'The Two Faces of January' and 'Alex of Venice to Open and Close San Francisco Film Festival

The San Francisco Film Festival has announced its opening and closing night films

The 57^th edition will open on April 24, Hossein Amini's "The Two Faces of January." The film, which is adapted by Patricia Highsmith, stars Oscar Isaac ("Inside Llewyn Davis"), Viggo Mortensen ("A Dangerous Method," "The Lord of the Rings"), and Kirsten Dunst ("Melancholia," Spider-Man") and tells the story of a con-artist, his wife and a mysterious ex-pat tour guide and there attempts to flee Greece following a violent incident that interlocks the trio. The film premiered at the Berlinale this past February and scored rave reviews. Tim Robey from the Daily Telegraph wrote, "It's an elegantly pleasurable period thriller, a film of tidy precision and class."

Meanwhile Stefan Pape from HeyUGuys stated, "Rather than feel like an actual film noir, instead it feels like a modern film imitating the genre, and as such struggles to compel in quite the way it should."

The movie marks Amini's debut feature as a director. However he is recognized for writing the critically acclaimed Nicolas Winding Refn film "Drive." He also wrote "Snow White and the Huntsman," "47 Ronin" and "The Wings of the Dove" which nabbed him a Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie is set to be distributed by Magnolia but given the lack of a release date expect it to launch at the end of the year.

The closing night film for the festival will be "Alex of Venice." The film will close the festival on May 8 and marks the directorial debut for Chris Messina ("Vicky Christina Barcelona," "Julie and Julia"). The film will premiere at Tribeca before going to San Francisco. The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Smash") as an environmental lawyer whose workaholism often estranges her from her son and husband, a stay-at-home dad played by Messina. The film has no distribution deal at the moment but after Tribeca things may change.  

Both films will screen at San Francisco's Castro Theatre. The full lineup for the film festival has yet to be announced but the competition slate has. Films in the slate include "The Amazing Catfish," "The Blue Wave," "Difret," and "The Dune." The festival also has two musical performances lined up and it also plans on giving a special tribute to Richard Linklater ("Before Midnight"). The festival will also premiere Linklater's festival hit "Boyhood." That film, which stars Patricia Arquette ("Ed Wood," "True Romance"), Ethan Hawke ("Before Midnight," "Training Day"), and Ellar Coltrane ("Fast Food Nation"), has been hailed by critics which have hailed it as a masterpiece. The movie will be release by IFC Films later this year.

The San Francisco Film festival is one of the longest running film festivals in North America. The event is organized by the San Francisco Film Society and is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries annually. This year the festival will run from April 24 to May 8.