They might as well hold the Oscars in Savannah later this month, rather than in Hollywood early next year, because virtually every serious contender of this awards season will soon be headed south for the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which will take place Oct. 26-Nov. 2.
Just days after the fest announced special honors for Annette Bening (lifetime achievement), Jerry Bruckheimer (Young Woman and the Sea), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Karla Sofia Gascón (Emilia Pérez), Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable), Richard Linklater (Hit Man), Mikey Madison (Anora), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Steve McQueen (Blitz), Lupita Nyong’o (The Wild Robot) and Daisy Ridley (Young Woman and the Sea and Magpie), The Hollywood Reporter has learned that 10 more big names will be headed south to attend screenings and pick up statuettes.
They include three best actress contenders: Demi Moore will receive the Icon Award at a screening of The Substance; Amy Adams will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award at a screening of Nightbitch; and Marisa Abela will receive the Next Gen Award at a screening of Back to Black.
Three best supporting actress contenders will also be on hand: Felicity Jones will receive the Spotlight Award at a screening of The Brutalist; Natasha Lyonne will receive the Maverick Award at a screening of His Three Daughters; and Margaret Qualley will receive the Luminary Award at a screening of The Substance.
A trio of writer-directors will be fêted, as well: Pablo Larraín will receive the Auteur Award at the Closing Night screening of Maria; Jason Reitman will receive the Vanguard Director Award at a screening of Saturday Night; and RaMell Ross will receive the Breakthrough Director Award at a screening of Nickel Boys.
And the actor-director-producer Diego Luna will receive the Impact Award at a screening of the documentary State of Silence, which he and Gael García Bernal, his partner in the La Corriente del Golfo production company, executive produced.
That is all on top of a deluge of top documentary filmmakers who will be in town for the 11th annual Docs to Watch panel, which will take place Oct. 30.
