2024 AFI FEST: ‘Heretic’ and ‘Maria’ Announced as Gala Screenings

Nightbitch, A Real Pain, The Room Next Door, The Summer Book and Unstoppable among films added to Special Screenings section

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI FEST presented by Canva.

The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the World Premieres of Music by John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full festival lineup for AFI FEST 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.

“At the heart of AFI FEST is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema – together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”

Heretic (review here) follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.

Directed by Pablo Larraín and starring Academy Award-winner Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, Maria (review here) presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as La Callas negotiates the blurred boundaries between her public image and private self. The film also stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film will debut in select theaters and on Netflix in the fall.

AFI also announced that Bird, The Fire Inside, I’m Still Here, Nightbitch, The Order, A Real Pain, The Room Next Door, The Summer Book and Unstoppable will be among the films featured in the Special Screenings section. 

“This year’s Special Screenings section includes some of the most-talked-about films from around the world, exquisitely crafted gems, and inspirational crowd-pleasers,” said Todd Hitchcock, Director of AFI FEST and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. “We’re thrilled to bring these memorable and impactful films to AFI FEST audiences in the heart of Los Angeles.”

BIRD 

Director: Andrea Arnold  

Synopsis: Andrea Arnold (AFI Class of 1991) returns with a dreamy social-realist drama that soars into the surreal. Featuring buzzworthy performances from Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski and newcomer Nykiya Adams.

THE FIRE INSIDE

Director: Rachel Morrison 

Synopsis: Acclaimed cinematographer Rachel Morrison (AFI Class of 2006) makes her directorial debut with this engrossing drama about professional boxer Claressa Shields’ meteoric journey from Michigan to London for the 2012 Olympics.

I’M STILL HERE

Director: Walter Salles

Synopsis: Walter Salles’ first feature film in more than a decade returns to the Brazil of the early ‘70s, where the military dictatorship is tightening its grip on civil society. Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), a middle-class mother of five, must reinvent her life after her activist husband Rubens (Selton Paiva) disappears. Based on true events, and the autobiographical book by Eunice and Rubens’ son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva.

NIGHTBITCH

Director: Marielle Heller

Synopsis: Marielle Heller’s frank, perceptive and fur-ociously funny adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s bestselling 2021 novel stars Amy Adams as stay-at-home mom whose domesticity takes a surreal turn.

THE ORDER

Director: Justin Kurzel

Synopsis: Jude Law plays a driven FBI agent in early ‘80s Idaho investigating a string of bank robberies across the Pacific Northwest. The trail leads to the white supremacist Aryan Nation, and a splinter group whose bank-robbing mastermind (Nicholas Hoult) seeks to escalate a race war and overthrow the government. Based on a true story, Justin Kurzel’s riveting historical thriller also stars Tye Sheridan and Jurnee Smollet.

A REAL PAIN 

Director: Jesse Eisenberg

Synopsis: Jesse Eisenberg crafts an odd-couple road movie for the ages about a pair of semi-estranged cousins (Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) reconnecting on a tour through Poland to visit their late grandmother’s homeland. Winner, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Synopsis: In his first English language feature film, Spanish iconoclast Pedro Almodóvar brings his trademark flair to this elegant mortality tale starring Oscar®-winning actresses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. Winner, Golden Lion, 2024 Venice Film Festival.

THE SUMMER BOOK

Director: Charlie McDowell  

Synopsis: In Charlie McDowell’s (AFI Class of 2006) adaptation of Tove Jansson’s beloved Nordic novel of the same name, Sophia and her father (Anders Danielsen Lie) take refuge for the summer at the home of her grandmother (Glenn Close), nestled on the shores of a remote Finnish island. North American Premiere.

UNSTOPPABLE

Director: William Goldenberg 

Synopsis: Jharrel Jerome stars in UNSTOPPABLE, the incredible real-life story of wrestler Anthony Robles, born without a right leg, who became a high school and collegiate champion. The film marks the directorial debut of Oscar®-winning editor William Goldenberg, and the winning cast includes Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Michael Peña and Bobby Cannavale.

Festival passes, which include the opportunity to access tickets to the Red Carpet Premieres, are available at FEST.AFI.com.