Film festival season is in full swing, and Beyond Fest is coming in swinging with one of the biggest genre festival lineups of the year. Theyโve just announced their full list of titles for this yearโs festival running from September 23 to October 8, including ninety feature films across three theatres, presented by NEON and programmed and produced in partnership with American Cinematheque.
Park Chan-wook will open the festival with his newest film, No Other Choice, and closing night honors go to Yorgos Lanthimosโ Bugonia, starring Emma Stone. Major premieres also include Bryan Fullerโs Dust Bunny, Aziz Ansariโs Good Fortune, Black Phone 2, Luca Guadagninoโs After the Hunt, Good Luck, Have Fun, Donโt Die, and If I Had Legs Iโd Kick You. International titles making their way to this yearโs festival include It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sirฤt, and Radu Judeโs take on Dracula, and action cinema karate chops its way to the Egyptian Theatre with The Furious, Sisu: Road to Revenge, and Deathstalker.
โWeโre incredibly proud to push Beyond Festโs scope, encompassing some of the worldโs best filmmakers; itโs a celebration of cinema without borders or compromise that embodies both the festival and the American Cinematheque,โ said Chris LeMaire, American Cinematheque Senior Film Programmer. โBringing together the work of auteurs such as Jafar Panahi, Bi Gan, Radu Jude, Yorgos Lanthimos, Oliver Laxe, and Kleber Mendonรงa Filho, weโve captured some of the most exciting and visionary cinema the world has to offer.โ
But of course, it wouldnโt be Beyond Fest without the genre films, and this yearโs lineup is a killer one. West coast premieres for this yearโs festival include Primate, Good Boy, V/H/S/Halloween, Night Patrols, Shelby Oaks, Dream Eater, Queens of the Dead, and Mag Mag, as well as the world premiere of Season 2 of The Boulet Brothersโ Dracula: Titans. Boorman and the Devil will also be making an appearance courtesy of director David Kittredge and star Linda Blair, paired with a rare 35mm screening of The Exorcist II: The Heretic, courtesy of the Martin Scorsese Collection.
And thatโs not the only retrospective screening happening either. Alongside their previously announced Guillermo del Toro retrospective, Beyond Fest is bringing Japanese icon Meiko Kaji to the festival for her first ever US appearance, honoring her career with 2k restorations of Lady Snowblood, Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, Blind Womanโs Curse, and more, as well as a conversation with Oscar winner Sean Baker.
Other repertory screenings include a double bill of To Live and Die in L.A. and Manhunter, the 4K world premiere of Jacobโs Ladder paired with The Player, Rob Reinerโs Stand By Me and Misery, a special screening of House with WIlliam Katt, a cast and crew reunion for Karyn Kusamaโs The Invitation, and a screening of The Ring featuring director Gore Verbinski. And thatโs not all, because the festival is also bringing several 4K world premieres to its screens, with remastered versions of Salemโs Lot, The Red Spectacles, Cannibal Holocaust, Day of the Dolphin, and The Devilโs Rejects making their debut for the first time.
All of this is complemented by a slate of completely free screenings at Los Feliz 3, courtesy of NEON. Titles showing at this theater include Bill Pullman in Killing Faith, Eric Owenโs In a Cold Vein, Julie Pacinoโs I Live Here Now, Hold the Fort, Bury Your Dead, Bulk, The Ice Tower, Hellcat, The Serpentโs Skin, and more. (Seriously, thereโs too many for this poor writer to list lest her fingers fall off!)
Beyond Fest runs from September 23 to October 8 in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale on September 11 at 10AM PST. For more information and to see the full lineup, check out Beyond Festโs website.
