The 29th SCAD Savannah Film Festival will open Oct. 24 with the thriller “A Talent for Murder” and present Helen Mirren with its Legend of Entertainment Award.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Savannah Film Festival will open its 29th edition on Saturday, Oct. 24, with a screening of Anton Corbijn’s thriller “A Talent for Murder,” followed by a moderated Q&A with Helen Mirren, who will accept the Legend of Entertainment Award in person.
“We are thrilled to open this year’s festival with ‘A Talent for Murder’ and to present Helen Mirren with the Legend of Entertainment Award,” said Christina Routhier, senior executive director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. She added that Mirren’s career offers SCAD students a chance to learn from a master of the craft.
Distributed by Bleecker Street and LD Entertainment, “A Talent for Murder” follows a young man (Alden Ehrenreich) sent by a New York publisher to Switzerland to persuade a renowned author (Mirren) to write the final installment of a thriller anthology. The eight‑day festival draws more than 74,000 attendees each year and includes competition titles, features, documentaries, shorts, animation, panels and workshops. Variety will again partner with the festival for its annual Pixels and Pencils panel and the 10 Artisans to Watch program.
Mirren’s honors include an Academy Award for “The Queen,” Oscar nominations for “The Madness of King George,” “Gosford Park” and “The Last Station,” a Tony, four Emmys and numerous BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG awards. She has been named a Dame of the British Empire and has received the BAFTA Fellowship, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award, the SAG Life Achievement Award and the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award. Additional honorees and films for this year’s festival are slated to be announced in the coming weeks.