Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson, and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton will open the eleventh annual Santa Fe Independent Film Festival (SFiFF) on Wednesday October 16, 2019, and Sorry We Missed You, the latest from Ken Loach will close the festival on Sunday, October 20. Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, will screen as SFiFF’s Centerpiece Presentation on Friday October 18.
“We are elated to present three very different explorations of the human experience as our marquee presentations, with stellar performances, very real drama, and awards buzz, these titles will dazzle film lovers” said SFiFF Artistic Director Jacques Paisner.
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, Just Mercy follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan has his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them. Just Mercy stars Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Rob Morgan, Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, and Karan Kendrick
Marriage Story is Academy Award nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach’s incisive and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together. The film’s stars, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, reflect the inner turmoil of their characters experiencing divorce firsthand. Marriage Story stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta.
The British working class is once again the empathetic subject of Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, a wrenching, intimate family drama that exposes the dark side of the so-called “gig economy.” Ricky, a former laborer, and his home-attendant wife Abby—who lost their home in the 2008 financial crash—are desperate to get out of their financial distress. When an opportunity comes up for Ricky to work as his own boss as a delivery driver, they sell their only asset, Abby’s car, to trade it in for a shiny new white van and the dream that Ricky can work his way up to someday owning his own delivery franchise. But the couple find their lives are quickly pushed further to the edge by an unrelenting work schedule, a ruthless supervisor and the needs of their two teenage children. Capturing the sacred moments that make a family as well as the acts of desperation they need to undertake to make it through each day, this universal story is skillfully and indelibly told with unforgettable performances and a searing script by Loach’s long-time collaborator Paul Laverty. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at 2019 Festival de Cannes. Sorry We Missed You stars Kris Hitchen, and Debbie Honeywood.