AFI Docs presented by Audi Announces Opening Night and Centerpiece Premieres

AFI Docs presented by Audi Announces Opening Night and Centerpiece Premieres

Opening Gala LETTERS TO JACKIE written and directed by Bill Couturie Embraces the Nation's Mourning of President Kennedy's Assassination Fifty Years Ago

Centerpiece Gala DOCUMENTED written and directed by Jose Antonio Vargas Further Raises Immigration to the Forefront of our Country's Dialogue

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AFI Docs presented by Audi announced today theAFI Docs opening night gala at the Newseum will be the theatrical premiere of LETTERS TO JACKIE written and directed by Oscar(®)-winning filmmaker Bill Couturie. The film, presented by TLC and co-produced by Amblin TV and The Couturie Co., features letters from the public written to Mrs. Kennedy in the dark shadow of the President's assassination fifty years ago. The letters are read by 20 of today's top actors including Berenice Bejo, Demian Bichir, Jessica Chastain, Chris Cooper, Viola Davis, Zooey Deschanel, Kirsten Dunst, Anne Hathaway, Allison Janney, John Krasinski, Melissa Leo, Laura Linney, Frances McDormand, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Ruffalo, Octavia Spencer, Hailee Steinfeld, Channing Tatum, Betty White and Michelle Williams. TLC will premiere LETTERS TO JACKIE as a special television event in November 2013. Timothy Kuryak, Howard Lee, Eileen O'Neill and Amy Winter serve as Executive Producers for TLC. Amblin/DreamWorks Television co-presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank executive produced the film.

Also having its world premiere is DOCUMENTED, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Define American, Jose Antonio Vargas and co-directed by Ann Lupo. The film explores immigration in America through the lens of Vargas' personal story as one of the country's most prominent undocumented immigrants who himself is documenting America's growing undocumented immigrant movement. The topic of immigration will also be explored as part of the AFI Catalyst Sessions: The Art of Moving Reality, a forum for national conversations with filmmakers, thought leaders, policy-makers and engaged audiences held as part of AFI Docs. More information about the AFI Catalyst Sessions will be announced in May.

As previously announced, AFI Docs presented by Audi (formerly Silverdocs) returns for its 11th edition June 19-23, 2013. After a decade at the celebrated AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, the festival will build upon the success of Silverdocs with screenings and events at iconic venues on the National Mall and in the Penn Quarter area, as well as continue at the American Film Institute's AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. For more information please visit AFI.com/AFIDOCS.

SOURCE AFI Docs

AFI Docs

CONTACT: Jody Arlington, AFI Docs PR, 301-495-6759, jarlington@AFI.com; Liza Ameen, American Film Institute, 323-856-7885, lameen@AFI.com

Web Site: http://afi.com


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