An eclectic group of eight filmmakers who have received acclaim for their work on independent films in 2015 — and, in many cases, other years as well — will appear on the AFI Fest’s second annual Indie Contenders Roundtable, presented by The Hollywood Reporter and moderated by yours truly, at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, in Hollywood.
They are Ramin Bahrani (writer-director, 99 Homes), Blythe Danner (lead actress, I’ll See You in My Dreams), Tom McCarthy (writer-director, Spotlight), Saoirse Ronan (lead actress, Brooklyn), Jason Segel (supporting actor, The End of the Tour), Sarah Silverman (lead actress, I Smile Back), Lily Tomlin (lead actress, Grandma) and Olivia Wilde (lead actress, Meadowland)
The 90-minute conversation — which will touch on the panelists’ 2015 work, as well as their overall careers, influences, and the challenges and rewards of working on indies — will take place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s AFI Fest Cinema Lounge in front of a crowd of 200 AFI Fest badgeholders and ticketholders.
Video of the full conversation will subsequently appear on this blog.
The panelists for the inaugural edition in 2014 — the entirety of which you can watch here — were J.C. Chandor, Damien Chazelle, Marion Cotillard, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Hader, Michelle Monaghan, Kristen Stewart and Tilda Swinton.
