Savannah Film Festival Opens With Victor Levin's "5 to 7" (**½)

Crowds wait below the Trustees Theatre marquee on Broughton Street.

The 2013 Savannah Film Festival showcased a few strong films—"The Past," "The Invisible Woman," "Hank & Asha"—and honored some worthy guests—Alexander Payne, Jeremy Irons, Abigail Breslin. The overall quality of content, however, was down from in years past. The 2013 opening night film, "Nebraska," certainly had the right pedigree and was attended by both director Payne and star Bruce Dern. Previous opening night films have included "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Artist," so you could have colored me surprised when I learned this year's opening night film was one that wasn't even on my radar—Victor Levin's "5 to 7."

With Oscar-hunting films like "The Imitation Game," "Whiplash" and "Foxcatcher" included in the lineup, I'm surprised that "5 to 7" was chosen as the film to kick it off. The movie premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival and features Anton Yelchin and Bérénice Marlohe as lead players with Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Olivia Thirlby and Lambert Wilson in supporting roles.

2013 Savannah Film Festival competition films

The lineup for this year's Savannah Film Festival was released this week, revealing an expanded selection for the 16th year of programming. Two new categories debut this year—Historical Shorts and SuperShorts! Historical Shorts is as it sounds—period pieces—and SuperShorts! features films under six minutes.

Look for more information on the special guests and gala presentations later this week, but in the meantime, check out www.savannahfilmfestival.com for the complete schedule and more information. The festival takes place from October 26th through November 2nd.

Narrative Features

Hank and Asha (USA)
In this modern love story, an Indian woman studying in Prague and a lonely New Yorker begin an unconventional video correspondence—two strangers searching for human connection in a hyper-connected world.

Home:______ (USA)
“Home:______” is the story of a man recovering from a mental illness who tries to rebuild his life and reconnect with his estranged son by moving out of a group home and into an apartment of his own.

Jack Irish: Bad Debts (Australia)
A phone message from ex-client Danny McKillop doesn’t ring any bells for Jack Irish (Guy Pierce). Life is hard enough without having to dredge up old problems: his beloved football team has moved interstate; the odds on his latest plunge at the track seem far too long; and he’s still cooking for one. But when Danny turns up dead, Jack has to take a walk back into a dark and dangerous past

The Pretty One (USA)
When a woman’s (Zoe Kazan) prettier identical twin sister dies, the woman assumes her sister’s identity, moves to the big city and into her apartment.