Film Fest 919 released its slate of films this week that will be featured in its annual festival in Chapel Hill. In its second year, the festival will run from October 9 through October 13 at Silverspot Cinema in University Place and will feature many films hoping to win major awards in early 2020.

The festival will screen 38 titles and will be headlined by two films expected to be contenders for Oscars. Netflix’s and writer/director Noah Baumbach’s drama Marriage Story will open the festival, with writer/director Taika Waititi’s World War II satire Jojo Rabbit closing. Both films are coming off of screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Jojo Rabbit took home the People’s Choice award.

“Our inaugural festival last year embodied the slogan ‘Catch the Films Before They Catch On,’” said Film Fest 919 founders Randi Emerman and Carol Marshall in the release of the festival’s lineup. “Our audiences were among the first to see Oscar winners ROMA and The Green Book, and other award-winning films such as Shoplifters, Capernaum and The Favourite.  We are beyond excited for this year’s lineup.”

Emerman added the Chapel Hill audience is “particularly savvy and appreciative of the finest films and they fully embraced us last year.”

In addition to film screenings, the festival will feature Q&As with filmmakers, panels and various events outside of the theater. New to Film Fest 919 this year is the Offscreen: Interactive Student Symposium, a program where local college students can engage with filmmakers and learn in a master class about working in the film industry.

The festival’s slate features many other movies distributed by Netflix in addition to Marriage Story that are aiming to be awards contenders. Eddie Murphy’s comedy Dolemite Is My Name, the 15th century English drama The King, and the character study The Two Popes will all be screened, with The Two Popes scribe Anthony McCarten being honored with the festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award.

Film Fest 919 also features an array of international films; 18 countries will be represented, including four Official Academy submissions for Foreign Language Film.

Individual tickets for Film Fest 919 go on sale October 2, with passes for additional festival activities on sale now.

Related Stories
‹
Chapel Hill's Film Fest 919 Announces 'Gap Year' for 2023, Citing Ongoing Strikes
A prominent film festival in Chapel Hill is going on hiatus this fall. The organizers of Film Fest 919 announced on Wednesday the event will not take place in 2023, saying in a release that they are taking a “gap year” after five years of the festival. “This is due to a convergence of factors,” […]
Film Fest 919 Wraps Fifth Year; 'Banshees' and 'Quiet Girl' Split Audience Award
The Chapel Hill-based Film Fest 919 wrapped up its 2022 showcase on Sunday, capping off a full five days of blockbuster, international and indie film screenings. The festival, which returned to a full slate of in-theater films for the first time since 2019, ran from Wednesday through Sunday night at the Silverspot Cinema and The […]
Chapel Hill's Drive-In Theater Set to Close July 27
One of Chapel Hill’s first pandemic-era businesses will soon be shutting down its projector. The Drive-In at Carraway Village, a drive-in movie theater off Eubanks Road, is set to hold its final film screening on Wednesday, July 27. The theater’s founders Randi Emerman and Carol Marshall shared an extended message to audience members on July 7 […]
'King Richard,' 'C'mon C'mon' Tie for Film Fest 919 Audience Award
Chapel Hill’s Film Fest 919 finished its six-day run with something new to its four-year history: a tie for the Audience Award. The 2021 festival, which ended on Sunday, featured dozens of films from across the world and screened them at the Silverspot Cinema and Drive-In at Carraway Village. Based on audience votes, the Richard […]
Film Fest 919 Announces 2021 Lineup; Tickets Go on Sale Monday
With its fourth edition just days away, Film Fest 919 recently shared what audiences can expect to catch on the big screen this month. The Chapel Hill-based film festival is set to run from Monday, October 18 through Sunday, October 24 and will screen 23 films at two different locations: Silverspot Cinema in University Place […]
Chapel Hill's Film Fest 919 Shares Movie Lineup for 5th Festival
Film Fest 919 formally announced its return for fifth year and unveiled its slate of films on Monday. The film festival, which is based in Chapel Hill, will be held from Wednesday, October 19 through Sunday, October 23. After adjusting its screening of films for the COVID-19 pandemic in the prior editions, the 2022 Film […]
Film Fest 919 To Return to Chapel Hill in October
Film Fest 919, the only major film festival in Chapel Hill, will be returning for its fourth iteration this October, the festival announced in a release Tuesday. The festival will run from Monday, October 18 to Sunday, October 24, and will be co-hosted by two local venues: the Drive-In at Carraway Village and the Silverspot […]
‘Nomadland’ Wins Best Picture at a Social Distanced Oscars
Written by JAKE COYLE Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director and a historically diverse group of winners took home awards. In the biggest surprise of […]
New Drive-in at Carraway Village Movie Theater Opens in Chapel Hill
The Drive-in at Carraway Village, a new drive-in movie theater in Chapel Hill, opened with its first film screening on Wednesday. Northwood Ravin, an apartment management company that owns Carraway Village, partnered with the organizers of local film festival Film Fest 919 to construct the theater in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The drive-in, located […]
Film Fest 919 Releases Slate of Films, Panels for 2020 Festival
With less than two weeks until the festival begins, Film Fest 919 recently shared its lineup of films it will be screening to community, including potential awards contenders and a classic film. The third edition of the Chapel Hill-based film festival is structured differently this year, spread over weeks instead of one weekend and held […]
›