BEYOND FEST Returns For Its 12th Year With A Mic Drop Lineup For Genre Fans!
The current state of affairs globally can sometimes make one wonder what there is to look forward to, and the best way to ward off those silly intrusive thoughts is with the announcement of the 12th Annual Beyond Fest in LA! Like death and taxes, we can rely on the fine folks at Beyond Fest to deliver a diverse retrospective of genre classics and deep cuts adjacent to potential future classics from a range of genre filmmakers. We are still excited about Fantastic Fest next week, so seeing this lineup is giving us some major fomo for those who can’t make it out to SoCal for this one.
Check out the press release below for more details about screenings and guest appearances. Some of the highlights we saw was a Sam Raimi Triple Feature of “Darkman”, “The Quick and The Dead”, and “Drag Me To Hell” in the 35mm, and a massive reunion for the 50th anniversary of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” alongside a presentation of the 4K restoration. But what really got us going was a recently discovered 70mm print of “Total Recall.” We won’t post the full list of over 80 films here, but check out the Beyond Fest website to learn more!
From The Press Release
Beyond Fest, the biggest and highest-attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its complete slate of 2024 programming comprising 82 features, including 16 World Premieres, 4 International Premieres, 1 North American Premiere, 3 US Premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres. After entertaining over 25,000 guests in 2023, Beyond Fest returns for its 12th edition spanning September 25th - October 9th. Presented exclusively by NEON and programmed and produced in partnership with the American Cinematheque, Beyond Fest returns to the Egyptian Theatre, Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3, and Vista Theatre with all ticket sales going to the 501(c)(3) non-profit film institution.
“Salem’s Lot”
Beyond Fest opens with the World Premiere of Gary Dauberman’s chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal novel SALEM’S LOT whilst closing night honors are bestowed upon Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s CLOUD with the legendary Japanese auteur joining in-person to launch a 7-film retrospective. Additional showcase screenings include the West Coast Premieres of the monumental epic THE BRUTALIST in 70mm with Brady Corbet, the 35mm debut of Palme D’or Winner ANORA with writer/director Sean Baker and actor Mikey Madison in person and Marielle Heller’s wonderfully scathing NIGHTBITCH starring a ferocious Amy Adams hosted by Caitlin Durante and Jamie Loftus of The Bechdel Cast.. Guy Maddin launches a special retrospective with his new film, RUMOURS, Jesse Eisenberg’s brilliantly funny A REAL PAIN takes us on a trip least wanted, and the Los Angeles Premiere of Ali Abbasi’s cutthroat origin story THE APPRENTICE, starring Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, and Maria Bakalova.
“Jimmy and Stiggs”
The World Premiere of Joe Begos’ full-throttle-acid-fury-nightmare JIMMY AND STIGGS headlines a stellar collection of the best in new genre that also includes the West Coast Premieres of Steven Soderbergh’s haunting and subversive ghost story, PRESENCE, Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott’s wonderfully savage BRING THEM DOWN, Damien Leone’s outrageously grotesque festive assault, TERRIFIER 3, Greg Jardin’s mind-bending Sundance smash IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE, the terror trip to space that is V/H/S BEYOND, and the newest bone shaker from Spider One, LITTLE BITES. For a special evening, the ever-incredible Sarah Paulson also joins us for the US Premiere of the suspense thriller, HOLD YOUR BREATH paired with MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE.
“Devara: Part 1”
International Cinema once again takes center stage with DEVARA: PART 1, the newest epic from Beyond Fest superhero Jr NTR, the U.S. Premiere of the highly anticipated sci-fi thriller sequel, THE PLATFORM 2, from Spanish provocateur Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. Later in the festival, we will present a second dose of society’s dark heart with the International Premiere of Gaztelu-Urrutia’s RICH FLU, and the world-famous Toho Studios takes over the Egyptian Theatre for a day with the International Premiere of MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT and a world-first desaturated double bill of SHIN GODZILLA: ORTHOCHROMATIC and GODZILLA MINUS ONE/MINUS COLOR.
“Hush (Shush Cut)”
Genre spotlight events include the World Premiere of the brand new, never-before-seen ‘Shush Cut’ of HUSH with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel in person, who also hosts the International Premiere of the 4K Restoration of LAKE MUNGO, Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, and Leigh Whannell, along with producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules, come together to unveil the restored and unrated cut of their iconic horror classic, SAW, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, finally gets its formal Hollywood Premiere at its official 50th Anniversary screening complete with 12 members of its original cast and crew in attendance. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is followed by the West Coast Premiere of Alexandre O. Philippe’s insightful examination of Hooper’s classic, CHAIN REACTIONS. Rucking Fotten returns to host a special 30th anniversary screening of THE CROW – complete with an exclusive shirt, and a recently discovered 70mm print of TOTAL RECALL will unspool in LA for only the third time in 25 years.
“Darkman”
Visionary filmmakers get their much-deserved spotlight with a series of in-person events as the great Sam Raimi returns with a 35mm triple feature of DARKMAN, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and DRAG ME TO HELL, Shane Black showcases his L.A. noir excellence with a quadruple bill including KISS KISS BANG BANG and THE NICE GUYS, Jennifer Kent makes a rare US appearance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of THE BABADOOK paired with THE NIGHTINGALE, Walter Hill revisits the murderous swamps of SOUTHERN COMFORT, Paul W.S. Anderson attends for a rare showing of his cosmic-cult-space-horror, EVENT HORIZON, and Indian auteur Tarsem Singh joins to showcase two stunning restorations: the World Premiere of THE CELL and the West Coast Premiere of THE FALL.
“Speed”
Cinema icons are saluted via an epic array of special event repertory screenings including a seminal 30th anniversary SPEED reunion with stars Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, and director Jan de Bont, Kyle MacLachlan joins for a career tribute featuring three of his most special performances in BLUE VELVET, DUNE, and THE HIDDEN, Al Pacino returns to discuss his career with SCARFACE, ahead of the release of his memoir Sonny Boy, Big Red himself, Ron Perlman brings his fire with HELLBOY, celebrating its 20th anniversary, Barbara Crampton hosts The Ladies of Elm Street with Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Lin Shaye, and Ronee Blakley followed by a screening of Wes Craven’s original terror, screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski join for a 30th-anniversary matinee of Tim Burton’s classic, ED WOOD, Don Johnson joins to celebrate his career accompanying an incredibly rare double bill of A BOY AND HIS DOG and THE HOT SPOT, and Bob Odenkirk reunites the cast and crew for the World Premiere of the brand new restoration of MELVIN GOES TO DINNER.
“Baal”
“Combining a celebration of cinema whilst firmly focusing our gaze on the next generation of filmmakers has always been at the heart of the Beyond Fest,” said Head of Programming Evrim Ersoy. “And this year we have even more opportunity to bring together the full spectrum of genre filmmaking to the community that is at the core of everything we do: from Kiyoshi Kurosawa to Brady Corbet, Jennifer Kent to Sam Raimi, we have created a program that embraces all corners of the cinematic spectrum.”
‘Neon Theatre at Los Feliz 3’ continues to be the epicenter of discovery with a daring program of global genre, all FREE courtesy of our sponsor - hotly anticipated World and International Premieres include the blistering thriller ZERO from SALOUM mastermind Jean Luc Herbulot, the occult terrors of A MOTHER’S EMBRACE from director Cristian Ponce, the creepy stalking saga WHO’S WATCHING? from director Tim Kasher, the supernatural bone-chiller BAAL from director Joseph Sims-Dennett, a dive into the darkest human desires in ABOVE THE KNEE from GOOD BOY director Viljar Bøe, Kensuke Sonomura’s action epic GHOST KILLER and finally two documentary premieres to chill the soul - an examination of the weird murders that led to the creation of the THE WICKER MAN in THE LAST SACRIFICE from director Rupert Russell and a revelatory look at the darker side of belief and obsession in the meticulously crafted SHADOWLAND from director Otso Tiainen. Other premieres include the return of Can Evrenol with his darkest shocker in the U.S. Premiere of SAYARA, Fabrice Du Welz’s obsessive police thriller MALDOROR, Joshua Erkman’s dreamy neo-noir A DESERT, Michiel Blanchart’s one-night thrill ride NIGHTCALL, Danish Oscar entry true crime shocker THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE from director Magnus Von Horn, the return of Nacho Vigalondo with the visionary and heartfelt sci-fi romance DANIELA FOREVER and the North American Premiere of the eerie sci-fi SKY PEALS. Finally two restorations lead the charge with the brand new 4K of A BELL FROM HELL and a surprise 4K World Premiere from the twisted minds at Terror Vision that will surely get the audience talking.
The next generation of filmmakers will also be getting a spotlight in 4 dedicated shorts blocks carefully curated to highlight the best of new and diverse genre voices at Los Feliz 3. And horror veterans Jennifer Kent and Joe Begos will make Los Feliz 3 appearances to curate and present Robert Bresson’s A MAN ESCAPED and John Frankenheimer’s SECONDS respectively, as part of the American Cinematheque’s weekly “Sunday Print Edition” series of black-and-white films on 35mm.
“Total Recall”
"We are thrilled for the festival to return to the beloved Egyptian Theatre, broadening Beyond Fest across Los Angeles to all three American Cinematheque venues for the very first time,” said American Cinematheque Artistic Director Grant Moninger. “The biggest genre fest in the U.S. has gotten even bigger with the festival’s largest slate to date. Beyond Fest 2024 has something for every L.A. moviegoer, with even more premieres, guests, reunions, marathons and free screenings of exciting new films.”
See below for the full lineup of newly announced feature film titles for Beyond Fest 2024. Tickets will be on sale via americancinematheque.com on Friday, September 13th at 10:00am PST. Visit beyondfest.com and americancinematheque.com for details.
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