Austin Film Festival Snags Widows

Austin Film Festival just announced its full film lineup, and the roster includes one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year, both already gaining Oscar speculation: The Steve McQueen directed, Gillian Flynn-penned remake of British crime drama Widows>.

That's just the beginning of a huge line-up, including 23 World, North American, and US premieres, ranging from Green Book (directed by Peter Farrelly, and starring Mahershal Ali and Viggo Mortensen on a road trip across the Jim Crow South), and Wildlife, the directorial debut of Paul Dano and the toast of the Toronto International Film Festival (read Marjorie Baumgarten's recap of that event here). They'll join already announced titles, like Yorgos Lanthimos' courtly intrigue drama The Favourite, and Jason Reitman's rehash of the 1988 presidential primary, The Front Runner.

Of course, it wouldn't be AFF without a strong local presence, including DC-to-ATX transplant Hannah Fidell and her new comedy The Long Dumb Road; Mike Blizzard's cinematic history of Austin in the movies, Also Starring Austin; Fathers of Football, the latest from Austin documentarian Bradley Beesley; another period drama, this time a family history of the ups and downs of the mid-century oil industry in the Austin-shot The Iron Orchard (read our set visit report here); and Willie Nelson teaming up with Charlotte Rampling for Waiting for the Miracle to Come.

That doesn't even cover the TV component (including new episodes of Netflix's upcoming Friends From College season 2), or the retrospective screenings, including writer Mick Garris on hand for a special screening of Hocus Pocus, or the packed roster of speakers and panels at the four day writers conference within the week long festival.

Austin Film Festival runs Oct. 25-Nov 1. Details and info at www.austinfilmfestival.com. Chronicle readers can receive $10 off an AFF Film Pass using promo code CHRONFP.

Now, here's that full roster of films:

Marquee Features

And Breathe Normally
D: Isold Uggadottir

Ben is Back
D: Peter Hedges

Boy Erased
D: Joel Edgerton

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
D: Marielle Heller
Writers: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty

El Chicano
D: Ben Hernandez Bray
Writers: Ben Hernandez Bray, Joe Carnahan

Everybody Knows
D: Asghar Farhadi

The Favourite
D: Yorgos Lanthimos
Writers: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara

The Front Runner
D: Jason Reitman
Writers: Matt Bai, Jay Carson, Jason Reitman

Fullsterkur
D: Todd Sansom

Green Book
D: Peter Farrelly
Writers: Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

Happy as Lazarro
D: Alice Rohrwacher

Little Woods
D: Nia DaCosta

The Long Dumb Road
D: Hannah Fidell
Writers: Hannah Fidell, Carson Mell

Peterloo
D: Mike Leigh

Shoplifters
D: Hirokazu Koreeda

Tiger
D: Alister Grierson
Writers: Michael Pugliese, Prem Singh

Widows
D: Steve McQueen
Writers: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen

Wildlife
D: Paul Dano
Writers: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan

Worlds of Ursula K. LeGuin
D: Arwen Curry

Marquee Televison

Counterpart Season 2 Episode 1 Premiere
Creator: Justin Marks
Executive Producer: Jordan Horowitz

Friends from College Season 2 Episode 1 Premiere
Creators: Francesca Delbanco & Nicholas Stoller

Narrative Features

Above the Clouds
D: Leon Chambers
Writer: Simon Lord

Clara
D: Akash Sherman
Writers: Akash Sherman, James Ewasiuk

The Comet
D: Bård Røssevold
Writer: Torben Bech

Delia & Sammy
D: Therese Cayaba

Fishbowl
D: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Kinigopoulos
Writers: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Piero Iberti

Last Summer
D: Jon Jones

Laugh or Die
D: Heikki Kujnapää
Writers: Heikki Kujanpää, Mikko Reitala

Love Goes Through Your Mind
D: Ronak Shah
Writers: Shruti Swaminathan, Ronak Shah

Major Arcana
D: Josh Melrod

Speaking in Tongues
D: Nathan Deming
Writers: Nathan Deming, Lawrie Doran

Undercliffe
D: Lisa Mulcahy
Writer: Bruce McLeod

Comedy Vanguard Features

Antiquities
D: Daniel Campbell
Writers: Daniel Campbell, Graham Gordy

The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova
D: Zack Bernbaum
Writer: Michael Whatling

In Reality
D: Ann Lupo
Writers: Ann Lupo, Esteban Pedraza, Aaron Pryka

Lost & Found
D: Liam O Mochain

Original Sin (Pecado Original)
D: Jean Lee
Writers: Jean Lee, Maia Nikiphoroff

Simple Wedding
D: Sara Zandieh
Writers: Sara Zandieh, Stephanie Wu

Dark Matters Features

Alive.
D: Rob Grant
Writers: Jules Vincent, Chuck McCue

The Amaranth
D: Albert Chi
Writer: Eileen Shields

Beyond the Night
D: Jason Noto

The Black String
D: Brian Hanson
Writers: Brian Hanson, Richard Handley

The Dark Red
D: Dan Bush
Writers: Dan Bush, Conal Byrne

Empathy, Inc.
D: Yedidya Gorestman
Writer: Mark Leidner

Ghost Light
D: John Stimpson
Writer: John Stimpson, Geoffrey Taylor

The Lake Vampire
D: Carl Zitelmann

Documentary Feature

A Girl Named C
D: Emily Kassie

Care to Laugh
D: Julie Getz

F/11 and Be There
D: Jethro Waters

Fathers of Football
D: Bradley Beesley

For The Birds
D: Richard Miron

Ghosthunter
D: Ben Lawrence

The Interpreters
D: Andres Caballero, Sofian Khan

Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story
D: Jon Strong
Writers: Jon Strong, Ted Haddock, John King, Mike Quinn Jr.

The Money Stone
D: Stuart Harmon

Surviving Bokator
D: Mark Bochsler
Writers: Mark Bochsler, Kevin Schjerning, Fernanda Rossi

Turning Point
D: James Keach

Texas Independent Features

Also Starring Austin
D: Mike Blizzard
Writer: Mike Blizzard, Laura Colwell, Lara Morgan

The Iron Orchard
D: Ty Roberts
Writer: Gerry De Leon

Jules of Light and Dark
D: Daniel Laabs

Texas Cotton
D: Tyler Russell
Writers: Tyler Russell, Jameel Khaja

Waiting for the Miracle to Come
D: Lian Lunson

Read more of the Chronicle’s coverage of the 2018 Austin Film Festival at austinchronicle.com/austin-film-festival.com.