Complete Program Announced for Aspen Film Academy Screenings

The Aspen Film Academy Screenings are underway and Oscar-worthy films will be screened through the beginning of the year (December 21–January 1).

For more than two decades, this unique film series has given voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the opportunity to screen likely Oscar contenders while visiting Aspen over the holidays. Also open to the general public, this ten-day feast of the newest buzz-worthy movies will take place at Harris Concert Hall, with two screenings most evenings. Tickets to the general public are available through Aspen Show Tickets at the Wheeler Opera House and www.aspenshowtix.com.

Here is the Academy Screenings program:

This year’s program highlights eagerly anticipated films from notable directors, award-winning performances, and festival favorites.

The Academy Screenings’ program includes: Steven Spielberg’s sweeping new epic, WAR HORSE; Tomas Alfredson’s gripping TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, an adaptation of the John Le Carré classic starring Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong; Simon Curtis’s insightful MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, and Derek Jacobi; Oren Moverman’s searing crime drama RAMPART, with Woody Harrelson, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, Robin Wright, Ben Foster, and Ice Cube.

Other films that are garnering Academy Award buzz and to be screened at this year’s festival are: Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE, with Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, James Gandolfini, Viola Davis, and Max von Sydow; Lars von Trier’s achingly beautiful MELANCHOLIA, starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt, and Charlotte Rampling; Michel Hazanavicius’s visually enthralling THE ARTIST, with Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, and Malcolm McDowell; Rodrigo Garcia’s elegant ALBERT NOBBS, starring Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, and Mia Wasikowska;

Alexander Payne’s perceptive THE DESCENDANTS, starring George Clooney; Steve McQueen’s daringly provocative SHAME, with Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan; Jason Reitman’s latest, YOUNG ADULT, written by Diablo Cody and starring Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, and Patton Oswalt; and Phyllida Lloyd’s biopic THE IRON LADY, starring Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent.

Also screening are Philippe Falardeau’s beautifully crafted tale of a teacher who makes a difference, MONSIEUR LAZHAR; Dee Rees’s intelligent coming-of-age story PARIAH; Drake Doremus’s bittersweet romantic drama LIKE CRAZY, starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones; Ralph Fiennes’s Shakespearian adaptation, CORIOLANUS, with Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jessica Chastain; UNDEFEATED, the engaging documentary about an underdog football team from Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin; Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki’s LE HAVRE, a whimsical festival favorite; and Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s award-winning THE KID WITH A BIKE, with Cécile de France.