"Meadowland" – Set in the hazy aftermath of an unimaginable loss, where married couple Sarah and Phil come unhinged, recklessly ignoring the repercussions. The directorial debut of cinematographer Reed Morano, "Meadowland" is a visceral exploration of grief and hope. The film is distributed by Cinedigm. Director: Reed Morano. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Ty Simpkins, John Leguizamo, Kevin Corrigan and Merritt Wever.

"Spotlight" – The riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world's oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper's tenacious "Spotlight" team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. The film is distributed by Open Road Films. Director: Tom McCarthy. Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'Arcy James and Stanley Tucci.

DOCS TO WATCH
Launched last year, the Docs to Watch series returns, focusing exclusively on nine of the top must-see documentaries from this year, as well as those gaining award season attention. Attending guests will participate in a Q&A for their respective films. The directors from each of the documentaries will join a panel moderated by Scott Feinberg, awards columnist for The Hollywood Reporter to be held on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Expected to attend are director Asif Kapadia ("Amy"); directors Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon ("Best of Enemies"); director Bobcat Goldthwait ("Call Me Lucky"); director Matthew Heineman ("Cartel Land"); director Kirby Dick ("The Hunting Ground"); directors Geeta Patel and Ravi Patel ("Meet the Patels"); director Liz Garbus ("What Happened, Miss Simone"); Evgeny Afineevsky ("Winter on Fire"); and director Crystal Moselle ("The Wolfpack"). Both Liz Garbus and Kirby Dick are previous Academy Award nominees in the Best Documentary category. Morgan Neville received the Best Documentary Academy Award for "Twenty Feet from Stardom."

SIGNATURE SERIES
The Signature Series features a curated selection of premiere films ranging from documentaries and animation to narrative features from around the world. Each of the screenings will conclude with an in-depth discussion with representatives of the film.           

Screenings will include "Coming Through the Rye," The Weather Channel's Exclusive Documentary "Dead of Winter: The Donner Party," "Ek Harzarchi Note (1000 Rupee Note)," "He Named Me Malala," "Jasmine," "Krisha," "Mia Madre," "One Day in Auschwitz," "Return to Nuke 'Em High: Vol. 2," "Son of Saul," "Tab Hunter Confidential," "The Prophet" and "Touched with Fire."

COMPETITION SCREENINGS
As part of the annual competition screening event, 85 films will match up in the categories of narrative features and documentary features, along with animated shorts, documentary shorts, historical shorts, professional shorts, student shorts, supershorts and World Shorts Australia. The films selected will compete to win more than $80,000 in cash and prizes.

Documentary narratives include "Becoming Bulletproof," "Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play," "Containment," "Frame by Frame" and "The Penguin Counters."

Feature competition films include "Embers," "Forward. Side. Close!," "Papa," "Scout" and "Tumbledown."

Jury members for the contest include Diane Connors (VP of Special Events, Walt Disney Pictures), June Dowad (VP, Sandra Marsh & Associates), Jody Gottlieb (Director of Development, Vulcan Productions) and Leonard Maltin (film critic). 

The complete line-up is available online Thursday, Oct. 1 where additional tickets and passes will be available for purchase online at savannahboxoffice.com, by telephone at 912.525.5050 or in person at the Trustees Theater, located at 216 E. Broughton St., Savannah, Georgia.

About the Savannah Film Festival
The festival, and the competition, provides students with opportunities as unique as the movies on the screen. It's a chance for SCAD students to exclusively connect with leaders from the entertainment industry through master classes, coffee talks, lectures and panel discussions and a chance for Savannah, a premier film hub, to promote quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.

Visit filmfest.scad.edu for a complete list of films and screening locations or follow the festival on Facebook and on Twitter @savfilmfest and use the hashtag #SAVFF.

About SCAD
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees at distinctive locations to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in  more than 40 majors, as well as minors in more than 60 disciplines. With 32,000 alumni worldwide, SCAD demonstrates an exceptional education and unparalleled career preparation.

At locations in  Savannah and  Atlanta, Georgia; in  Hong Kong; in  Lacoste, France; and online through  SCAD eLearning, the diverse student body consists of more than 12,000 students, from across the United States and over 100 countries. SCAD's innovative curriculum is enhanced by advanced, professional-level technology, equipment and learning resources. Curricular collaborations with companies and organizations including Google and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) affirm the professional currency SCAD champions in its degree programs.

The university, students, faculty and alumni have garnered acclaim from respected organizations and publications worldwide including four consecutive years of No. 1 rankings for the undergraduate interior design program by DesignIntelligence, recognition as one of the 2014 Red Dot Design Rankings' top 10 universities in the Americas and Europe, and the No. 1 graduate fashion program in the U.S. as determined by London-based Business of Fashion. For more information, visit the official SCAD blog or scad.edu.

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