The annual Oscar race shifts into a higher gear right around this point every year, as studios who hope to make a splash with pedigreed titles begin screening anticipated features at some of the most prestigious film festivals on the calendar. September belongs to the film festivals held in Telluride and Toronto, but the SCAD Savannah Film Festival – held every year in October – has become a fixture on the awards calendar, and this year’s offerings will only cement the fest’s status as a must-attend event.
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is the largest university-run film festival in the U.S. SCAD stands for the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the university has been integral to the festival’s success – as well as the impact the fest has on current SCAD students.
The Savannah FIlm Festival has screened more than 140 Academy Award-nominated films over its tenure, and has honored more than 100 actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers from around the world. This year’s festival, held October 22-29, marks the 25th anniversary of SCAD taking over downtown Savannah, Georgia for its celebration of cinema, and the usual, interactive slate of masterclasses, coffee talks, and panels once again will be made available to SCAD students, as well as all who attend.
A thorough scan of the programming for the 2022 SCAD Savannah Film Festival checks off all the buzzworthy titles that have been making noise in the Oscars race to date. The back-to-back double feature of Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin and the bawdy Weird Al Yankovic biopic Weird will open the fest on Saturday, Oct. 22. Throughout the week, ticket buyers will be able to attend screenings of Sam Mendes’s Empire of Light, the Timothee Chalamet cannibal drama Bones and All, Rian Johnson’s delightful sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the dark comedy The Menu, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.
But it’s not just the movies that make their way to Savannah each year. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival has become a destination for industry talent to come to Georgia and showcase work, but also to interact with SCAD students who soak up knowledge from people in the business about how to conduct themselves at the next level. Through the In Conversation section of the film festival, attendees to the 2022 SCAD Savannah Film Festival will be able to hear from Hollywood legend Ron Howard, costume designer Sandy Powell (Gangs of New York, Hugo, The Aviator), and Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller – who will be accompanied by a screening of his summer blockbuster.
Still, that’s only a sliver of the talent expected to be in Savannah for this year’s fest. In addition to the three names mentioned, SCAD this year will honor:
Colson Baker (Machine Gun Kelly) with the Discovery Award for Taurus
Kerry Condon with the Distinguished Performance Award for The Banshees of Inisherin
JD Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for Devotion
Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for The Menu
Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for Devotion
Janelle Monáe with the Spotlight Award for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for The Inspection
Eddie Redmayne with the Virtuoso Award for The Good Nurse
Henry Selick with the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for Wendell and Wild, and
Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for The Whale
Hopefully now you better understand why the SCAD Savannah Film Festival has become an integral part of the annual Oscars race, and a can’t-miss event for audiences in the Southeast and around the globe who appreciate the finest in cinema. For more information on this year’s festival, visit www.filmfest.scad.edu.
