The American Film Institute on Wednesday announced the lineup for the Young Americans and New Auteurs sections at AFI Fest 2012, which will include Joe Swanberg's "All the Light in the Sky" and "Pearblossom Highway" from Mike Ott.
"All the Light in the Sky" and "Pearblossom Highway" will be making their North American premieres in their Young Americans screenings. Gabriela Pichler’s debut feature "Eat Sleep Die" (above), which won Critics Week audience award at the Venice Film Festival, is among the New Auteurs entries.
The Young Americans section features works by emerging U.S. filmmakers while New Auteurs highlights first and second-time feature film directors from around the world.
Also read: 'Hitchcock' World Premiere to Open AFI Fest
“This year we’ve expanded our Young Americans section to accommodate the many great American independent films submitted,” said Lane Kneedler, associate director of programming at AFI Fest. “It’s been extraordinary to see the growth and evolution of this section over the past three years.”
"Kid-Thing" (left), directed by David Zellner and produced by his brother Nathan, is featured in the Young Americans" section.
Films in the Young Americans section are eligible for an Audience Award, while the films in the New Auteurs section are eligible for a Grand Jury Award.
This year’s New Auteurs jury includes Dana Harris (Indiewire), David Hudson (Fandor), Gregg Kilday (The Hollywood Reporter) and film critic and historian Bérénice Reynaud.
“Our New Auteurs competition section is an opportunity for us to highlight some of the strongest filmmaking by first- and second-time directors this year. These are films that have been garnering acclaim and winning awards at festivals all over the world and are now being showcased together for the first time,” said festival director Jacqueline Lyanga.
AFI Fest 2012 will kick off on Nov. 1 with the world premiere of Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock," starring Anthony Hopkins, and will run through Nov. 8, when it will close with the premiere of Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln." The complete festival program will be announced on Oct. 11.
Tickets are free to the public, though only paid patron pass holders will receive reserved tickets to high-profile events like the "Hitchcock" premiere. Tickets will be made available to AFI members on Oct. 24 and to the general public on Oct. 25.
The Young Americans section entries and the directors:
"All the Light in the Sky," Joe Swanberg;
"Ape," Joel Potrykus;
"Elecktrick Children," Rebecca Thomas;
"The International Sign for Choking," Zach Weintraub;
"Kid-Thing," David Zellner ;
"Only the Young," Jason Tippet, Elizabeth Mims;
"Pearblossom Highway," Mike Ott;
"Somebody Up There Likes Me,"
"Starlet," Sean Baker;
"Sun Don't Shine," Amy Seimetz;
"Tchoupitoulas," Turner and Bill Ross
The New Auteurs section entries with director, country:
"After Lucia," Michel Franco, Mexico;
"Antiviral," Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/U.S;
"Clip," Maja Milos, Serbia:
"Eat Sleep Die," Gabriela Pichler, Sweden;
"Here and There," Antonio Mendez Esparza, Mexico/Spain/U.S.;
"A Hijacking," Tobias Lindholm, Denmark:
"In the Fog," Sergei Loznitsa, Germany/Russia/Belarus/The Netherlands/Latvia;
"Not in Tel Aviv," Nony Geffen, Israel:
"Simon Killer," Antonio Campos, U.S.