Disney’s Coast Guard action-thriller “The Finest Hours” will open the Coronado Island Film Festival on Jan. 15, 2016. IFC Films’ “45 Years” starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay will close the festival on Jan. 18.
Craig Gillespie directed the film, which stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. The film, which chronicles the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history, will wash into theaters on Jan. 29.
“The Finest Hours” will be preceded by an opening-night reception and followed by a Q&A with filmmakers. Additionally, a Q&A and reception will follow the screening of “45 Years.”
“We could not be happier with the way the festival roster of programming and films are shaping up,” said festival founder Doug St. Denis, who serves as co-executive director of CIFF alongside Andrew Friedenberg.
The festival’s presenting sponsor, the iconic Hotel del Coronado, will host numerous events including the festival’s closing-night bonfire celebration of “Some Like It Hot,” to be screened on the same beach where it was filmed in 1958.
Highlights of the festival’s programming include:
Family Programming:
• Inside Out with appearance by producer Jonas Rivera
• Home with appearances by director Tim Johnson and producer Suzanne Buirgy
• Kung Fu Panda 3 sneak peak/advanced presentation with a special on-screen greeting by Jack Black
Narrative Feature Programming:
• Waffle Street starring Danny Glover and James Lafferty
• East Side Sushi, with director Anthony Lucero
• Coming Through The Rye with director, James Sadwith
International Feature Programming:
• 1,000 Times Good Night (Norway)
• Marie’s Story (France)
• India’s Daughter (India) with appearance by filmmaker Leslee Udwin
Documentary Features Programming:
• Meet the Patels
• Harry and Snowman
• OMO Child: The River and the Bush with appearance by filmmaker John Rowe
• Great Voices Sing John Denver with appearance by conductor, composer and arranger, Lee Holdridge
The Ultimate Shark Movies Ever, at Midnight Programming:
• Sharknado: Enough Said
• Sharknato 2: The Second One
• Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Shorts Programming:
• Student and Documentary Shorts covering various topics such as Women, Relationships, Family and Current Events
Seminar Programming:
• Critics Panel including Anders Wright of The San Diego Union Tribune, Leonard Maltin and others
• Animation Panel including Tim Johnson, Jonas Rivera, and Leonard Maltin
• Military in the Movies Panel including representatives from the Coast Guard, Navy and others
• The Producers Panel including Lisa Bruce and Suzanne Buirgy
Parties and Celebrations:
• Opening Night Celebration of Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado
• Awards Ceremony and a special screening of “Some Like It Hot” on the beach with an introduction by Chris Lemmon — Jack Lemmon’s son — and hosted by Leonard Maltin.
Additionally, there will be a salute to Civil Rights filmmaker, Laurens Grant, who will be attending with three of her award-winning documentaries: “Jesse Owens,” “The Freedom Riders” and “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.”
Launching this year, the Coronado Island Film Festival was designed as a discovery festival of new and iconic films. With numerous members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences living in and around Coronado Island — and numerous other Academy members considering it as a second home — the founders and leadership of the festival view it as a likely and hopeful stop en route to awards season. Visit the Coronado Island Film Festival website for Festival Pass purchases.