Over the last couple weeks, I’ve had the great opportunity to speak with many of you about our fantastic program this year, and I’m thrilled with how excited everyone seems to be. As the Festival approaches, I wanted to share a few additional thoughts with you.
One of the favorite perks of my job is the ability to travel around the world to the top film festivals, watching some of the most original, challenging, important films every year. And amongst my favorite parts of screening films at these Festivals is taking a chance by going to a film that I know little about, having an incredible and unexpected experience, followed by an engaging Q&A with the filmmaker after the screening. This is what truly makes a film festival such a unique, exciting and fantastic event.
I would encourage you to have a similar experience at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Our fantastic programming team scours the world, putting together a stellar program, and works tirelessly to bring in as many guests, be it directors, producers, actors, screenwriters or more, to accompany these films. I invite you to go out of your way and see some films with these filmmakers in attendance. With that in mind, if I were creating a schedule for myself, here’s what I’d aim to see:
Friday, October 19
The above films are ones that I enjoyed, or that I’m particularly excited about because we have a visiting filmmaker, so if you have an empty slot in your Festival schedule, I’d certainly recommend you considering catching one of these. That said, these films are not a definitive list, and I would certainly encourage you to see what interests you. Above all, I hope you see a lot of great films, engage in some great conversations with fellow audience members, enjoy our brand new Festival lounge, and have a memorable experience. See you at the movies!
Best,
Andrew