable (The Invulnerable) (Director Lucas Bacle) 

○ Little Queen (Director Julien Guetta) 

○ Monochrome (Director Cédric Prévost) 

○ Yuck! (Director Loïc Espuche) 

Shorts Spotlight 

This year’s Shorts Spotlight themes include: 

● Comic Distortion

○ How Did I Get Here (Director Kate Hamilton) 

○ I Could Dom (Director Madison Hatfield) 

○ Idiomatic (Director Phil Dunster) 

○ King Ed (Director Nick Fascitelli) 

○ Nepotism, Baby! (Director Tij D’oyen) 

○ RAT! (Director Neal Suresh Mulani) 

○ Unsupervised (Director Jenica Bergere) 

● Femme Forward 

○ A Family Portrait, Queens (Director Billy Silva) 

○ Boys Like You (Director Paul Holbrook) 

○ Dynasty and Destiny (Director Travis Lee Ratcliffe) 

○ Gigi (Director Cynthia Calvi) 

○ Holiday House (Director Alex Heller) 

○ Personal Mythologies (Director Susan O’Brien) 

○ Vlog (Director Yvonne Strahovski)