Written by Ashley Wehrs and Taylor Higgs, Photo by Kendra Frankle and photo courtesy of SCAD
The annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival celebrates its 22nd year bringing together digital media professionals, students and faculty alike to witness a variety of film-related events. Tickets sales began Oct. 1, preparing for the eight day festival that runs from Oct. 26 through Nov. 2, 2019.
Since its beginning in 1997, the festival has expanded across four venues that feature a series of workshops, lectures, film screenings and panels. Through these opportunities and the ability to volunteer, students, regardless of major, are able to gain new insights into the entertainment industry.
“The great thing about this festival that other festivals don’t have is its accessibility to people outside of the industry,” said Bill Keith, deputy director of Entertainment Weekly.
The festival has accumulated more than 63,000 attendees, and this year is bound to be no different. “Each year, several hundred local students, ranging from elementary through high school, participate in the Education Series, offering them the opportunity to interact with some of today’s best filmmakers,” said Caitlin DePue Wallace, Artistic Manager of the SCAD Film Fest.
The first ever SCAD Savannah Film Festival began in 1997. Available photo documentation of the festival begins in 2003.
2003
American actor Alec Baldwin leaning against a street lamp outside of Trustees Theatre, Savannah, GA.
2004
American actor Jason Patric and British actor Peter O’Toole walking together outside of Trustees Theatre, Savannah, GA.
2005
American actress Ellen Burstyn speaking at the Savannah Film Fest at Trustees Theatre, Savannah, GA.
2006
Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga and American actor Tommy Lee Jones speaking at the Savannah Film Fest, Savannah, GA.
2007
American screenwriter David Benioff standing outside of Lucas Theatre for the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2008
Trustees Theatre packed for opening night of the 2008 Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2009
American actor Jeremy Renner speaking among a panel of guests at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2010
Irish actor Liam Neeson speaking at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2011
American actor James Marsden speaking at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2012
American comic book writer and producer Stan Lee speaking at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2013
American actor Alec Baldwin and English actress Natalie Dormer at the Savannah Film Festival Reception, Savannah, GA.
A few industry professionals such as Michael Fink, Academy Award-winning visual effects artist (“Life of Pi,” “The Tree of Life,” “Avatar”) and Chris Innis, Academy Award-winning film editor (“The Hurt Locker”), participated in panels for the 2013 film fest.
2014
English actor Asa Butterfield (Rising Star Award) speaking in front of a Master Class at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
The 2014 Savannah Film Fest presented honored guests such as: English actor Asa Butterfield, American actor Matt Bomer, American actresses Gena Rowlands and Analeigh Tipton.
2015
American actress Olivia Wilde accepting the Spotlight Award at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
The 2015 festival brought multiple series’ to the table such as the Conversation Series with Saoirse Ronan and the Signature Series which features carefully selected premiere films. The Docs to Watch series was also featured, showing the nine must watch documentaries of the year.
2016
Screening and Q and A of “Dominion” at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
In 2016, the festival added the Virtual Reality Series. This series allows viewers to observe how VR is being used in film, tourism, marketing and art. 2016 also featured “La La Land” as the Spotlight Gala Screening, “Jackie” for the Opening Gala Screening and “Arrival” for the Centerpiece Gala Screening.
2017
Screening and Q and A of “Detroit” at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
In 2017, the Wonder Women and Below the Line series were added to the lineup. The Wonder Women series includes panels of female directors, producers and writers. Depue Wallace said, the Below the Line series “showcase[s] the best industry professionals in a variety of fields, including directing, producing, costume design, editing, etc.” The festival showed films such as “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, “The Shape of Water” and “Call Me By Your Name”.
2018
American actor Armie Hammer standing outside of the Trustees Theatre at the Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, GA.
2018 was a record-breaking year for the film festival as it received more than 2,000 submissions for the competition film series. SCAD honored many creators, including Emily Blunt, Stephan James, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Amandla Stenberg. The festival introduced their first ever Legend of Cinema award to Hugh Jackman and the Lumiére award to Chloe Grace Morëtz. Some notable gala screenings include “Roma”, “The Favourite” and “Green Book”.
2019
DePue Wallace said, “This year, we are very excited about our VR series, “Voyager: A Cinematic VR Experience”. Each day we are offering students, guests and the public free access to a wide range of content, like “How to Train Your Dragon, Alien: Covenant in Utero”, and the scent – focused piece “Scent of a Song from Le Musk”. The Voyager chairs by Positron are fully-immersive, so you can fly with the dragons, see through the eyes of Aliens and smell the sweet perfumes of a cologne store.” Vulture released their Oscars 2020 contenders, mentioning 13 of the 18 gala screening available this year.
Event tickets for the festival will continue to be on sale up till the day of each event unless previously sold out. Students can receive discounts with their student I.D. card at the box office.
