Key West Film Festival to Celebrate Love of Cinema Nov. 16-20

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Film buffs can celebrate creativity, diversity and sustainability with more than 75 cinematic offerings during the 11th annual Key West Film Festival. The 2022 event is set for Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 16-20.

Actor Chris Cooper, who won Academy and Golden Globe awards as Best Supporting Actor for his role as John Laroche in the 2002 Florida film “Adaptation” is to attend in person to receive the Golden Key Award for Career Excellence and to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary. “Adaptation” follows a screenwriter’s struggle with writer’s block while adapting author Susan Orlean’s nonfiction book “The Orchid Thief.”

In addition, Cooper is to unveil the world premiere of the short film “Nuts,” directed by Cooper and starring both the actor and his wife Marianne Leone, Thursday, Nov. 17, at Key West’s historic San Carlos Institute at 516 Duval St. Cooper also is to converse with David Fear, senior film editor of RollingStone.com, at the screening.

Taking center stage this year are opening, closing and spotlight films including “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Murder,” with Daniel Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc; “Women Talking,” with Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley; and Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” starring Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle and Adam Driver.

Key West venues include the Oldest House at 322 Duval St., hosting the Wednesday opening night party; The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton St.; Williams Hall, 729 Fleming St.; and The Lawn at The Perry Hotel, 7001 Shrimp Road on Stock Island.

Fest highlights are to include an 80th anniversary screening of “Casablanca” Friday, Nov. 18, with a conversation about the art of screenwriting between Florida Keys Film Commissioner Chad Newman and Academy Award–nominated writer-director and 2019 Golden Key Award winner Kimberly Peirce. The event at The Studios of Key West is free to the public.

The Golden Key for Costume Design honors Jennifer Johnson for her work in “Blonde,” a Netflix film starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe. Johnson is scheduled to participate in a discussion about her design artistry Saturday, Nov. 19, moderated by Tomris Laffly of Variety at the Studios of Key West.

International films are to include Brazil’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film “Mars One” and Academy Award nominee Hirokazu Kore-Ada’s “Broker,” which is also Japan’s Oscar entry.

Florida-focused films curated from more than 1,000 submissions include “God Forbid” by Billy Corben, at an outdoor poolside screening Sunday evening, Nov. 20, at The Perry Hotel; “Strangers to Peace” by director Margaret Cardillos; and “South Beach Shark Club” by Robert Requejo Ramos.

Documentaries touch on themes of music, food, wildlife, space, family and nudism. Making its Florida premiere is director Ethan Coen’s film “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.” “Naked Gardens,” directed by Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas, is about America’s largest naturalist colony in Jupiter, Florida.

This year’s LGBTQ films are programmed with assistance from Eugene Hernandez, executive director of the Sundance Film Festival and Brian Brooks of Cinetic Media. Films include “Close,” Belgium’s Academy Awards entry directed by Luka Dhont; “All Man: The International Male Story,” recounting the story of the famous men’s catalog International Male; “The Swimmer,” an Israeli thriller; and “Finding Her Beat,” produced by Key West winter resident Keri Pickett about Asian women who redefine gender roles after being locked out of the world of Taiko drumming.

Moviemaker Magazine has named the Key West Film Festival one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.”

Information about all-access passes — priced from $399 for priority seating, unlimited film screenings and invitations to special events — as well as details of other passes and a film schedule can be found at kwfilmfest.com.

Event information, schedule and ticketing: kwfilmfest.com