August Rush, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 100 min., 35mm
Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Writers: Nick Castle, James V. Hart
Producer: Richard Barton Lewis
Cast: Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, William Sadler, Freddie Highmore,
Terrence Howard, Robin Williams

Twelve years ago Lyla Novacek, a sheltered young cellist, and Louis Connelly, a charismatic Irish singer/songwriter, were drawn together on a moonlit rooftop above Washington Square by a street musician's rendition of "Moondance" and fell in love. Sharing the language of music, their connection was real and undeniable but short-lived.

After the most romantic night of her life, Lyla promised to meet Louis again but, despite her protests, her father rushed her to her next concert leaving Louis to believe that she didn't care. Disheartened, he found it difficult to continue playing and eventually abandoned his music while Lyla, her own hopes for love lost, was led to believe, months later, that she had also lost their unborn child in a car accident. Years passed with neither of them knowing the truth.

Now, August Rush has grown into a spirited and unusually gifted child who hears music all around him in the rhythms of life and can turn the rustling of wind through a wheat field into a beautiful symphony. Orphaned by circumstance, he holds a profound and unwavering belief that his parents are alive and want him as much as he wants them-if only they could find each other.

Amadeus, 2:30 p.m., Lucas Theatre
USA, 1984, 160 min., 35 mm
Director: Milos Forman
Writer: Peter Shaffer
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Cast: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones

On a November night in 1823 a distracted old man offers from his window an appalling confession to the city of Vienna: “Forgive me, Mozart. Forgive your assassin.” Moments later he attempts suicide, and is rushed through the snowy streets to the General Infirmary, a grim building containing all manner of sick and desperate patients. Some weeks afterwards, confined in a private room, he is visited by the Hospital Chaplain, Father Vogler. While obviously contemptuous of the priest, the old man is drawn to confess to him.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
France, USA, 2007, 112 min., 35 mm
Director: Julian Schnabel
Writer: Ronald Harwood
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Max Von Sydow

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life's passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries.

Honeydripper, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 122 min., 35 mm
Director/Writer: John Sayles
Producer: Maggie Renzi
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Charles Dutton, Stacy Keach, Gary Clark Jr., Vondie Curtis-Hall, Mable John

Rural Alabama. 1950. Cotton harvest. It's a make-or-break weekend for the Honeydripper Lounge and its owner, piano player Tyrone "Pine Top" Purvis. Deep in debt to the liquor man, the chicken man and the landlord, Tyrone is desperate to lure the young cotton pickers and local Army base recruits into his juke joint and away from Touissant’s, the rival joint across the way. After laying off his regular talent, blues singer Bertha Mae, Tyrone announces to his sidekick Maceo that he hired the famous electric guitar player, Guitar Sam, for a special one-night-only gig to save the club. On the day of the show, the train arrives and Guitar Sam is no where to be found. Tyrone is forced to take drastic action, and makes a deal with Sheriff Pugh to release Sonny, the kid who hopped off a freight car in Harmony, and turned up in the club claiming he could play the guitar as well as any Guitar Sam. Tyrone cleans up Sonny as a last-ditch scheme to pass off the young guitar picker as Guitar Sam, just long enough to cut the lights and run off with the cash box. When Sonny takes the stage and launches into his first scalding electric licks, Tyrone will learn if it’s lights out for the Honeydripper or if his luck has changed. He might just be another man saved by rock 'n' roll.

Savannah Arts Academy Special Screenings, 11:30 a.m., Lucas Theatre
USA, 2007, 10 min., Video
Directors/Writers/Producers/Cast: Various

The Savannah Film Festival has partnered with the Savannah Arts Academy to feature the work of their promising high school filmmakers. These public service announcements, commercials, and short films were created by local students with exceptional creativity and skills, and we wish to recognize their talent and encourage future creative endeavors. Public service announcements include, Creativity and Talk to Your Kids.  Commercials include, Panasonic and SPAM and select short films include, Repetition and Opposites and Industrial Nature Abstraction.

Grace is Gone, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 90 min., 35 mm
Director/Writer: James Strouse
Producers: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Galt Niederhoffer, Celine Rattray
Cast: John Cusack, Gracie Bednarczyk, Shélan O'Keefe, Dana Lynne Gilhooley

There was a time when Stanley Phillips (John Cusack) could see his entire life clearly. He dreamed of patriotic service and was destined for a military career. He came close to that dream until it was cut short simply because of his poor eyesight. Now he’s serving customers at a home supply store while his Sergeant wife is fighting in Iraq. Equally as awkward at home as he is at work, he’s raising Heidi, their 12-year-old daughter and her 8-year-old sister, Dawn.  Although a loving father, Stanley is unable to conform to a more affectionate role and the girls miss their mother deeply. While tolerating his job and stumbling through parenting he is abruptly awakened when tragedy strikes. Ill-prepared to deal with it himself, he is at a complete loss contemplating how to tell his children. Desperate to delay telling the girls they embark on a spontaneous road trip. Grasping to give them their last moments of innocence, Stanley reveals a softer side as they travel to Dawn’s chosen destination, Enchanted Gardens Theme Park.

Nanking, 11:30 a.m., Lucas Theatre
Japan, China, USA, 2007, 89 min., 35 mm
Directors: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Writers: Elisabeth Bentley, Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Producers: Ted Leonsis, Bill Guttentag, Michael Jacobs

Directed by Academy Award-winning team Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman (Twin Towers), and marking the producing debut of AOL vice chairman Ted Leonsis, Nanking is a powerful reminder of the heartbreaking toll that war takes on the innocent, and a testament to the courage and conviction of a few individuals determined to act in the face of evil. The film tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II, and focuses on the efforts of a small group of unarmed Westerners who established a Safety Zone where more than 200,000 Chinese found refuge. The events of the film are told through deeply moving interviews with Chinese survivors, archival footage and chilling testimonies of Japanese soldiers, interwoven with staged readings of the Westerners’ letters and diaries as performed by Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway, Jurgen Prochnow and Stephen Dorff, among others.

The Band’s Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret), 2:30 p.m., Lucas Theatre
Israel, France, 2007, 90 min., 35 mm
Director/Writer: Eran Kolirin
Producers: Ehud Bleiberg, Koby Gal-Raday, Eylon Ratzkovsky, Yossi Uzrad, Guy Jacoel
Cast: Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour

The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel to play at the opening of an Arab Cultural Center. Dressed in full regalia and observing all military police protocol, the members of the orchestra are at a pivotal time in their careers. It’s not just the political nature of an Arab military police band playing traditional Arab music in Israel that makes this event so important; budget cuts and many reorganizations have threatened the continued existence of the Orchestra. Faced with the heavy burden of this assignment, the stoic conductor, Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai), is determined not to foul their excursion.

Billo il Grand Dakhaar, 11:30 a.m., Trustees Theater
Rome, Dakar, 2007, 90 min., 35 mm
Director: Laura Muscardin
Writers: Marco Bonini and Mbacke Gadji, in collaboration with Laura Muscardin and Lucilla Schiaffino
Producers: Marco Bonini, Jaques Lipkau Goyard, Youssou N’Dour
Cast: Thierno Thiam, Susy Laude, Carmen de Santos, Marco Bonini , Paolo Gasparini, Paul N’dour, Boubacar Ba, Daba Soumarè, Paolo Buglioni, Badara Seck, Eleonora Mazzoni, Luisa De Santis, Fiorenza Tessari, Adriano Pantaleo, Esther Elisha, Mario De Santis.  
Special appearances by Lella Costa, Rolando Ravello, Edoardo  Leo, Cesare Apolito

Billo (Thierno Thiam), a young Sénégalese, has a dream. He wishes to become a fashion designer and  wants to immigrate to Italy. He’s not rich, but lucky to be young and full of energy. In a village near Dakar, his Marabout (Koranic master) keeps telling him of the old local adage, “A black ant, on a black stone, in a dark night, God sees it and loves it.” Since his childhood, Billo always loved Fatou (Carmen de Santos), the most beautiful girl of the village. She is the doctor’s daughter and belongs to a wealthier and better class than him. They say Fatou is not for him but Billo is a lucky young man and believes in the power of  love. Now, he’s old enough, has saved enough money, got a tailor diploma and is ready to leave for Italy to get rich and famous and ... get back to marry Fatou.

Control, 2:30 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 121 min., 35 mm
Director: Anton Corbijn
Writers: Deborah Curtis, Matt Greenhalgh
Producers: Anton Corbijn, Todd Eckert, Orian Williams

Ian Curtis has aspirations beyond the trappings of small-town life in 1970s England. Wanting to emulate his musical heroes, such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop, he joins a band, and his musical ambition begins to thrive. Soon though, the everyday fears and emotions that fuel his music slowly begin to eat away at him. Married young with a daughter, he is distracted from his family commitments by a new love and the growing expectations of his band, Joy Division. The strain manifests itself in his health. With epilepsy adding to his guilt and depression, desperation takes hold. Surrendering to the weight on his shoulders, Ian’s tortured soul consumes him.

Director’s Choice, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2006, 120 min.

The Savannah Film Festival is pleased to premiere a special surprise screening of a highly anticipated film due out this fall.

Under the Same Moon, 2:30 p.m., Lucas Theatre
USA, 2007, 109 min., 35 mm
Director: Patricia Riggen
Writer: Ligiah Villalobos
Producers: Patricia Riggen, Gerardo Barrera
Cast: Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata, Carmen Salinas, María Rojo, Mário Almada, America Ferrera, Los Tigres del Norte

Under the Same Moon tells the parallel stories of 9-year-old Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) and his mother, Rosario (Kate del Castillo). In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again. Riggen's film is not only a heartwarming family story — she also offers subtle commentary on the much-debated issue of illegal immigration.

December Story, 2:30 p.m., Lucas Theatre
USA, 2007, 12 min., Beta SP
Director/Writer: Jacob Rosenberg
Producers: Andrew Huebscher, Jacob Rosenberg
Cast: Natalie Gold, Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Candy Scott, Derrick Strickland

With a faded Polaroid and fragmented memories, Natalie revisits the last place she remembers being with her father in hopes of remembering what he looked like and understanding why he left her.  Accompanied by her friend, Paul, Natalie faces her memories and herself.

In Search of Real America, 11:30 a.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 65 min., Beta SP
Director/Producer: Barrett Tripp
Writer/Cast: Harry van Gorkum

“Hello, I’m Harry van Gorkum and I’m in search of Real America.” British actor Harry van Gorkum grew up with an image of America created by Hollywood. But now that he’s living here, he’s wondering, “Is that the real America?” Much like Charles Kuralt, Michael Palin and David Attell, Harry crisscrosses the country on a quest ... only he’s living out of a comically small, teardrop camper. With a humorous knack for forgetting names, facts and directions, Harry enthusiastically endears himself to his American hosts at every stop. He has no map, no itinerary and relies on local word-of-mouth to guide him. At the end of each day, Harry asks of his newfound friends, “Where should I go next to find real America?” And with their suggestions, he’s off to a small town or a big city, to a backyard in suburbia or the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t matter where, because everywhere, everyone has a story that makes them real Americans.

Jesus Cooks Me Breakfast, 11:30 a.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 25 min., Beta SP
Director/Writer: Jason Antoon
Producer: Sam Robards
Cast: Joey Slotnick, Yul Vazquez, Jason Robards III, Marquis Rodriguez, Audra Blaser, Kent Abbott, Alexander Scheitinger

Jesus Cooks Me Breakfast is a surreal comedy that questions the existence of God and man’s eternal task in finding him. Jules Berlandt is a depressed man who stuffs envelopes for a living and stays with his young, innocent girlfriend who decorates her apartment with children’s figurines. With a broken relationship hanging over his head and a life heading comfortably nowhere, Jules' life is turned upside down when Jesus Christ unexpectedly knocks on his front door and wants to cook him breakfast. After learning from Jesus that his second coming came and went unnoticed, Jules is told the real reason behind the Son of God’s visit. Jesus tells him that “God is missing” and he wants Jules to activate his life and find his dad. The only thing separating Jules from his new task is an omelet. Jules must either eat the omelet or reject it. Both choices have heavy consequences for his life and mankind as we know it. What will Jules do? Will he eat the omelet?

Order Up, 11:30 a.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 5 min., 35 mm
Director/Writer: Neil A. Stelzner
Producers: David Diliberto, Rachel Tenner
Cast: Ethan Embry, Illeana Douglas, John Aniston, Paul Adelstein, Liz Weil

A man walks into a diner and has trouble ordering.

Bernard and Doris, 2:30 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 83 min., 35mm
Director: Bob Balaban
Writer: Hugh Costello
Producers: Bob Balaban, Jonathan Cavendish, Adam Kassen, Mark Kassen
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Ralph Fiennes, Monique Curnen, James Rebhorn

HBO Films' Bernard and Doris stars Susan Sarandon as Doris Duke, the richest woman in the world, and Ralph Fiennes as Bernard Lafferty, her devoted Irish butler.  In 1987 a penniless Bernard arrives on the eccentric billionaire's doorstep, fresh from six months in rehab.  Six years later Doris dies and leaves Bernard in control of her entire fortune.  The film tells the imagined story of an extraordinary relationship between two very real people.

Reservation Road, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 102 min., 35 mm
Director: Terry George
Writers: John Burnham Schwartz, Terry George
Producers: A. Kitman Ho, Nick Wechsler
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino, Elle Fanning, Sean Curley

On a warm September evening, college professor Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix), his wife, Grace (Jennifer Connelly), and their daughter, Emma (Elle Fanning), are attending a recital. Their 10-year-old son, Josh (Sean Curley), plays the cello beautifully as usual. His younger sister looks up to him, and his parents are proud of their son. On the way home they stop at a gas station on Reservation Road and there, in one terrible instant, Josh is taken from them forever.  

On a warm September evening, law associate Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) and his 11-year-old son, Lucas (Eddie Alderson), are attending a baseball game. Their favorite team, the Red Sox, is playing and hopefully heading for the World Series. Dwight cherishes his time spent with Lucas.  Driving his son back to his ex-wife, Ruth Wheldon (Mira Sorvino), Dwight heads towards his fateful encounter at Reservation Road. The accident happens so fast that Lucas is all but unaware, while Ethan – the only witness – is all too aware, as a panicked Dwight speeds away.

SCAD Student Showcase, 9:30 a.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 75 min.,
Directors/Writers/Producers/Cast: Various

The Savannah College of Art and Design student showcase features film and digital media work by several of the college’s most talented students.

Day Zero, 9:30 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 90 min., 35mm
Director: Bryan Gunnar Cole
Writer: Rob Malkani
Producer: Anthony Moody
Cast: Elijah Wood, Chris Klein, Jon Bemthal, Ginnifer Goodwin, Elisabeth Moss, Sofia Vassilieva, Ally Sheedy

Day Zero follows the lives of three best friends in New York City who have 30 days to come to terms with their fate after the military draft is reinstated.  Dixon, Rifkin and Feller grew up together in New York living very different lives but bound by their childhood friendship.  Rifkin (Chris Klein) is a married lawyer whose career is on the rise; he just made partner and is looking for any loophole to get out of serving. Feller (Elijah Wood) is working on his second novel; the first was a smash success but his draft notice causes severe writer's block.  Instead he draws up a list of his top 10 things to do before he enlists. Dixon (Jon Bernthal) drives a cab, lives a solitary life and is proud and ready to serve - until he meets someone and finally has something to lose.  Over 30 days, the three friends will find their relationships tested as they confront tightly held beliefs about life, death, courage and love.

The French Connection, 2:30 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 1971, 104 min., 35 mm
Director: William Friedkin
Writer: Ernest Tidyman
Producer: Philip D'Antoni
Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Frédéric de Pasquale

William Friedkin's classic policier was propelled to box-office glory and a fistful of Oscars in 1972 by its pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking and fashionably cynical attitude toward law enforcement. Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle, a brutally pushy New York City narcotics detective, is a dauntless crime fighter and Vietnam-era "pig," a reckless vulgarian whose antics get innocent people killed. Loosely based upon an actual investigation that led to what was then the biggest heroin seizure in U.S. history, the picture traces the efforts of Doyle and his partner (Roy Scheider) to close the pipeline pumping Middle Eastern smack into the States through the French port of Marseilles. (The actual French Connection cops, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, make cameo appearances.) It was widely recognized at the time that Friedkin had lifted a lot of his high-strung technique from the Costa-Gavras thrillers The Sleeping Car Murders and Z—he even imported one of Costa-Gavras's favorite thugs, Marcel Bozzuffi, to play the Euro-trash hit man plugged by Doyle in an elevated train station. There was an impressive official sequel in 1975, French Connection II, directed by John Frankenheimer, which took Popeye to the south of France and got him hooked on horse. A couple of semi-official spinoffs followed, The Seven-Ups, which elevated Scheider to the leading role, and Badge 373, with Robert Duvall stepping in as the pugnacious flatfoot. (Synopsis by David Chute.)

The Savages, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2007, 106 min., 35 mm
Director/Writer: Tamara Jenkins
Producers: Ted Hope, Anne Carey and Erica Westheimer
Cast: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco

The last thing the two Savage siblings ever wanted to do was look back at their difficult family history. Having wriggled their way out from beneath their father’s domineering thumb, they are now firmly cocooned in their own complicated lives. Wendy (Academy Award-nominee Laura Linney) is a struggling East Village playwright, a.k.a., a temp who spends her days applying for grants, stealing office supplies and dating her very married neighbor. Jon (Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a neurotic college professor writing books on obscure subjects in Buffalo. When a call comes that informs the siblings that the father they have long feared and avoided, Lenny Savage (Tony Award-winner Philip Bosco), is slowly being consumed by dementia and they are the only ones that can help.

Romance and Cigarettes, 2:30 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, 2005, 115 min., 35mm
Director/Writer: John Turturro
Producers: John Penotti, John Turturro
Cast: James Gandolfini, Susan Surandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken, Eddie Izzard, Barbara Sukowa, David Thorton, Elaine Stritch

Romance and Cigarettes is a down-and-dirty musical love story. Nick (James Gandolfini) is a New York ironworker married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), a strong but gentle woman with whom he has three grown daughters.  He is secretly carrying on a torrid affair with the flame-haired Tula (Kate Winslet). When his wife catches him and Tula wants a commitment, Nick finds himself a prisoner of his primal urges. A good man at heart, he must find his way back to his family before he runs out of chances.

Drawing on inspirations as diverse as Charles Bukowski and The Honeymooners, this romantic adventure features songs that are anthems of our time—from James Brown, Janis Joplin, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Bruce Springsteen and more—which illuminate the characters' hopes and dreams.  When pushed to their breaking points, these conflicted characters break into song, singing along, sometimes lip-synching, sometimes in full voice, with the music lodged in their subconscious.

The Kite Runner, 7 p.m., Trustees Theater
USA, China, 2007, 122 min., 35 mm
Director: Marc Forster
Writer: David Benioff
Producers: William Horberg, Walter F. Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh
Cast: Shaun Toub, Saïd Taghmaoui, Atossa Leoni, Khalid Abdalla, Navid Negahban, Navid Negahban, Navid Negahban, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada

Based one on of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Kite Runner is a profoundly emotional tale of friendship, family, devastating mistakes and redeeming love. In a divided country on the verge of war, two childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever. It’s a glorious afternoon in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the exhilarating joy of a kite-fighting tournament.  But in the aftermath of the day’s victory, one boy’s fearful act of betrayal will mark their lives forever and set in motion an epic quest for redemption. Now, after 20 years of living in America, Amir returns to a perilous Afghanistan under the Taliban’s iron-fisted rule to face the secrets that still haunt him and take one last daring chance to set things right.