SCAD Celebrates the Magic of Cinema

Savannah Film Festival bounces back with enthusiastic hybrid return

After a year of pandemicprompted shut-downs, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is bursting with excitement in anticipation of this year’s film festival. The eight-day fest, which runs from Oct.  - , will return in a hybrid virtual/in-person format, and student filmmakers are turning out to volunteer in numbers that have “happily surprised” and exceeded the expectations of Christina Routhier, longtime executive and artistic director SCAD theaters and festivals.

“We have had such a great turnout and all of our volunteer meetings, and I think we’re going to be just fine,” Routhier says. “In regards to volunteer numbers, it hasn’t been as much as it has in years past: we have at least ‹ to Œ volunteers where we would normally have Ž to ‘. But our screenings are scaled back, we’re only at half-capacity in our theaters and we’re not doing any kind of concession [stands] — we simply don’t have as many spots open for volunteering. But in all, it’s really a win-win situation.”

While COVID-—˜ protocols have necessitated some changes to the film fest format — “we can’t serve popcorn, which makes me sad, because film festivals are always marked by the smell of popcorn,” says Routhier — the event will more than make up for it with its slate of high-profile films and honorees.

The fest will kick off with an opening-night gala screening of Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical coming-of-age drama “Belfast.” Branagh is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Acting and Directing Award.

The centerpiece gala screening is Mike Mills’ “C’mon C’mon” — the director will receive the Auteur Award — and the fest ends with a closing-night showing of “King Richard,” with star Aunjanue Ellis being presented with the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award.

Other honorees include Adrien Brody, who will receive the Vanguard Award for Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch”; Clifton Collins Jr., who will be feted with the Distinguished Performance Award for “Jockey”; and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who will be honored with the Rising Star Director Award for “The Lost Daughter.” Phil Lord and Chris Miller will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Ruth Negga is being honored with the Spotlight Award for her role in “Passing” and the Rising Star Award will be presented to Dylan Penn for her breakout role in Sean Penn’s “Flag Day.” Sandy Powell will receive the Variety Creative Impact in Costume Design Award.

In total, —Œ‘ films, including ‹Œ narrative feature films and —Œ documentary feature films, will screen at the fest, with Ž of these directed by women.

“A year ago, we yearned for moments like these: star-studded sidewalks ushering us into cool cinema spaces to see the best that our moviemaking talent has to offer,” says SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. “I’m overjoyed to welcome these moments back as we celebrate our ‹th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival. For if we know one thing, it is that the combination of writing, acting and screencraft can transport us and transform us — which is what we just might need today, and tomorrow and beyond.”

While for coronavirus safety reasons the fest will not be “doing any big receptions,” there will, notes Routhier, be “intimate, small dinners and gatherings on rooftops and at restaurants” scattered around Savannah.

That the fest will also offer online screenings and panel discussions is a facet of pandemic-era film fest reality that Routhier continues to believe is deeply important.

“We want to reach as many people as humanly possible,” she says.

Still, she admits, there is no replacement for the experience of being in-person.

“I have joked many times that I would do the entire festival for Œ people sitting down in front of me —that is how much I am dying to be back in the theaters. I am ecstatic for this year’s fest, our ‹th edition. I think this excitement has also been reflected in the amount of students that have come out to get tickets. We have had students spend the night the day before tickets went on sale because that’s how excited they are to be back in person. We’ve had wonderful feedback from our community members as well as our students to be back in person. You cannot replace the magic of the big screen. You can’t replace one-on-one conversations with filmmakers and industry professionals. This is where all the magic happens.” TIPSHEET

SCAD Savannah WHAT: Film Festival

Oct.  - WHEN: Savannah, Ga. WHERE: filmfest.scad.edu WEB:

Jude Hill and Jamie Dornan star in director Kenneth Branagh’s autiobiographical coming-of-age drama “Belfast,” which plays opening night at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.