Los Angeles, July 23
The upcoming film ‘After the Hunt’ starring Julia Roberts is set to open the 63rd New York Film Festival. The film boasts an all-star cast in a story about the impact of an alleged sexual assault on an Ivy League campus.
The film also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Ayo Edebiri, Chloe Sevigny and Andrew Garfield co-star in ‘After the Hunt’, which Amazon MGM Studios backed. Nora Garrett wrote the screenplay, reports ‘Variety’.
Previous opening night films at the festival have included Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’, Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ and Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’. RaMell Ross’s ‘Nickle Boys’ opened last year’s edition.
As per ‘Variety’, billed as the film’s North American premiere, ‘After the Hunt’ will return Guadagnino to the festival, a place where he previously screened ‘Call Me by Your Name’ and ‘Queer’.
‘After the Hunt’ will screen at Alice Tully Hall on Friday, September 26, with Guadagnino and members of the cast in attendance. The festival, which is a key stop for awards hopefuls, will take place through October 13. ‘After the Hunt’ will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
According to a plot description from the festival, Roberts plays a “chilly, seemingly self-assured Yale philosophy professor Alma Olsson, whose comfortable professional career and domestic life with her mercurial husband Frederik (Stuhlbarg) are thrown into chaos after her PhD candidate protegee Maggie (Edebiri) accuses Alma’s longtime colleague and friend Henrik (Garfield) of sexual assault. As a result, the air of rarefied academic privilege on campus begins to dissolve, and Alma must navigate minefields of gender, sexuality, race, and institutional power, all while trying to reconcile her own difficult choices with the demons of her pastâ€.
Dennis Lim, artistic director, New York Film Festival, said, “We are excited to open this year’s festival with Luca Guadagnino’s latest, which confirms his status as one of the most versatile risk-takers working todayâ€.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting choice for opening night. While the topic is important, I wish they'd showcase more diverse directors beyond the usual festival favorites. Guadagnino is talented but NYFF could take more risks.
The plot sounds intense! Reminds me of some recent cases in Indian universities. Hollywood finally catching up to real issues instead of just superhero movies. Julia Roberts in serious roles is always a treat.
As someone who studied in Delhi University, this hits close to home. Hope they handle the sensitive topic well. Andrew Garfield is such an underrated actor - excited to see him in this!
Another Ivy League setting? Would be refreshing to see stories from other parts of the world. That said, the cast is stellar and Guadagnino's direction is usually brilliant. Will watch for sure if it comes to PVR!
The academic setting reminds me of The Chair on Netflix. Hope this film does justice to the complexity of institutional power dynamics. Julia Roberts playing a professor - what a casting coup! ðŸ˜
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