The San Francisco International Film Festival has announce its opening and closing night screenings, as well as their centrepiece selection. Whit Stillman’s Irish co-produced Love & Friendship will open the festival on April 21st.
Love & Friendship is based on Stillman’s adaptation of the Jane Austen novella Lady Susan, and sees Stillman reteam with his Last Days of Disco stars Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny. Xavier Samuel, Stephen Fry, Emma Greenwell, Jemma Redgrave, James Fleet, and Morfydd Clark also star in the period drama. The novella on which the film is based is an early complete work that Austen never submitted for publication, that describes the schemes of the main character, the widowed Lady Susan, as she seeks a new husband for herself and one for her daughter.
Filming took place in Ireland in February and March of last year, with Katie Holly and Kieron J. Walsh of Blinder Films onboard as producers. Love & Friendship is a Westerly Films production in association with Blinder Films, Chic Films, Revolver Films, the Irish Film Board, Arte and the Netherlands Film Fund. Love & Friendship will be released in the UK and Ireland on September 2nd.
The documentary Bandit, which centres of the friendship of Burt Reynolds and stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham, has been chosen as the closing night screening. James Schamus’ Philip Roth adaptation Indignation will be the festival’s centrepiece screening.
The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21st to May 5th.