The 48th Annual Atlanta Film Festival and Creative Conference April 25 - May 5, 2024

It’s time for my favorite event in Atlanta, the Atlanta Film Festival! Chosen from over 10,000 submissions, the festival brings both feature and short films to Atlanta. This year’s lineup of 142 selected films will feature diverse filmmakers who continue to uplift voices and stories from around the world, representing 118 countries. As always, there is an emphasis on films from the local area, with over 24% of films at the festival with ties to Georgia filmmakers. The Atlanta Film Festival is an event film lovers won’t want to miss. ATLFF is presenting some of the best upcoming films that Hollywood has to offer, including movies from top studios and films, along with films from around the world.

The 48th annual Atlanta Film Festival and Creative Conference will take place Thursday, April 25 - Sunday, May 5, 2024, at the Plaza Theatre and Tara Theatre in Atlanta and virtually. 

The long-running festival has always been a distinguished event, recognized as one of the “Ten Best Film Festivals in the US” by USA Today readers and one of the “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine.

The Opening Night Presentation of Amazon Studios’ “The Idea of You” will take place at the Plaza Theatre on Friday, April 26. The Idea of You takes place after a chance encounter at the Coachella Music Festival, Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. It’s not long before Solène discovers that life in the spotlight might be more than she bargained for. Director Michael Showalter is expected to take part in red-carpet interviews and will receive the Atlanta Film Festival’s “The Rebel Award” in an on-stage presentation before the start of the film. There will be a Q&A with Michael Showalter immediately after the screening.

The Closing Night Presentation film is “Sing Sing” on Saturday, May 4th, and will take place at the Plaza Theatre. “Sing Sing” is about Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit. He finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art. Filmmaker Greg Kwedar and cast members Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield, Sean ‘Dino’ Johnson, and Jon Adrian ‘JJ’ Velazquez are expected to take part in red carpet interviews and a Q&A after the film.

The festival is also known for its short film categories and is one of the few festivals in the country that offer Academy Award-qualifying for all three short categories: Narrative, Documentary, and Animated.

The 14th annual Creative Conference, ATLFF’s popular educational programming extension, returns Tuesday, April 30 - Friday, May 3. The Creative Conference offers educational programming for upcoming filmmakers, festivalgoers, newcomers, and members of the greater community to learn from industry experts. The Creative Conference features workshops, panels, talks, and demos that will delve into the world of filmmaking, focusing on topics such as screenwriting, pitching, acting, producing, casting, funding, and distribution and how they all come together to make a film or television episode. Thirty-two in-person panels and twelve virtual panels are planned during the 11-day festival.

The full schedule of films and events is available at  www.AtlantaFilmFestival.com and through the ATLFF 2024 app. Festival passes are on sale now on the site. Tickets for individual events will be available online.