Cinema St. Louis Announces Lineup

Courtesy Cinescoop

Cinema St. Louis Announces Lineup

21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Nov. 8-18, 2012)

October 25, 2012 - The lights are about to go down, and the stars are getting ready to shine.

The 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) will be held Nov. 8-18. SLIFF will screen more than 400 films: 110 narrative features, 73 documentary features, and 226 shorts. This year's festival has a record 209 programs, with 50 countries represented.

The fest will host more than 100 filmmakers and related guests, including honorees Joe Dante (Lifetime Achievement Award), Ross McElwee (Maysles Bros. Lifetime Achievement Award in Documentary), Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (Women in Film Award), and Beau Willimon (Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award).

The festival opens with the St. Louis premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook," a dazzling new comedy by David O. Russell ("The Fighter," "Three Kings"). Starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, and Jennifer Lawrence (who's generating significant Oscar® buzz), "Silver Linings Playbook" won the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival.

Other prominent films featured in the festival include "A Late Quartet" (SLIFF's Opening Weekend Spotlight Selection), "Hyde Park on the Hudson," "Stand Up Guys," "Jayne Mansfield's Car," "Quartet," "Rust and Bone," "Struck by Lightning," "The Giant Mechanical Man," and "The Sapphires."

The fest schedule, ticket information, and a complete list of films (with descriptions) are available at the Cinema St. Louis Web site (www.cinemastlouis.org).

SLIFF's primary venues are the following theaters:

• Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland Ave.
• Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Plaza Frontenac, Lindbergh Boulevard and Clayton Road
• Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Blvd.
• Washington University, Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth and Skinker boulevards
• Webster University, Webster Hall's Moore Auditorium, 470 East Lockwood Ave.
• Wildey Theatre, 252 N. Main St., Edwardsville, Ill.

For more information, the public should visit www.cinemastlouis.org or call 314-289-4150.