San Diego International Film Festival Features Award Winners from Cannes, Toronto

The 23rd annual San Diego International Film Festival opens Wednesday, featuring two major prize winners from the festival circuit.

The slate includes:

• Netflix’s newly acquired film by Pablo Larraín, Maria, starring Angelina Jolie.
• Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez (at Cannes, Jury Prize and Best Actress Award, shared by Zoe Saldaña, Adriana Paz, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly transgender woman to receive the honor).
• Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, starring Amy Adams (Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Performer Award for Adams).

The lineup features 102 films, 22 of them in gala and narrative competition, nine documentary competition films and 71 shorts. Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, is the opening night film. Emilia Pérez will close the fest.

In addition, the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation is partnering with the fest on the world premiere of Into the Unknown, a documentary that explores the resilience of paramedics across the U.S. by following five diverse teams.

Events and screenings will take place through Oct. 20 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla and AMC UTC 14 at Westfield UTC.

Passes start at $200 while tickets for individual screenings cost $20.

This year, the festival, with the theme, “Celebrating the Power of Film,” also will honor Penelope Ann Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Lhakpa Sherpa.

“The San Diego International Film Festival is committed to celebrating cinematic excellence and honoring extraordinary talent with strong bodies of work,” said Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director for the fest.

Miller, currently starring as Nancy Reagan in the feature biopic, Reagan, opposite Dennis Quaid,  is an award-winning artist whose credits include Carlito’s Way, The Freshman, Awakenings, Chaplin and Kindergarten Cop.

Nivola stars in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, which won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival. Also at the festival, he features in Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door, which won the Golden Lion. He appeared in American Hustle, which received the SAG Ensemble Award.

Jean-Baptiste, an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominee, reunited with Mike Leigh for Hard Truths. Known for her acclaimed performance in Secrets & Lies, she spent seven years on CBS’ “Without a Trace” and was part of the streamers “Homecoming,” “Surface” and “Boxing Day.”

The Humanitarian Award recipient, Sherpa, is a pioneering mountaineer, holding the record for the most summits of Mt. Everest by a woman, with 10. In 2024, Netflix released Mountain Queen, a documentary chronicling her achievements and struggles.

Special events include the Opening Night film premiere and party at MOPA, the Night of the Stars Tribute at the Conrad in La Jolla and Culinary Cinema at Westfield UTC.

Panels during the festival include “On Screen and Beyond: Conversations with Actors,” “The “Reel” Influencer Revolution” and “The Future of Film and Entertainment: Industry Insights.” Q&A’s will focus on environmental sustainability, social inequities, individuals with disabilities, inclusion, the American Indian Native Experience and LGBTQ+ rights.

Note: Photo credit, inset – Angelina Jolie, seen at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, which began Aug. 28, screen shot, Entertainment Tonight via YouTube.