By: Virginia Schneider
Mammoth Lakes, CA (The Hollywood Times) March 2-5, 2023 – Kicking off the Opening Night of the 2023 Festival, Shia LeBeouf stars in Padre Pio. The film by Abel Ferrara, which has already received accolades at the Venice Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon Film Festivals, made its North American Festival debut at Mammoth Film Fest. The drama follows Roman Catholic Saint Padre Pio in his early years and features a cast of incredible Italian actors. Ferrara has developed a cult reputation with gritty studio films starring Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, Willem Dafoe, and many other iconic actors.
Mammoth Film Festival is one of the few festivals honoring actors who break out into the director role. The Mammoth Film Festival’s First Time Filmmaker Spotlight, highlights actors first time as directors. This year Luke Roberts (Hail Caesar, Fear the Walking Dead) and Justin Matthews (The Morning Show, Major Crimes) premiered The Duel. Featuring Dylan Sprouse (The Curse of Turandot, My Fake Boyfriend), Hart Denton (Outsiders, Riverdale), Patrick Warburton (Family Guy, Get Smart), the comedy is about best friends who wrong each other and decide to duel to the death over it. During an interview with MFF’s The Loop, Sprouse described the film as a passion project. “I’m making a film with all my friends…it’s a dream that everyone wants to do that but few people do.”
Opening Night Red Carpet at the Minaret Cinemas was followed by the Opening Night Gala at the Canyon Lodge.