Scottsdale Film Fest Kicks Off With Rachel Weisz
The 2016 Scottsdale International Film Festival will showcase 50 films representing more than 30 countries, including buzz-worthy dramas, thrillers, romances, comedies and documentaries, Oct. 6 – 10.
The festival will kick off Thurs., Oct. 6, at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts with an opening night celebration featuring the drama Denial, based on the acclaimed book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.
Denial recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s (Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz) legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant; therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton (Academy Award-nominee Tom Wilkinson), to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred.
Lipstadt will join live via Skype for a post-film Q-and-A moderated by ASU Professor Anna Holian, Ph.D.
“As opening night films go, Denial is masterful, powerful, authentic and eerily relevant to current events,” remarks Amy Ettinger, Scottsdale International Film Festival founder and executive director.
Opening night ticketholders will enjoy a reception, hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and entertainment before the screening of Denial.
Following opening night, the festival will return to its longtime home at Harkins Shea 14 Theatre in Scottsdale for all other screenings, Oct. 7 – 10. Among the highlights are the Arizona premieres of Certain Women (starring Laura Dern, Michelle Williams and Kristen Stewart), The Daughter (Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Anna Torv and Miranda Otto), Lion (Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Dev Patel), Max Rose (Jerry Lewis’ first leading role in more than 20 years), A Month of Sundays (Anthony LaPaglia) and Youth in Oregon (Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate and Mary Kay Place). Festival audiences will enjoy post-film insights from moderators and Q-and-A sessions. The festival wraps with the closing night film Youth in Oregon.
16th Scottsdale International Film Festival
Oct. 6 – 10, 2016
Opening Night – Thurs., Oct. 6, 2016
Reception: 6 p.m. / Film Screening: 7:30 p.m.
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale)
Screenings – Oct. 7 – 10, 2016
Harkins Shea 14 Theatre (7354 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale)
The complete schedule of films, tickets and VIP passes are available through scottsdalefilmfestival.com.
