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Ready for your annual dose of stargazing and Close Encounters of the Hollywood Kind? If so, the Maui Film Festival has you covered.
Its 16th annual holiday season aggregation of the most award-worthy films of the year will once again light up Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. This year, FirstLight: Academy Screenings on Maui kicks off with a double dose of cinematic celebration on Sunday and Monday.
On Sunday, in addition to newly anointed stars of tomorrow, an A-list of Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning and nominated talent provides the star power for this year’s two FirstLight opening nights. The list includes Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and newcomer Ellar Coltrane, co-starring in “Boyhood”; Tommy Lee Jones, Hillary Swank, Grace Gummer, Meryl Streep (Gummer’s real-life mother), John Lithgow, James Spader and Halle Steinfeld co-starring in “The Homesman”; and Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, “Avatar’s” Sam Worthington, William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman in “Cake.”
“Pride,” co-starring a bevy of well-known and much-awarded Brits such as Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”), Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”) and Dominic West (“In America”), will screen on Monday.
Synopses, play dates, ratings and running times for these four films follow below.
* “BOYHOOD” 2 p.m. Sunday. Rated R, 2:46.
This literally, and literate, one-of-a-kind cinematic experience follows the fictional and – as true art can be when emotionally revelatory – seeming real story of a young boy’s life experience and family dynamics as he ages from a kid into a young man. Brilliantly directed by writer/director Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” is a five-time Golden Globe nominee.
* “THE HOMESMAN” 5 p.m. Sunday. Rated R, 2:00.
Stunning cinematography in every frame of this made-for-the-big screen Western, directed by Tommy Lee Jones (who also co-stars in the film), and about two heroic pioneers, risking both life and limb while traveling across the badlands of Nebraska to return three women, made mad by the challenges of prairie life, to their former lives in Iowa. A film that will open your eyes to unknown worlds.
* “CAKE” 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Rated R, 1:45.
Jennifer Aniston underwent a “makeunder” in this “makeover” world we all live in, to transform herself into a nearly unrecognizable woman dealing with the physical and emotional pain of pill addiction in ways that are sarcastic and darkly humorous all while committed to finding her way to the light at the end of the tunnel that leads to a “whole” life. Rated R. 105 min.
* “PRIDE” 7:30 p.m. Monday. Rated R, 1:57.
If “The Full Monty” and “Kinky Boots” ever made a baby, that baby would be “Pride,” recent winner of the Best Picture nod from the British Independent FilmAwards and Golden Globe nominee for Best Musical/Comedy of the year. Based on a true, triumphant underdog story that will put you in a terrific mood for the holiday, the film follows lesbian and gay activists who raise money for on-strike coal miners and change hundreds of lives, making lifelong friends to their total amazement.
Admission to FirstLight is possible using the Maui Film Festival’s 4-Film VIP FirstLight FastPasses. Each $48 FastPass includes a total of four film admissions ($12 per film), priority admission and the ability to share them with “Family & Friends.” Single FirstLight Tickets ($15 per film) are also available.
To view movie trailers and purchases passes, visit www.MauiFilmFetival.com, visit the MACC box office or call 242-7469.
Barry Rivers, Maui Film Festival director