Gus Van Sant to Attend Retrospective at San Diego Film Fest (Exclusive)

AFP

Director Gus Van Sant will attend a tribute and retrospective of his films at the 11th San Diego Film Festival Sept. 26-30.

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"We're absolutely thrilled to have Gus join us," festival president Kevin Leap tells The Hollywood Reporter. "This is the first time he's had a film-festival restrospective."

Leap promises to screen "the vast majority of his feaures," including Milk and Good Will Hunting, both nominated for directing Oscars, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, and the Palme d'Or winner Elephant.

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Also for the first time this year, films will be screened at the oceanside Sherwood Auditorium in La Jolla's Museum of Contemporary Art as well as in San Diego’s Gaslamp District. The Van Sant retrospective and awards ceremony will be held at the Sherwood Auditorium.

Leap, former publisher of Angeleno and San Diego magazines, is part of the five-person regime that took over the festival in March.

"We plan to have about 160 screenings, compared to about 90 or 100 last year," says Leap. "We're being pretty ambitious."