The 50th Atlanta Film Festival and Creative Conference

It’s time for my favorite event in Atlanta, the Atlanta Film Festival! As one of the largest and longest-running festivals in the country, ATLFF welcomes an audience of over 28,000 annually to discover hundreds of new independent, international, animated, documentary, and short films selected from 8000+ submissions worldwide. As always, there is an emphasis on films celebrating the local area, with festival films tied to Georgia filmmakers. Attending the Atlanta Film Festival is a must for film lovers. ATLFF is presenting some of the best upcoming films Hollywood has to offer, including movies from top studios and from around the world.

The 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival and Creative Conference will take place Thursday, April 23 - Sunday, May 3, 2024, at the Plaza Theatre and Tara Theatre in Atlanta, with some of its lineup available virtually from May 4th - 11th.

The long-running festival has always been a distinguished event, recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” Atlanta Film Festival has been celebrated as the Best Film Festival by Creative Loafing, Sunday Paper, 10Best, and Atlanta Magazine.

Opening night on Thursday, April 23rd, will feature Idiots, directed by Macon Blair and filmed in Georgia. Emmy-winning producer Alex Orr, Executive Producer Joshua Harris, and actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. will attend.

Also on the same night, the premiere of the limited series documentary, The Birth of Trap Music, makes its debut. Stars and Executive Producers T.I. and Drumma Boy, among other cast members, will walk the red carpet ahead of the Opening Night and take part in a post-screening Q&A following the documentary screening.

On Friday, April 24, the Tara Theatre will screen One Spoon of Chocolate at 8 pm. The event will be attended by the film’s director, RZA, founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Emmy-nominated writer, producer, and director. The cast features Shameik Moore, Paris Jackson, Blair Underwood, Michael Harney, and Emyri Crutchfield.

A special screening of Gifted will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Tara Theater at 5 pm, with Emmy and Critics Choice Award-nominated star McKenna Grace in attendance. Grace will receive ATLFF’s Phoenix Award at the event, honoring her achievements, career momentum, and ongoing contributions to Atlanta’s film industry.

Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning actress and singer Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, Peacemaker) will attend a special screening of If I Go Will They Miss Me at the 50th annual Atlanta Film Festival on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

2026 IMAGE Film Awards Gala, part of the festival’s milestone 50th anniversary, will be held Friday, May 1, at Assembly Atlanta, recognizing standout contributions to film, television, and Georgia’s creative community.

This year’s honorees include Will Packer (Ossie Davis Award), Josh Brolin, Carrie Preston, Hilton Howell, and Georgia Entertainment (IMAGE Film Awards), David Cross (Rebel Award), and Alex Orr, who will receive the inaugural Will Packer Award.

The Closing Night film on Saturday, 2nd, will be Boots Riley's I Love Boosters, starring Keke Palmer, LaKeith Stanfield, Naomi Ackie, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore.

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 annual Creative Conference, ATLFF’s popular educational programming extension, runs April 28 to May 1st. The Creative Conference provides educational programs for aspiring filmmakers, festivalgoers, newcomers, and community members to gain insight 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.

Highlights include conversations with David Cross and directors Craig Zobel (The Penguin) and James Ponsoldt (Spectacular Now), alongside sessions such as Practical AI for Independent Filmmakers, Inside the Independent Film Ecosystem, and Creating Creature FX and Puppetry for Indies.

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

The Color Purple

My View: The Color Purple (2023) PG-13 Musical that follows the decades-spanning tale of Celie (Fantasia Barrino), who faces hardships in her life but finds her strength to survive through her faith and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. I am not a huge fan of the 1985 Steven Spielberg film, feeling it never captured the magic of the beloved Alice Walker book. Now we have a new version based on the Broadway musical. I am still not a fan. The film feels very much like a Broadway musical, with the songs taking up much of the film’s 2 hour and twenty-minute length. I loved some of the performances, especially Danielle Brooks as the fiery Sofia. I am guessing she might have supporting actress Oscar nod in her near future. However, the film never hit the mark emotionally for me, and there wasn’t a song in the bunch that I felt was a show-stopper. I think some of the fault is that Fantasia Barrino is asked to carry the film and while she can sing, I never connected with her character. Some of that is because of its Broadway roots, where we learn about the characters through their songs, but it seems like a lot of the songs were filler and not about what was going on with the characters themselves. Ultimately, this version of The Color Purple is too much Broadway glitter and not enough character insight like what we got from Alice Walker’s brilliant book.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Color Purple Website  Now in theatres everywhere.

My View: The Boys in the Boat (2023) PG-13 The story of the University of Washington junior eight-man rowing squad, from their Depression-era beginnings to their magical trip to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) molds the crew into winners and picks them over the more experienced senior crew to race. It’s a pick that could end his job. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a self-made man who has been on his own since he was 14, joins the team as his only way to stay in college. There is nothing new in this old-fashioned sports film directed by George Clooney, and that’s ok. This is a good film that hits all the right notes in a movie about a group of young men who start as cast-offs and work together to become something great. Edgerton works well as the hard-nosed coach who is short of praise but believes in his crew and makes them believe in themselves. Callum Turner does a fine job as the main character, Joe, who has had to work for everything he has ever achieved but isn’t sure he deserves any success until he meets a man who shows him he can overcome any challenge. While not an Oscar-worthy film like Chariots of Fire, The Boys in the Boat still is everything you want in a come-from-behind sports film, and that’s ok, too.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Boys in the Boat Website Now in theaters everywhere.

My View: Ferrari (2023) R  In 1957, Enzo Ferrari’s (Adam Driver) auto empire is in trouble, and all that he and his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) built in the last ten years is about to crumble. Enzo decides to bet it all on winning one race, the 1,000-mile trek across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia. Enzo and Laura recently lost their son, and Laura controls the company’s finances. Complicating matters even further is Enzo’s mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley), who has given Enzo another son. This film only works as well as it does because Adam Driver is such an outstanding actor. The problem is that Enzo is not a likable character and is a control freak who thinks he can outsmart and out-manipulate not only his competitors, but his loved ones as well. The script doesn’t give Driver a lot to work with, but he commands every scene he is in and holds his own with Cruz, who plays Laura, a woman who is constantly battling Enzo at every turn (and justly so). Ferrari feels a little like the cars that Enzo builds: fast and sleek but hard to control, and at times, I felt the story bogged down the back story of how Enzo’s company is failing and not enough about the man himself. I found Cruz’s Laura to be the more interesting of the two main characters and wanted more of her story to come to the surface. But this is Enzo’s story, and he will drive that car as fast as he can, no matter who tells him differently.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Ferrari Website Now in theatres everywhere.

Forgotten Film: A Midwinter’s Tale (1995) R  Joe (Michael Maloney) is an actor who is having a bit of a crisis and decides to save his sanity and career by staging a play as soon as possible. He picks Hamlet and perform a Christmas production in a small town in England. His agent (Joan Collins) thinks it’s a bad idea, and it is. To say mildly, the talent is almost nonexistent in the small town, and Joe is forced to cast a motley crew to put on his play. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, a man who knows a bit about Shakespeare and theatre, it brings us a fun and funny movie where everything that can go wrong does, despite that, the troupe tries to valiantly put the play on. I love the dialogue in this film as Branagh lets his cast spout off with hilarious results. My Rating: Full Price  A Midwinter's Tale Info   Available to rent or buy on Apple TV or Amazon.

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Color Purple: Child Labor Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Miller’s Girl (2024)   Cairo (Jenna Ortega) is a high school student who excels at everything she sets her mind to. Her English teacher, Jonathan (Martin Freeman), sees talent in Cairo and gives her some extra attention. When he realizes things may have gone too far, he rejects her, and now Cairo is out for revenge. The film has been talked about quite a bit, with some worrying about the underage girl having a possible affair with a teacher. Ortega is a rising star, and it will be interesting to see if she has some box office draw.   The film comes to theatres in late January.  Miller's Girl Info