AFI Fest 2010 (“presented by Audi”) has announced that its opening gala kicks off November 4th with the world premiere of Love & Other Drugs. The week-long event will close on November 11th with a screening of Black Swan. Via Press Release:
LOS ANGELES, CA, September 23, 2010 ¾ AFI FEST 2010 presented by Audi announced today that it will host the world premiere of Edward Zwick’s LOVE & OTHER DRUGS as the festival’s Opening Night Gala on November 4. Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN closes the festival on November 11. AFI FEST 2010 will take place in Hollywood, California at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Mann Chinese 6 theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel from November 4-11, 2010.
‚ÄùEd Zwick and Darren Aronofsky honor us by premiering their films at AFI FEST,‚Äù said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute. ‚ÄùAs alumni of the AFI Conservatory, both men symbolize a perfect fusion of the Institute’s national mandate to educate the next generation of storytellers and to honor the artists and their work.‚Äù David Lynch, who serves as the festival’s Guest Artistic Director, is also a graduate of the AFI Conservatory.
“AFI is where it began for me, and where I return as often as possible, to teach and to learn,” said Edward Zwick. “I’m honored to open the festival, and to join Darren, David, and so many alumni for whom this marks a kind of coming home.” The creative ensemble of LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS also features other alumni of the AFI Conservatory, including co-writer/co-producer Marshall Herskovitz, editor Steven Rosenblum, cinematographer Steven Fierberg and producer Pieter Jan Brugge.
‚ÄùAs an alumnus of the AFI Conservatory, it’s always a thrill to partake in the wonderful festival AFI puts on,‚Äù said Darren Aronofsky. ‚ÄúThe fact that we get to show at my favorite theater in the world, the Grauman‚Äôs Chinese Theatre, adds to the honor.‚Äù The creative ensemble of BLACK SWAN also features other alumni of the AFI Conservatory, including cinematographer Matthew Libatique and executive producer Jon Avnet.
‚ÄùThese two films are a perfect pair to open and close AFI FEST because they tell extraordinary stories from unique and very personal points of view,‚Äù said Jacqueline Lyanga, Festival Director and also a graduate of the AFI Conservatory. ‚ÄúWe are proud to offer them as the frame to a program of cinema that embraces both mainstream and experimental voices and seeks to engage the audience in the discourse around the year’s most significant new films.‚Äù
