Mar 15, 2019
Festival
Gavin Hood’s Taut Political Thriller about British Whistleblower Katharine Gun Stars Two-Time Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley, with Matt Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, and Rhys Ifans
San Francisco, CA – SFFILM announces that Closing Night of the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival is IFC Films’ Official Secrets, Gavin Hood’s gripping retelling of the story of Katharine Gun, a British intelligence officer who leaked a confidential memo sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Official Secrets will screen at the historic Castro Theatre on Sunday, April 21 at 8:00 pm. Director Gavin Hood, subject Katharine Gun, and journalist Martin Bright are expected to attend the event and participate in a Q&A.
“The Bay Area has long championed resistance to injustice, and this extraordinary new film from Gavin Hood—the current master of the thoughtful political thriller—pairs great performances with real-life heroes who try to stop a war that continues to haunt us today,” said SFFILM Executive Director Noah Cowan. “We are honored to have these exemplars of press freedom and whistleblower justice in attendance at our Closing Night screening and celebrate their courage and tenacity.”
Based on the book The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, director and screenwriter Gavin Hood’s (Tsotsi, Ender’s Game, Eye in the Sky) rousing and riveting new film tells the true story of whistleblower Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley at her most impassioned), a British woman working for UK’s intelligence service, monitoring foreign correspondence. Morally distressed by a confidential staff email about coercing small countries to vote for a UN Iraq War resolution, she leaks the email to the British press and, after her identity is revealed, she is charged with treason.
Keira Knightley’s subtly powerful performance as the whistleblower Gun shines light on the psychology of making ethical decisions. Accompanied by a powerhouse supporting cast that includes Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) as Guardian journalist Martin Bright, Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List, The English Patient), Matthew Goode (Stoker, The Imitation Game), and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Snowden), Official Secrets joins films like Vice (2018) and The Looming Tower (2018) to present the now undeniable case that the run-up to the Iraq War involved a disgraceful network of deception, coercion, and lies.
South African filmmaker Gavin Hood made his directorial debut in A Reasonable Man (1999), a film that won several All African Film Awards. Inspired by a true case in 1933 discovered during his time as a lawyer, Hood also wrote, produced, and starred in the film. In 2000, Variety named Hood as one of the “Ten Directors to Watch.” His film, Tsotsi (2005), won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also directed In Desert and Wilderness (2001), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Ender’s Game (2013), and Eye in the Sky (2015). IFC Films will be releasing Official Secrets in theaters August 2019.
Tickets to Closing Night: Official Secrets are $20 for SFFILM members, and $25 for the general public. The box office is open now at sffilm.org.
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival.
For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press.
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2019 San Francisco International Film Festival
The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. The 62nd edition runs April 10–23 at venues across the Bay Area and features nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with close to $40,000 in cash prizes, and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.
SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization with a mission to champion the world’s finest films and filmmakers through programs anchored in and inspired by the spirit and values of the San Francisco Bay Area. Presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, SFFILM is a year-round organization delivering screenings and events to more than 75,000 film lovers and media education programs to more than 12,000 students and teachers annually. In addition to its public programs, SFFILM supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services.
For more information visit sffilm.org.
This press release is available online at sffilm.org/press/releases.
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