New Orleans Film Fest adds 'August: Osage County,' 'Nebraska,' Mandela biopic, to 2013 lineup

New Orleans Film Fest adds 'August: Osage County,' 'Nebraska,' Mandela biopic, others to 2013 lineup

Idris Elba and Naomie Harris star in the biopic 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.' The film has been announced as part of the lineup of the 2013 New Orleans Film Festival. (Keith Bernstein / The Weinstein Co.)

By Mike Scott, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 

The New Orleans Film Festival has added some star power to its 2013 lineup. "12 Years a Slave" actresses Alfre Woodard and Lupita Nyong'o will join director Steve McQueen on the red carpet for the festival's opening-night presentation of McQueen's New Orleans-shot historical drama on Oct. 10, the New Orleans Film Society announced this afternoon (Sept. 10). In addition, acclaimed director and New Orleans native Godfrey Reggio will participate in a Q-and-A after a festival screening of his latest film, "Visitors."
All five have been drawing praise on the film festival circuit, but NOFF artistic director John Desplas singled out the participation of Reggio as a particular point of pride."Visitors," fresh off its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, will make its U.S. debut at the New Orleans Film Festival. It was among five new additions to the festival lineup announced today. The others are director John Wells' adaptation of Tracy Lett's Pulitzer-winning "August: Osage County"; director Alexander Payne's "Nebraska"; the Nelson Mandela biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"; and the Beat poet drama "Kill Your Darlings," starring Daniel Radcliffe.
"We're thrilled to have Godfrey Reggio's visionary new film in the festival, direct from its opening night in Toronto and long before its spring theatrical release," Desplas said.
"Visitors" and the other newly announced films join a fast-growing lineup. McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" and director Lily Keber's documentary "Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker" have previously been announced as the fest's opening-night and closing-night films, respectively. In addition, the festival last week unveiled the films that will appear in competition in the narrative and documentary feature categories.
The 24th annual New Orleans Film Festival runs from Oct. 10-17. All-Access passes are available now through the festival's website. Single-screening tickets will go on sale one week before the festival.
Descriptions of the festival's newest additions follow, courtesy of the New Orleans Film Society, the organization group behind the annual festival. The full lineup, culled from a record 1,500-plus submissions, will be announced in coming weeks.

• "Visitors," the U.S. premiere of acclaimed director Godfrey Reggio's newest film. Best known for his celebrated Qatsi trilogy (including "Koyaanisqatsi," "Powaqqatsi" and "Naqoyqatsi"), Reggio, a New Orleans native, shot some of the film in the New Orleans area. Similar to the Qatsi films, Visitors has no dialogue but features a rich score composed by his collaborator Philip Glass.
• "Nebraska," the latest picture from Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne ("Sideways," "The Descendants"). Nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival (where Bruce Dern won the Best Actor Award), "Nebraska" is about a father (Dern) and son (Will Forte) who trek from Montana to Nebraska to claim prize money.
• "August: Osage County," the film version of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film features an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Juliette Lewis.
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  'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' movie trailerBiopic scheduled to play as part of 2013 New Orleans Film Festival
   "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," based on the 1994 book "Long Walk to Freedom" from former South African president Nelson Mandela. Fresh from its premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, "Mandela" stars Idris Elba, who is already creating awards buzz around his powerful performance. 
• "Kill Your Darlings," about a little-known homicide involving Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs. The film, directed by first-time feature director John Krokidas, stars Daniel Radcliffe as Ginsberg and also features Elizabeth Olsen, Michael C. Hall, Ben Foster, David Cross, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and will be released theatrically following the New Orleans Film Festival.