Angelina Jolie’s new film, the intimate romantic drama By the Sea, has been handed an opening night world premiere at AFI Fest, the annual event laid on by the American Film Institute. The move suggests Jolie’s third film as a director, which she also stars in opposite her husband Brad Pitt as a couple facing a relationship crisis, may have some awards season potential.
“Time and again, Angelina Jolie Pitt has proven herself an artist of the highest calibre,” Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO, told the Hollywood Reporter. “It is an honour for AFI to celebrate her latest story with its world premiere and, in doing so, to shine a proper light upon her boundless creative energies as actor, director, writer and producer.”
“AFI has long supported the boldness and experimentation that accompanies provocative cinema,” said Jolie. “As a film-maker, and on behalf of our cast and crew, I am honoured to launch the film at the opening night gala for AFI Fest.”
AFI is often seen as a “best of the best”-style event which brings a multitude of festival hits from Toronto, Venice and Cannes to Hollywood ahead of the coming awards season. Recent opening night films include 2014’s A Most Violent Year, which won best film from the National Board of Review and scored Jessica Chastain a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress, as well as being mentioned by a number of critics on their annual top 10 lists, and 2013’s Saving Mr Banks, which went on to secure best actress Bafta, SAG and Golden Globes nominations for Emma Thompson, as well as a single Oscar nod for best score.
The mid 70s-set By the Sea, which reunites Jolie and Pitt on screen for the first time since 2005’s Mr and Mrs Smith, sees the pair as a married couple travelling through France who are forced to re-examine their relationship after an encounter with a younger couple (Mélanie Laurent and Melvil Poupaud) in a seaside town. The first trailer, released earlier this month, hinted at a dysfunctional relationship, with Jolie’s tearstained character seen popping pills and slapping her lover against a gorgeous, opulent coastal backdrop.
Jolie’s previous films have received a mixed reaction from critics. Balkan war drama In the Land of Blood and Honey picked up a nod for best foreign language film at the celebrity-obsessed Golden Globes in 2011, and last year’s Unbroken scored Oscar nominations for Roger Deakins’ cinematography, as well as in two technical sound categories.
By the Sea will debut at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on 5 November, just over a week prior to its debut in US cinemas.
