28TH SCAD Savannah Film Festival Unveils 2025 Lineup

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The Savannah College of Art and Design’s 28th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival will take place Oct. 25–Nov. 1. The largest university-run film festival in the U.S., this eight-day celebration of cinematic excellence honors both professional and student filmmakers and welcomes major industry luminaries, including award-winning directors, writers, and actors.

 A key stop on the Academy Awards festival circuit, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival will screen 167 films, including 56 narrative feature films, 15 documentary feature films, and 96 short films, with seven world premieres and three U.S. premieres among its selections.

The 2025 schedule includes Gala and Signature Screenings, Special Presentations, professional and student competition films, the Docs to Watch and Pixels and Pencils series, and the Behind Their Lens and Below the Line panel series. Over its history, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival has screened more than 225 Academy Award-nominated films and has honored nearly 200 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers from around the world. Students from an array of the university’s top ranked programs, including acting, animation, film and television, production design, sound design, themed entertainment design, dramatic writing, and more will have the opportunity to engage and interact with these creative leaders throughout the festival providing insight that prepares them for future creative careers in the entertainment industry.

 “Every October, SCAD transforms Savannah into a master class in moviemaking, with our 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival lineup featuring Jennifer Lopez, Mark Hamill (the original Skywalker!), Wicked's Jon M. Chu, and so many more who help SCAD Bees make the leap from classroom to call sheet,” said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. “Come for the Oscar-bound premieres and stay for the splendor of the South’s most cinematic city. Silver-screen dreams live here — lights, camera, SCAD!”

Gala Screenings

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is renowned for spotlighting major award contenders, screening a multitude of studio and streamer films prior to their wider release. The festival will open Saturday, Oct. 25, with a screening of Eternity. Song Sung Blue will screen Thursday, Oct. 30, as the Centerpiece Gala Presentation. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the festival will close with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The following 18 films have been selected for distinguished screenings:

• ●  Bugonia — Focus Features (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)

• ●  Christy — Black Bear Pictures (dir. David Michôd)

• ●  The Chronology of Water — The Forge (dir. Kristen Stewart)

• ●  Eternity — A24 (dir. David Freyne)

• ●  Frankenstein — Netflix (dir. Guillermo del Toro)

• ●  Hamnet — Focus Features (dir. Chloé Zhao)

• ●  Is This Thing On? — Searchlight (dir. Bradley Cooper)

• ●  Jay Kelly — Netflix (dir. Noah Baumbach)

• ●  No Other Choice — Neon (dir. Park Chan-wook)

• ●  Nouvelle Vague — Netflix (dir. Richard Linklater)

• ●  Nuremberg — Sony Pictures Classics (dir. James Vanderbilt)

• ●  Rebuilding — Bleecker Street (dir. Max Walker-Silverman)

• ●  Rental Family — Searchlight (dir. HIKARI)

• ●  Sentimental Value — Neon (dir. Joachim Trier)

• ●  Song Sung Blue — Focus Features (dir. Craig Brewer)

• ●  The Testament of Ann Lee — Searchlight (dir. Mona Fastvold)

• ●  Train Dreams — Netflix (dir. Clint Bentley)

• ●  Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery — Netflix (dir. Rian Johnson)

• Special Presentations

  Get a look at buzzworthy films from the world's leading filmmakers premiering at the festival or not yet in wide release. In previous years, these films have gone on to win Academy Awards and other prestigious accolades:

• ●  A Private Life — Sony Pictures Classics (dir.Rebecca Zlotowski)

• ●  Belén — Amazon MGM Studios (dir. Dolores Fonzi)

• ●  Breathless (1960) — Rialto Pictures (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)

• ●  It Was Just an Accident — Neon (dir. Jafar Panahi)

• ●  Left-Handed Girl — Netflix (dir. Shih-Ching Tsou)

• ●  Merrily We Roll Along — Sony Pictures Classics (dir. Maria Friedman)

• ●  Peter Hujar's Day — Sideshow/Janus (dir. Ira Sachs)

• ●  Sirât — Neon (dir. Oliver Laxe)

• ●  The Love That Remains — Sideshow/Janus (dir. Hlynur Palmason)

• ●  The President's Cake — Sony Pictures Classics (dir. Hasan Hadi)

• ●  The Secret Agent — Neon (dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho)

• ●  Urchin — 1-2 Special (dir. Harris Dickinson)

• Signature Screenings

• The Signature Screenings series features premiere and special screenings, with some followed by Q&As with select directors, writers, actors, and producers. This year’s selection of films and series include:

• ●  Blue Moon — Sony Pictures Classics (dir. Richard Linklater)

• ●  Big Rock Burning — (dir. David Goldblum)

• ●  Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There — (dir. Dave LaMattina, Chad Walker)

• ●  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment (dir. Steven Spielberg)

• ●  Hedda — Amazon MGM Studios (dir. Nia DaCosta)

• ●  Highest 2 Lowest — A24 (dir. Spike Lee)

• ●  Him — Universal Pictures (dir. Justin Tipping)

• ●  If I Had Legs I'd Kick You — A24 (dir. Mary Bronstein)

• ●  Kiss of the Spider Woman — Roadside Attractions (dir. Bill Condon)

• ●  The Life of Chuck — Neon (dir. Mike Flanagan)

• ●  One Battle After Another — Warner Bros. Pictures (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

• ●  Preparation for the Next Life — Amazon MGM Studios (dir. Bing Liu)

• ●  SCAD Presents: André Leon Talley — Style is Forever (dir. Zach Stafford, Clay Haskell)

• ●  Sinners — Warner Bros. Pictures (dir. Ryan Coogler)

• ●  The Smashing Machine — A24 (dir. Benny Safdie)

• ●  Splitsville — Neon (dir. Michael Angelo Covino)

• ●  Twinless — Roadside Attractions (dir. James Sweeney)

• In Conversation: Wicked: For Good with Director Jon M. Chu
  Director Jon M. Chu sits down with Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Ford for an in-depth exploration of the extraordinary artistry of the two Wicked films and their remarkable journey to the big screen. This In Conversation event will include a discussion of Chu’s award-winning career and will feature new revelations and insights into Wicked: For Good, the epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion to last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time.

  Docs to Watch

  The 12th annual Docs to Watch series will be accompanied by a roundtable with the directors hosted by Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter. Selected films include:

• ●  2000 Meters to Andriivka (dir. Mstyslav Chernov)

• ●  The Alabama Solution (dir. Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman)

• ●  Apocalypse in the Tropics (dir. Petra Costa)

• ●  Come See Me in the Good Light (dir. Ryan White)

• ●  IT’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (dir. Amy Berg)

• ●  My Mom Jayne (dir. Mariska Hargitay)

• ●  The Perfect Neighbor (dir. Geeta Gandbhir)

• ●  Riefenstahl (dir. Andres Veiel)

• ●  The Tale of Silyan (dir. Tamara Kotevska)

• Pixels and Pencils: Top Animated Contenders

  Presented in partnership with Variety, Pixels and Pencils highlights the directors behind the top animated films of the year. Showcasing a broad array of artistic avenues and animation styles, this series culminates in the directors roundtable panel, hosted by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. Selected films include:

  • ●  Arco (dir. Ugo Bienvenu)

  • ●  Elio (dir. Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi)

  • ●  First Look: In Your Dreams (dir. Alex Woo)

  • ●  KPop Demon Hunters (dir. Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang)

  • ●  Little Amélie or The Character of Rain (dir. Maïlys Vallade)

  • ●  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 — Lost in New Jersey (dir. Kent Seki)

    Panels

    Join the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for conversations and panels with industry stars and insiders. This year’s panels include:

  • ●  The Behind Their Lens series, presented in partnership with Indiewire, celebrates cinematic powerhouses who defy the odds and obstacles to bring us some of the most influential and poignant films and television series in recent years. Panels include:

    • ○  Behind Their Lens: Directors, with panelists Mary Bronstein (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), HIKARI (Rental Family), Leslye Headland (The Acolyte), and Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby).

    • ○  Behind Their Lens: Producers, with panelists Debra Hayward (Good Grief), Riva Marker (Reality), and Alison Owen (Back to Black).

    • ○  Behind Their Lens: Artisans, with panelists Kira Kelly (cinematographer, Him), Pam Martin (editor, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere), Taylor Joy Mason (editor, Him), and Shunika Terry (hair designer, Sinners).

  • ●  The Below the Line series, highlighting the contributions of below-the-line talent to the art of cinema, with a focus on costume design and production design:

  ○ Below the Line: The Power of Casting
  ■ Panelists include Kate Rhodes James (Gladiator 2) and Bernard Telsey (Wicked:

  For Good). Additional panelists to be announced.

  • ○  Below the Line: The Art of Production Design

    ■ Panelists include Juliana Baretto (Rebuilding), Jim Bissell (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), and Alexandra Schaller (Train Dreams).

  • ○  Below the Line: Scoring for the Screen with the Alliance for Women Film Composers
    ■ Panelists include Chanda Dancy, Florencia di Concilio, Laura Karpman, and

    moderator Allyson Newman.

  • ●  The SCAD Alumni Voices panel highlights graduates of the university’s top-ranked film and television degree programs. Panelists include actor Sebiye Behtiyar, animation supervisor Nathan Engelhardt, and composer EmmoLei Sankofa, with more to be announced.

  • ●  The exclusive Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel and Awards, hosted by festival media partner Entertainment Weekly.

  • ●  Variety's 10 Artisans to Watch, hosted by festival media partner Variety. Participants will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 15.

  • ●  The Art of Representation: Gersh Agents on Building Careers in Entertainment welcomes a panel of agents from Gersh, one of the largest entertainment and sports agencies in the world, as they pull back the curtain on the art of representation.

  • ●  The ABC’s of Entertainment Law will break down the essentials of Entertainment legalese, such as contracts, copyrights, credits, and distribution terms, in clear, practical applications that every emerging creative should know.

  • ●  Writing Bond: Crafting the Legend of 007 with screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade will explore how the writing pair have been the creative force shaping the world’s most famous spy. In this conversation, Purvis and Wade pull back the curtain on their collaborative process.

  • Competition Films

    The SCAD Savannah Film Festival celebrates the work of established and emerging filmmakers, from feature-length films to shorts. The juried competition showcases the best of professional, animated, and student films selected from more than 2,100 entries annually. Festival jurors include Alex Barasch (journalist, The New Yorker), Clifton Collins Jr. (actor), Leslye Headland (director, writer) Richard Lawson (critic), and Mary Neely (actor, producer, writer).

    Narrative Features

    From side-splitting comedies to heart-wrenching dramas, these narrative feature films represent diversity in storytelling, excellence in acting and directing, and exemplary cinematography and editing:

  • ●  Rains Over Babel (dir. Gala del Sol)

  • ●  Rosemead (dir. Eric Lin)

  • ●  She Dances (dir. Rick Gomez)

  • ●  Charliebird (dir. Libby Ewing)

  • Documentary Features

    Beyond simple subject matters, these documentaries present compelling stories that illuminate and educate audiences in a thought-provoking and timely manner:

  • ●  Room to Move (dir. Alexander Hammer)

  • ●  The Librarians (dir. Kim A. Snyder)

  • ●  Natchez (dir. Suzannah Herbert)

  • ●  Yanuni (dir. Richard Ladkani)

    Professional Shorts

    Running the gamut of subject matter and style, these short films are selected based on their individual merits in storytelling and execution:

  • ●  The Last Dance (dir. Hayden Mclean)

  • ●  All the Empty Rooms (dir. Joshua Seftel)

  • ●  Rise (dir. Jessica J. Rowlands)

  • ●  The Singers (dir. Sam Davis)

  • ●  Freeman Vines (dir. André Robert Lee, Tim Kirkman)

  • ●  Beyond Silence (dir. Marnie Blok)

  • ●  Synthesize Me (dir. Bear Damen)

  • ●  OK/NOTOK (dir. Pardeep Sahota)

    Animated Shorts

    These animated films represent the diversity of the craft, from simple, hand-drawn figures to stop-motion and digital rendering, showcasing unique storytelling at its finest:

  • ●  Snow Bear (dir. Aaron Blaise)

  • ●  Saq Nikté and the Spirit of the Mask (dir. Ester Weiner)

  • ●  Murmuration (dir. Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger)

  • ●  Hullabaloo: The Curse of the Cheshire Cat (dir. James Lopez)

  • ●  ReRooted (dir. Delphine Coudray)

  • ●  Forevergreen (dir. Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears)

  • ●  Éiru (dir. Giovanna Ferrari)

  • ●  anyone lived in a pretty how town (dir. Daniel Kreizberg)

  • ●  Cardboard (dir. Jean-Philippe Vine)

  • ●  Wednesdays with Gramps (dir. Chris Copeland, Justin Copeland)

  Previously announced honorees at this year’s festival are:

• ●  Will Arnett will receive the Luminary Award.

• ●  Hannah Beachler will receive the Variety Creative Impact in Production Design Award.

• ●  Craig Brewer will receive the Spotlight Director Award.

• ●  Rose Byrne will receive the Luminary Award.

• ●  Miles Caton will receive the Rising Star Award.

• ●  Jon M. Chu will receive the Vanguard Director Award.

• ●  Zoey Deutch will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award.

• ●  Joel Edgerton will receive the Vanguard Award.

• ●  Mark Hamill will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

• ●  Oscar Isaac will receive the Icon Award.

• ●  Rian Johnson will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award.

• ●  Jennifer Lopez will receive the Virtuoso Award.

• ●  Dylan O’Brien will receive the Lumiere Award.

• ●  Benny Safdie will receive the Maverick Director Award.

• ●  Miles Teller will receive the Distinguished Performance Award.

• ●  Tessa Thompson will receive the Distinguished Performance Award.