BY KAREN BOSSICK
Demi Moore will be honored with the Sun Valley Film Festival’s Vision Award during its Winter Screening Series in early December.
Moore will also attend a Q& A following the screening of her new film “The Substance” during the Winter Screening Series being held Dec. 5-7 And she will take part in the festival’s popular Coffee Talk, as well.
Moore has had a legendary career that includes iconic roles in “Ghost,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “G.I. Jane,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” “Indecent Proposal” and “A Few Good Men.”
“Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson, who shed her makeup to star in “The Last Showgirl,” will take part in a Q&A following the screening of that film about a career showgirl who learns that the show she has been a part of for 30 years is about to close.
The British Columbia native made her Broadway debut in 2022 as Roxy Hart in “Chicago,” for which she received a Playbill Award. She also starred in the hit ABC series “Home Improvement” and will appear opposite Liam Neeson in the upcoming “Naked Gun” film due out in July 2025.
The Winter Screening Series will take place just before Academy Award shortlist voting starts on Dec. 9. That sets the stage for the 2025 Sun Valley Film Festival, which is moving from March to December, making it a must-stop for awards contenders.
The Winter Screening Series schedule:
THE SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, Dec. 5
4:30-5:30 p.m. The Argyros Theater--A PRE-SCREENING RECEPTION featuring George Prentice, host of Morning Edition on the Boise State Public Radio, and The New Yorker’s Paul Moakley, with wine provided by Brown Family vineyards.
5:30-7 p.m. The Argyros Theater--EVENING WITH THE NEW YORKER
A selection of innovative short films from The New Yorker documentary series, which has garnered 17 Oscar nominations for its contemporary documentary stories and live action short films. George Prentice will host a Q&A with Paul Moakley, executive producer of Video at The New Yorker, afterwards.
FRIDAY, Dec. 6
4:30-5:30 p.m. The Argyros Theater Green Room--OPENING RECEPTION for patron and series passholders.
5:30-7:30 p.m. The Argyros Theater--“THE LAST SHOWGIRL” will be screened. Following the screening, Variety Senior Editor todd Gillcrest will hold a Q&A with Actress Pamela Anderson and Director Gia Coppola, who is being honored with Variety’s Pioneer Award given to trailblazers in front of and behind the camera.
The movie revolves around a Las Vegas showgirl who must reconcile with the decisions she’s made when the glittering revue she has headlined for 30 years announces it will close.
SATURDAY, Dec. 7
Noon-1 p.m. The Argyros Green Room--MIX AND MINGLE while enjoying Bloody Marys and snacks. For patron and series passholders.
1-3 p.m. The Argyros--“PORCELAIN WAR” screening. The documentary feature follows Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya and Andrey who brave fighter jets and missile strikes to stay behind and fight. Finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it’s easy to make people afraid, it’s hard to destroy their passion for living.
3:30-4:30 p.m. The Argyros Green Room--PRE-FILM RECEPTION with filmmakers amidst crafted cocktails and delicious bites. Open to patron and series passholders.
4:30-7:30 p.m. The Argyros--“THE SUBSTANCE” screening. A fading celebrity played by Demi Moore decides to use a black-market drug—a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself in this narrative feature. The filmmaker will be in attendance and Demi Moore is slated to hold a Q&A.
7:30-9:30 p.m. By invitation, the WINTER SCREENING SERIES DINNER brings together the most patron pass holders, academy members, filmmakers and special guests.
SUNDAY, Dec. 8
9-10 a.m. The Argyros Green Room--MORNING MIX & MINGLE featuring coffee and Bloody Marys. Open to patron and series passholders.
10-11 a.m. The Argyros--COFFEE TALK featuring Vision Award Honoree Demi Moore, who has long had a home in the Wood River Valley and, in fact, owned The Liberty Theatre in Hailey with Bruce Willis before donating it to Company of Fools.
4:30 p.m. Sun Valley Opera House—“Blink” screening. When three of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable disease leading to severe visual impairment, the Pelletier family sets out on a journey around the world to experience all its beauty while they still can. Their journey is captured by Daniel Roher, a Toronto, Canada, filmmaker whose “Navalny” won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
PASSES AND TICKETS:
The Sun Valley Film Festival is offering three Winter Screening Series passes available at https://2024winterscreening.eventive.org/passes/buy.
A Patron Pass costs $1,500--$1,200 of that a charitable donation. It -includes an invitation to the private Winter Screening Dinner, as well as receptions, Green Room lounge access and first-priority access to films and events.
A Series Pass costs $300--$150 of which is a charitable donation. It offers access to the Green Room lounge, the opening and pre-film receptions, Morning Mix and Mingles and access to films and Coffee Talks.
A Film Pass costs $100--$50 of which is a donation to the sun Valley Film Festival. It includes access to films, talks and panels.
Individual tickets for films go on sale Dec. 2.
SUN VALLEY JR FILM COMPETITION
The Sun Valley Film Festival will present the winning film in its Sun Valley Jr. Film competition during the Winter Screening Series.
The film festival, which celebrated Year No. 13 in March 2024, received nearly 300 submissions from 56 countries around the world. The top 10 includes films from the United States, Ireland, France and Canada.
The Jr Film competition is supported by the patrons, the Nordstrom Family the Steen Family Foundation, Hillswood Foundation and Greater Horizons Foundation.
WHY IS THE SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL MOVING TO DECEMBER?
The Sun Valley Film Festival has shifted its annual five-day celebration of cinema from March to the first weekend of December to enable the festival to be a more timely, advance, must-stop platform for award-season contenders.
The first five-day version in the new time slot will take place in December 2025. But the three-day Sun Valley Film Festival Winter Screen Series is meant to preview the 2025 Festival and build excitement for the new time.
“When we started in 2012, we scheduled the Festival in the Spring to help drive tourism in an otherwise quieter time of the year,” said SVFF Executive Director Teddy Grennan. “With the success of our Winter Screening Series and an increasingly crowded festival landscape in the Spring, we saw an opportunity to fulfill the desire of the film industry and showcase high-caliber films to thoughtful and influential audiences including Sun Valley-based guild and AMPAS members in advance of voting for award season.”
Added Festival Director Candice Pate: “By shifting the Festival to the beautiful holiday season in this ski paradise which is attracting other top events like the World Cup Finals, we can grow the prominence of the Festival and highlight the best of awards season contenders to our sophisticated audience of movie lovers.”
Last year the SVFF screened the Oscar-nominated “The Color Purple” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” with a filmmaker Q&A in January. Previous winter screenings have included National Geographic Documentary Film’s “Free Solo,” which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“Each of the four Nat Geo-nominated Oscar documentary campaigns I oversaw screened at Sun Valley and, honestly, I consider them a good luck charm!” said Chris Albert, former head of marketing and communications for Nat Geo. “With the change in date, I would add Sun Valley as a must-stop for awards contenders.”
Sean Baker, winner of the 2013 SVFF Vision Award and director of the 2024 Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” said he thinks the move to December will benefit the film community.
“ ‘The Florida Project’ screened as part of their early-December Winter Screening Series, which helped spotlight it before the busy holiday screening season,” he said. “I know a lot of independent filmmakers will appreciate the same opportunity."