Guillermo del Toro AFI Fest Program Includes 'The Duellists' and 'Casanova' (EXCLUSIVE) Jazz TangcaySeptember 30, 2025 at 6:30 AM 0 John Wilson/Netflix Guillermo del Toro, who was named this year's artistic director at the AFI Fest, has revealed the films that he has selected to screen as part of hi...
- - Guillermo del Toro AFI Fest Program Includes 'The Duellists' and 'Casanova' (EXCLUSIVE)
Jazz TangcaySeptember 30, 2025 at 6:30 AM
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John Wilson/Netflix
Guillermo del Toro, who was named this year's artistic director at the AFI Fest, has revealed the films that he has selected to screen as part of his curated program.
Among the films are Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon," Federico Fellini's "Casanova," Pupi Avati's "Arcane Sorcerer" and Ridley Scott's "The Duellists."
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Del Toro will present the four films on Oct. 25 at The Egyptian Theatre.
"Guillermo del Toro is one of the great champions of the art form — a visionary filmmaker, a passionate cinephile, and a tireless advocate for bold, original storytelling," said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. "As Guest Artistic Director of AFI FEST, he brings a singular perspective that will inspire audiences of all generations."
Information on the films is below.
"Barry Lyndon" – 50th Anniversary – New 4K Restoration
Notable for writer and director Stanley Kubrick's painstaking evocation of 18th-century life, including the nighttime scenes illuminated only by candlelight, "Barry Lyndon" — which marks its 50th anniversary this year — is a must-see on the big screen. The callow striver Redmond Barry is played by 1970s heartthrob Ryan O'Neal, in one of his best performances, a reluctant conscript in the British army after leaving his Irish home in disgrace. On the frontlines on the continent, events lead first to Barry's desertion, then his re-enlistment on the victorious Prussian side; he continues to try his luck in a series of palace intrigues, high-stakes gambling and the strategic seduction of a noblewoman (Marisa Berenson). The film earned seven Academy Award nominations and won four — Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design and Music.
"Casanova"- 4K Digital Restoration
Federico Fellini's infamous 1976 take on Giacomo Casanova's tale is a lavish, hallucinatory reimagining of the legendary Venetian seducer's life — less historical portrait than fever-dream-induced baroque fantasia. Originally envisioned as a major international production with an American star (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Redford and Paul Newman were all considered), the role ultimately went to Donald Sutherland, whose haunting and stylized performance anchors the film's surreal tone. Far from a romantic hero, Fellini's "Casanova" is a tragic, melancholy figure moving through a grotesque and dreamlike Europe — one built entirely on the massive soundstages of Cinecittà Studios in Rome. Drawing only loosely from Casanova's own memoirs, Fellini instead filters the character through his recurring cinematic obsessions — artifice, desire and the absurd theater of sex — as Casanova's encounters span the bizarre and fantastical, from noblewomen to acrobats, a giantess, a dwarf and even a life-size automaton. Co-written with longtime collaborator Bernardino Zapponi and produced by Alberto Grimaldi, Fellini's "Casanova" is a visual and sonic spectacle, with striking production design and an unforgettable score by Nino Rota. The result is one of Fellini's most ambitious and divisive works.
"Arcane Sorcerer"
Banished from seminary school after a sacrilegious scandal, young student Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi) flees Bologna seeking refuge. He finds favor with an elderly woman who directs him to a remote countryside villa, home to an excommunicated monsignor (Carlo Cecchi) with a penchant for the occult. In need of a new assistant after his last one died under mysterious circumstances, Giacomo reluctantly becomes the sorcerer's apprentice. Forced to participate in increasingly macabre rituals and tests, Giacomo is consumed by the sinister — as apparitions, ghosts and deadly rumors start to accumulate. A richly atmospheric, spiritual horror film, "Arcane Sorcerer" is magnificently crafted by Italian journeyman filmmaker Pupi Avati, best known for "Zeder." A personal favorite of Guillermo del Toro and described by filmmaker Edgar Wright as "the 'Barry Lyndon' of horror films," this rarely seen cult classic will surprise and delight fans of fantastic cinema.
"The Duellists" – 35mm Print
Ridley Scott's striking Cannes prize-winning debut feature is a visually arresting tale of honor, obsession and pride. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, "The Duellists" chronicles the 16-year feud between two French officers — cool-headed Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and hot-blooded Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel) — after a perceived personal slight leads to an escalating series of duels, each more intense yet more meaningless than the last. Adapted from Joseph Conrad's novella "The Duel," Scott's timeless portrait of interpersonal war explores how codes of masculine honor can curdle into obsession, consuming lives as empires rise and fall. With its meticulous attention to detail and the dazzling Baroque-style visuals of cinematographer Frank Tidy — evoking candlelit interiors and fog-drenched battlefields that rival Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon in their visual elegance.
Previous Guest Artistic Directors for AFI FEST include Pedro Almodóvar, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, David Lynch and Agnès Varda.
As previously announced, this year's festival will open with "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" is set to open AFI Fest on Oct. 22. "Song Sung Blue" starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, will have its world premiere at AFI Fest on Oct. 26. Additional Red Carpet Premiere screenings include "Jay Kelly," "Nuremberg," "Dead Man's Wire," "Christy," and the World Premiere of "The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants."
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