AFI FEST kicks off today, celebrating its 40th edition with five days of exceptional filmmaking in Hollywood. Running through October 25 at the TCL Chinese Theatres, this year’s festival includes work by Company 3 artists on 11 projects, spanning all five Red Carpet Premieres, the Opening and Closing Night films, and selections across Special Screenings, documentaries, and shorts.

Opening the festival is LAIKA’s Wildwood, a stop-motion fantasy directed by Travis Knight. Based on Colin Meloy’s bestselling novel, the film follows a young girl into an enchanted wilderness in search of her missing brother. Featuring cinematography by Caleb Deschanel, ASC, the film was graded by Senior Colorist Stephen Nakamura.

Closing Night brings Being Heumann, directed by Siân Heder. The film chronicles disability rights activist Judy Heumann and the landmark 1977 protest that helped transform disability rights in America. With cinematography by Jamie Ramsey, BSC, SASC, the film features color by Senior Colorist Joseph Bicknell.

Among the Red Carpet Premieres is Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl, making its World Premiere at the festival. Based on Buzz Bissinger’s book, the film tells the story of college football stars who enlisted in the Marines during World War II. Shot by Jacques Jouffret, ASC, it features color by Senior Colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld.

Also premiering on the red carpet is Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, which explores Sylvester Stallone’s determination to write and star in Rocky. The film was shot by Sean Porter, ASC, and graded by Senior Colorist Jill Bogdanowicz. Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn, a retro-futuristic animated mystery, rounds out the Red Carpet Premieres with cinematography by Erik Smitt and color by Senior Colorist Stephen Nakamura.

The festival’s Special Screenings include Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth!, starring Pedro Pascal as a gifted cellist returning to Los Angeles. Shot by Damián García, the film features color by Senior Colorist Jean-Clément Soret. Also screening is Florian Zeller’s Bunker, a marital thriller starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, shot by Ben Smithard and graded by Senior Colorist Gareth Spensley.

The documentary lineup features Nuisance Bear, directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman, with color by Senior Colorist Joseph Bicknell.

Congratulations to our clients and the filmmakers showcasing their work at this year’s festival.

Learn more about AFI Fest and explore the full lineup here.

 

Lineup

 

Wildwood 

Red Carpet Premiere

• Color | Stephen Nakamura
• Additional Color | Nick Nassif
• Finishing Editors | John Diesso, Sandra Lena
• Trailers | Stephen Nakamura, Adrian Delude, Jennifer Raymond, Levi Hawkinson
• Color Production | Erik Rogers, Kristin Graham, Gemma Saunders
• Imaging Science | Emily Faw, Michael Kannard
• Director | Travis Knight
• DP | Caleb Deschanel ASC
• Editor | Christopher Murrie-Green ACE
• Production Design | Nelson Lowry

 

Being Heumann 

Red Carpet Premiere

• Color | Joseph Bicknell
• Finishing Editor | John Diesso
• Color Production | Erik Rogers, Kristin Graham
• Director | Siân Heder
• DP | Jamie Ramsey BSC SASC
• Editor | Geraud Brisson ACE
• Production Design | John P. Goldsmith

 

The Mosquito Bowl

Red Carpet Premiere

• Color | Stefan Sonnenfeld
• Additional Color | Parker Jarvie, Adam Nazarenko
• Finishing Editors | Matthew W. Johnson, Aaron Bennett
• Finishing Production | Loan Phan, Zach Watkins, Alex Cohn
• Image Science | Emily Faw
• Supporting VFX | SDFX Studios
• Director | Peter Berg
• DP | Jacques Jouffret ASC
• Editors | Garret Donnelly, Jon Otazua
• Production Design | Philip Ivey

 

I Play Rocky 

Red Carpet Premiere

• Supervising Color | Jill Bogdanowicz
• Additional Color | Jenny Montgomery
• Finishing Editor | Nicholas Figueroa
• Editorial Services | Gregory Caligiuri, Jasmine Hingorani, Paulina Llorico
• Dailies | Jack Tashdjian
• Dailies Producer | Matt Riera
• Finishing Producer | Ray Stanton
• Imaging Science | Amine Boukerrou
• Director | Peter Farrelly
• DP | Sean Porter ASC
• Editor | Sam Seig ACE
• Production Design | Anthony Gasparro

Ray Gunn 

Red Carpet Premiere

• Color | Stephen Nakamura
• Additional Color | Nick Nassif
• Finishing Editors | Chad Schermerhorn, Aaron Bennett
• Color Production | Kelsea Williams, Cory Willey
• Imaging Science | Emily Faw
• Director | Brad Bird
• DP | Erik Smitt
• Editors | Karl Armstrong, Darren T. Holmes

 

Behemoth!

Special Screenings  

• Color | Jean-Clément Soret
• Finishing Editor | Matthew W. Johnson
• Dailies | Jack Tashdjian
• Dailies Producer | Shawna Barbera
• Color Production | Loan Phan, Zach Watkins
• Imaging Science | Michael Kannard
• Director | Tony Gilroy
• DP | Damián García
• Editor | John Gilroy ACE
• Production Design | Jade Healy

 

Bunker 

Special Screenings

• Color | Gareth Spensley
• Color Producer | Joanna Burt
• Director | Florian Zeller
• DP | Ben Smithard BSC
• Editor | Yorgos Lamprinos ACE
• Production Design | Alain Bainée

 

Nuisance Bear

Documentary

• Color | Joseph Bicknell
• Finishing Editor | Mizuho Nakai
• Color Producer | Amanda Champion
• Directors | Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman
• DPs | Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Michael Code, Sam Holling, Ian Kerr CSC, Jack Gawthrop
• Editor | Andres Landau

 

Tangles

Special Screenings

 

• Color | Thor Roos
• Finishing Editor | Roger GaoXin Wang
• Color Production | Sergio Corena Alvarez, Rikki Clark
• Director | Leah Nelson
• Editor | David Avery

 

Chuuraa  

Short Film Competition

• Color | Christopher Francis
• Color Producer | Marie Ånestad
• Director | Evgenia Arbugaeva
• DPs | Maxim Arbugaev, Vladimir Egorov
• Editors | Evgenia Arbugaeva, Joshua Chadwick

 

Little Birds

AFI Conservatory Showcase 

• Color | Jared Pecht
• Finishing Editor | Aaron Bennett
• Color Producer | Sierra Kaczmarek
• Imaging Science | Michael Kannard
• Director | Eliana Victoria Alcouloumre
• DP | Anna Mendes Caldeira Rathsam
• Editor | April Yang
• Production Design | Kaleena Perez