SAVANNAH — Most Georgians are aware of the growth of the film industry in Georgia, creating hundreds of jobs and pumping millions of dollars into the state’s economy.
But Georgia is also home to Hollywood-level gala events, one of which includes the Savannah Film Festival.
Hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design, a world-renown art school, the festival, and the competition, provides students with opportunities as unique as the movies on the screen. It’s a chance for SCAD students to exclusively connect with leaders from the entertainment industry through master classes, coffee talks, lectures and panel discussions and a chance for Savannah, a premier film hub, to promote quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.
Major film stars, such as Meg Ryan, attended the event, held last week in Savannah. Ryan received the Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday. Her film “Ithaca,” which marks her directorial debut, was screened at the festival. Her film credits include “When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Courage Under Fire,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Promised Land,” “Serious Moonlight,” “The Women,” “”In the Land of Women,” “City of Angels,” “Addicted to Love,” “French Kiss,” “Against the Ropes,” “In the Cut,” “Kate and Leopold,” “Proof of Life,” “Hurlyburly,” “I.Q.,” “Anastasia,” “Joe Versus the Volcano,” “The Doors,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Flesh and Bone” and “Restoration.”
There were screenings of several movies, of course. These included:
“Dixieland” – Two star-crossed lovers — a young, recently-released and unpredictable ex-con with bad luck, and a sexy, listless girl-next-door with a troubled family — become trapped in a downward spiral of crime and obsessive love as they try to ditch their dead-end town for a better life. A contemporary, low-down story set in the hot lazy days of modern day Mississippi, “Dixieland” is Hank Bedford’s feature debut about love and lawlessness but also about the reality of poverty and violence. The film is distributed by IFC Films. Director: Hank Bedford. Cast: Chris Zylka, Riley Keough, Faith Hill and RJ Mitte.
“Ithaca” – In Meg Ryan’s directorial debut, 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses. And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain…and death…to the good people of Ithaca. And Homer Macauley will grapple with one message that will change him forever. Director: Meg Ryan. Cast: Meg Ryan, Sam Shepard, Jack Quaid, Alex Neustaedter, Christine Nelson, and Tom Hanks.
“Legend” – From Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland comes the true story of the rise and fall of London’s most notorious gangsters, Reggie and Ron Kray, both portrayed by Tom Hardy in an amazing double performance. “Legend” is a classic crime thriller taking us into the secret history of the 1960s and the extraordinary events that secured the infamy of the Kray twins. The film is distributed by Universal Pictures. Director: Brian Helgeland. Cast: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, Tara Fitzgerald and Taron Egerton.
“Meadowland” – Set in the hazy aftermath of an unimaginable loss, where married couple Sarah and Phil come unhinged, recklessly ignoring the repercussions. The directorial debut of cinematographer Reed Morano, “Meadowland” is a visceral exploration of grief and hope. The film is distributed by Cinedigm. Director: Reed Morano. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Ty Simpkins, John Leguizamo, Kevin Corrigan and Merritt Wever.
“Spotlight” – The riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. The film is distributed by Open Road Films. Director: Tom McCarthy. Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci.
