The seven days in between are a movie-lovers’ paradise as the Atlanta Film Festival invites everyone to See, Experience, Think, Laugh, Connect, Feel, and Do MORE as over 150 independent, international short, classic, documentary and animated films are show cased at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, surrounded by a host of daily conversations, celebrations, educational demos and receptions.

Following in the footsteps of strong topical opening night films like THE PEOPLE SPEAK (2009) and THE LENA BAKER STORY (2008), the 2010 Atlanta Film Festival kicks off with FREEDOM RIDERS, the story of the historic 1961 Freedom Rides. Nearly 50 years after dozens of college students, Black and White, boarded two buses and risked their lives to challenge Jim Crow’s stranglehold on the South and to push a nation to act, FREEDOM RIDERS presents an amazing account of our nation’s conscience awakened by the daring actions of a brave few.  The film celebrates America’s unsung heroes—including Georgia Congressman John Lewis—highlights a lesser-known passage of our collective history, and prompts conversations about America’s future.

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson and noted participants in the Civil Rights movement will be in attendance.

Closing the 2010 Atlanta Film Festival on Friday, April 23, 2010 at the 14^th Street Playhouse will be a screening of the documentary THE SECRET TO A HAPPY ENDING featuring Drive-by Truckers.

Co-founded by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley in 1996, Drive-by Truckers have built a passionate and devoted audience through constant touring, and by crafting a story driven sound that’s unapologetically Southern, and harkens back to 1960s and 1970s Rock.

"Watching SECRET TO A HAPPY ENDING, it’s clear that the Drive-By Truckers’ music, so rich in Southern history and culture, is the perfect manifestation of the Atlanta Film Festival’s mission to lead the community in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image,” said Atlanta Film Festival 365 Executive Director Gabe Wardell. “We’re all moved by the power of stories." he continued, "Closing with SECRET TO A HAPPY ENDING allows us to punctuate the southern storytelling tradition with a distinctive Georgia flair.”

HAPPY ENDING boasts other ties to the festival.  Drive–By Trucker’s Patterson Hood composed an original song for the soundtrack for 2009 ATL Film Fest winner THAT EVENING SUN.

Director Barr Weissman will be joined on-stage by Drive-By Truckers Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Brad Morgan!

Other Festival Highlights

·   Narrative and Documentary Competition Films – Groundbreaking. Original.  Cutting-edge.  Unique.  Inventive. Decidedly independent.  The competition categories feature the star auteurs of tomorrow. See Lineup Below.

·   US Premiere of 10 CONDITIONS OF LOVE – The 10 Conditions of Love follows the personal and political struggle of two-time Nobel Prize nominee Rebiya Kadeer, the most galvanizing leader of the China's oppressed and suppressed Muslim minority, the Uyghur. Living in exile in the U.S., Rebiya works tirelessly to bring attention to her peoples’ struggle for dignity and basic human rights.  Since igniting a firestorm of controversy when it debuted at the Melbourne Film Festival—Chinese hackers repeatedly attacked the festival’s Web site and the Chinese Foreign Ministry formally withdrew all of its submissions from the festival line-up—the 10 CONDITIONS OF LOVE has yet to screen in the U.S.  Until now.

·   Movie on the Meadow: 50^th Anniversary Screening of PSYCHO – Join the Atlanta Film Festival and the Atlanta Dogwood Festival as we bring the tradition of outdoor screenings back to Piedmont Park with the 50th Anniversary celebration of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO!  From the Bates Motel’s neon sign, to the foreboding manor on the hill, to the iconic shower sequence, to the seething Bernard Hermann score, PSYCHO leaves an indelible impression that continues to validate the film’s status as a true cinematic landmark.  See it on the big screen, in glorious black and white, as we turn the Movie on the Meadow into a field of screams! Movie on the Meadow is FREE and open to the public.

·   Luda’s Choice - Atlanta’s own Ludacris will present a film that has impacted his life—offering a personal introduction and followed by a unique Q&A.  Ludacris, will host an after-party at Straits located at 793 Juniper Street.

·   African American Spotlight – Includes FAMILY AFFAIR, picked up by Oprah Winfery’s network at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and THE BATTLE FOR BUNKER HILL  directed by Kevin Willmott (CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.) Among the African-American shorts block is I OWN YOU from Atlanta native and comedian Gary Anthony Williams (MALCOM IN THE MIDDLE, BOSTON LEGAL, THE BOONDOCKS).

·   Pink Peach – This competitive showcase of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) content includes 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, a chronicle of the Mormons’ systematic efforts to block Same-Sex Marriage Rights in California. Also included is PLAYING THE GRAY, which explores the lives and art of All the Kings Men, a drag and cabaret inspired troupe. 2010 Atlanta Film Festival Line-Up

·   Music Spotlight – In addition to the Drive-By Trucker’s doc, the music spotlight includes ALLEY PAT: THE MUSIC IS RECORDED a raucous look at Atlanta’s pioneering radio DJ Alley Pat. Also screening is DO IT AGAIN, one man’s odyssey to reunite the original Kinks.

·   Teen Screen – This family-friendly programming strand includes a “Saturday Morning Cartoons” block of new animated festival hits like PIGEON: IMPOSSIBLE and THE MOUSE THAT SOARED. Teen Screen also includes a special screening and post-film discussion of NO CROSSOVER about Allen Iverson’s legal troubles as a teenager directed by Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR—2008 ATL Film Fest Best Documentary). All Teen Screen screenings are FREE and open to the public.

·   Laugh More: Comedy Strand – I AM COMIC features over 75 comedians talking about the craft of comedy, including Atlantan Jeff Foxworthy and Margaret Cho, whose series DROP DEAD DIVA is lensed in Atlanta—both have been invited to appear at the screening; SATURDAY NIGHT a look at what it takes to produce an episode of Saturday Night Live, directed by James Franco (MILK, SPIDER-MAN), who has bee invited to attend; and SOULED COMEDY about African American comedians who are working to defy the stereotypes of what is and isn’t “black comedy.”   Winners from the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival will introduce the comedy shorts as well as perform a special live set at the festival.

·   Sports Strand – MY RUN takes us back to Atlanta 1996.  As this city prepared to host the Summer Olympics, Terry Hitchcock embarked on an epic quest—travelling from Minnesota to Georgia—on foot.  He ran the equivalent of 75 marathons in 75 days in 1996, with the last marathon timed to end in Atlanta at the opening ceremonies at the Olympics; RACING DREAMS about three young teens, all striving to one day make it on the NASCAR circuit, and their season racing, at speeds up to 70 mph, extreme karts.

2010 ATL FILM FEST Competition Films

2010 ATL FILM FEST Tickets and Passes

All Access and Festival Passes are on sale now online at AtlantaFilmFestival.com, and will be on sale onsite at the ATL Film Fest Box Office.

Regular Screening tickets will be available for purchase through AtlantaFilmFestival.com and at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema Box Office (walk up Kiosk available inside Landmark lobby) beginning March 17.  Visit LandmarkTheatres.com for theatre box office hours.

NOTE: Tickets for shows listed as “Sold Out” in advance may be made available on the Day of Show on a “Door Sales” basis. Beginning fifteen minutes prior to a film’s scheduled start time, we admit those without tickets from the “Door Sales” line until the theater is at capacity.