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Philadelphia Film Festival announces 2017 line-up

What you can see at this year's festival.

Actress Margot Robbie at the world premiere of “Goodbye Christopher Robin” in London. She plays figure skater Tonya Harding in the Philadelphia Film Festival’s opener, “I, Tonya.”
Actress Margot Robbie at the world premiere of “Goodbye Christopher Robin” in London. She plays figure skater Tonya Harding in the Philadelphia Film Festival’s opener, “I, Tonya.”Read moreJoel Ryan / Invision

The Philadelphia Film Festival announced its lineup today, including its opening- and closing-night films, both of which veer into black comedy. The 26th annual film fete will take place Oct. 19-29 at the Prince Theater, the Ritz East, and the Ritz Five.

Opening the festival is I, Tonya, a dramedy about the life and times of figure skater Tonya Harding, played by Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad). The film is framed as a documentary — think The Office or Best in Show — and follows Harding from the trailer park with her foulmouthed mother (played by Allison Janney, who is already generating Oscar buzz) to the skating arena to the infamous Nancy Kerrigan hit that would define her life from there on out. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival where its performances — especially from Janney and Robbie — were given high praise, as well as the way the movie balanced its comedic tone with the way it portrayed the facts and still grounded Harding in humanity.

Closing the festival this year is Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The writer-director behind In Bruges turns his lens to the American heartland where an angry, grieving mother calls out the cops — via billboard — in her small Missouri town after the investigation into her daughter's rape and murder stalls. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it was met with a standing ovation.

Other highlights of the festival include three Philadelphia-shot archival screenings from the late, great Jonathan Demme, including, Beloved, Neil Young Trunk Show, and Philadelphia; WWII drama Darkest Hour; Greta Gerwig's coming-of-ager Lady Bird; the much-talked-about The Florida Project; and Todd Haynes reunion with muse Julianne Moore in Wonderstruck.

Tickets to the festival go on sale Friday for Philadelphia Film Festival members. The general public has its shot at screenings starting Monday. Tickets may be purchased through the festival website, www.filmadelphia.org/festival, or in-person at the Main Box Office at the Prince Theater.

The full lineup is below.

Opening-Night Film

  1. I, Tonya, Director Craig Gillespie. 2017, USA.

Closing-Night Film

  1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Director Martin McDonagh. 2017, USA.

Centerpiece Screenings

  1. Darkest Hour, Director Joe Wright. 2017, UK.

  2. The Florida Project, Director Sean Baker. 2017, USA.

  3. Lady Bird, Director Greta Gerwig. 2017, USA.

  4. Last Flag Flying, Director Richard Linklater. 2017, USA.

From the Vaults

  1. Jonathan Demme Retrospective

    • Beloved, Director Jonathan Demme. 1998, USA.
    • Neil Young Trunk Show, Director Jonathan Demme. 2009, USA.
    • Philadelphia, Director Jonathan Demme. 1993, USA.

  2. Ichi the Killer, Director Takashi Miike. 2001, Japan.

  3. The Last Detail, Director Hal Ashby. 1973, USA.

Spotlights

  1. Borg/McEnroe, Director Janus Metz. 2017, Sweden.

  2. Breathe, Director Andy Serkis. 2017, UK.

  3. The Ballad of Lefty Brown, Director Jared Moshé. 2017, USA.

  4. Chappaquiddick, Director John Curran. 2017, USA.

  5. Thoroughbreds, Director Cory Finley. 2017, USA.

  6. Where is Kyra?, Director Andrew Dosunmu. 2016, USA.

  7. Wonderstruck, Director Todd Haynes. 2017, USA.

Masters of Cinema

  1. Faces Places, Director Agnès Varda Jr. 2017, France.

  2. In the Fade, Director Fatih Akin. 2017, Germany.

  3. Ismael's Ghosts, Director Arnaud Desplechin. 2017, France.

  4. Jane, Director Brett Morgen. 2017, USA.

  5. The Other Side of Hope, Director Aki Kaurismäki. 2017, Finland, Germany.

  6. Radiance, Director Naomi Kawase. 2017, Japan.

  7. Spoor, Director Agnieszka Holland. 2017, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia.

World Narratives

  1. A Ciambra, Director Jonas Carpignano. 2017, Italy, USA, France, Sweden, Germany.

  2. Beauty and the Dogs, Director Kaouther Ben Hania. 2017, Tunisia, France, Sweden.

  3. Bye Bye Germany, Director Sam Garbarski. 2017, Germany.

  4. The Divine Order, Director Petra Volpe. 2017, Switzerland.

  5. Have a Nice Day, Director Liu Jian. 2017, China.

  6. Holy Air, Director Shady Srour. 2017, Israel.

  7. In Syria, Director Philippe Van Leeuw. 2017, Belgium, France, Lebanon.

  8. Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, Director Mouly Surya. 2017, Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand.

  9. Mobile Homes, Director Vladimir de Fontenay. 2017, Canada, France.

  10. Newton, Director Amit V Masurkar. 2017, India.

  11. On Body and Soul, Director Ildikó Enyedi. 2017, Hungary.

  12. Scaffolding, Director Matan Yair. 2017, Israel, Poland.

  13. The Square, Director Ruben Östlund. 2017, Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark.

  14. Sweet Country, Director Warwick Thornton. 2017, Australia.

  15. Thelma, Director Joachim Trier. 2017, Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark.

  16. Under the Tree, Director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. 2017, Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany.

  17. Walking Past the Future, Director Li Ruijun. 2017, China.

  18. The Wound, Director John Trengove. 2017, South Africa.

New French Films

  1. Bloody Milk, Director Hubert Charuel. 2017, France.

  2. BPM (Beats Per Minute), Director Robin Campillo. 2017, France.

  3. Custody, Director Xavier Legrand. 2017, France.

  4. Just to Be Sure, Director Carine Tardieu. 2017, France.

  5. Montparnasse Bienvenue, Director Léonor Serraille. 2017, France.

  6. Souvenir, Director Bavo Defurne. 2016, Belgium, Luxembourg, France.

  7. The Workshop, Director Laurent Cantet. 2017, France.

Spanish and Latin American Cinema Now

  1. The Desert Bride, Director Cecilia Atán, Valeria Pivato. 2017, Argentina, Chile.

  2. The Invisible Guest, Director Oriol Paulo. 2017, Spain.

  3. Sister of Mine, Director Pedro Aguilera. 2017, Spain, Colombia.

  4. A Sort of Family, Director Diego Lerman. 2017, Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland.

American Independents

  1. Blame, Director Quinn Shephard. 2017, USA.

  2. The Endless, Director Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead. 2017, USA.

  3. Gemini, Director Aaron Katz. 2017, USA.

  4. Most Beautiful Island, Director Ana Asensio. 2017, USA.

  5. Oh Lucy!, Director Atsuko Hirayanagi. 2017, USA, Japan.

  6. Princess Cyd, Director Stephen Cone. 2017, USA.

  7. Sollers Point, Director Matt Porterfield. 2017, USA.

Greater Filmadelphia

  1. 11/8/16, Director Jeff Deutchman. 2017, USA.

  2. Alaska Is a Drag, Director Shaz Bennett. 2017, USA.

  3. AlphaGo, Director Greg Kohs. 2017, UK, South Korea, France, USA.

  4. At the Drive-In, Director Alexander Monelli. 2017, USA.

  5. Flesh and Blood, Director Mark Webber. 2017, USA.

  6. Golden Exits, Director Alex Ross Perry. 2017, USA.

  7. Love Means Zero, Director Jason Kohn. 2017, USA.

Documentary Showcase

  1. Bobbi Jene, Director Elvira Lind. 2017, USA, Denmark, Israel.

  2. Brimstone and Glory, Director Viktor Jakovleski. 2017, USA, Mexico.

  3. The Cage Fighter, Director Jeff Unay. 2017, USA.

  4. Ghost Hunting, Director Raed Andoni. 2017, France, Palestine, Switzerland, Qatar.

  5. Gilbert, Director Neil Berkeley. 2017, USA.

  6. The New Radical, Director Adam Bhala Lough. 2016, USA.

  7. One of Us, Director Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady. 2017, USA.

Sight and Soundtrack

  1. Bad Lucky Goat, Director Samir Oliveros. 2017, Colombia.

  2. Django, Director Étienne Comar. 2017, France.

  3. Living on Soul, Director Jeff Broadway, Cory Bailey. 2017, USA.

  4. Sammy Davis Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me, Director Sam Pollard. 2017, USA.

The Graveyard Shift

  1. Bad Day for the Cut, Director Chris Baugh. 2017, UK.

  2. The Bar, Director Álex de la Iglesia. 2017, Spain.

  3. Blade of the Immortal, Director Takashi Miike. 2017, Japan.

  4. Let the Corpses Tan, Director Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. 2017, Belgium, France.

  5. The Villainess, Director Jung Byung-gil. 2017, South Korea.

Animated and Live-Action Shorts:

  1. Aria, Director Myrsini Aristidou. 2017, Cyprus, France.

  2. The Bald Future, Director Paul Cabon. 2016, France.

  3. Broken: The Women's Prison at Hoheneck, Director Alexander Lahl, Volker Schlecht. 2016, Germany.

  4. The Burden, Director Niki Lindroth. 2017, Sweden.

  5. Call Your Father, Director Jordan Firstman. 2016, USA.

  6. Catherine, Director Britt Raes. 2016, Belgium.

  7. Cerulia, Director Sofía Carrillo. 2017, Mexico.

  8. Close Ties, Director Zofia Kowalewska. 2016, Poland.

  9. Deer Squad: The Movie, Director Pipus Larsen, Kenneth Gug, Scott J. Ross. 2016, USA.

  10. Fish Story, Director Charlie Lyne. 2017, UK.

  11. F– Bunnies, Director Teemu Niukkanen. 2016, Finland.

  12. A Gentle Night, Director Qui Yang. 2017, China.

  13. Goddess, Director Karishma Dube. 2017, India.

  14. Great Choice!, Director Robin Comisar. 2017, USA.

  15. Hi Stranger, Director Kirsten Lepore. 2016, USA.

  16. Legal Smuggling with Christine Choy, Director Lewie Kloster. 2016, USA.

  17. Lucia Before and After, Director Anu Valia. 2016, USA.

  18. Nighthawk, Director Špela Čadež. 2016, Slovenia, Croatia.

  19. Nobody Loves Me, Director Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman. 2017, Bolivia, USA.

  20. Pussy, Director Renata Gasiorowska. 2016, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia.

  21. Retouch, Director Kaveh Mazaheri. 2017, Iran.

  22. Slapper, Director Luci Schroder. 2016, Australia.

  23. The Tesla World Light, Director Matthew Rankin. 2017, Canada, France.

  24. Victor & Isolina, Director William Caballero. 2016, USA.

Special Programs:

  1. Before Hollywood: Philadelphia and the Invention of the Movies, Director Andrew Ferrett. 2017, USA.

  2. The Eyeslicer, 2017.