March 29, 2005

48th San Francisco International Film Festival to Close with Craig Lucas's Audacious First Feature, The Dying Gaul; Hollywood Neo-Noir Stars Indie Icons Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott and Peter Sarsgaard

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5) is set to close on Thursday, May 5, 2005, at the historic Castro Theatre with Craig Lucas' THE DYING GAUL, starring Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott and Peter Sarsgaard. The Closing Night film will begin at 7:00 pm with the Closing Night party at Suede to follow the screening at 9:30 pm. Lucas, producer George Van Buskirk and members of the cast are expected to attend the film and party.

In THE DYING GAUL, a screenwriter mourning his lover's death is plunged into a Faustian bargain with a studio executive in this deliciously wicked Hollywood noir, adapted by award-winning playwright-turned-director Craig Lucas from his successful play of the same name. Robert (Sarsgaard), a fledgling screenwriter, has been offered a million dollars for his new script and gets involved with Jeffrey (Scott), a slick studio executive and his wife Elaine (Clarkson). The couple turn on their well-oiled charm and escort Robert into a high-powered world of cocktail parties and Malibu villas, spinning a web of lost and mistaken love across a lovingly realized pit of Hollywood sleaze.

Roxanne Messina Captor, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society, said, "The Festival celebrates innovative and risk-taking films like THE DYING GAUL. With the compelling lead performances by Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott and Peter Sarsgaard, this film is ideal for our Closing Night."

At 9:30 pm, as the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival comes to a close, the Closing Night party revs up until the wee hours at San Francisco's stylish and sophisticated nightspot, Suede, located at 383 Bay Street at Mason. Partygoers will revel into the night to the spins of the city's top DJs while enjoying treats from Bay Area restaurateurs and delicious cocktails. Admission for the film and party is $85 general public/$75 for San Francisco Film Society members; VIP tickets are $125 (includes reserved seating at the Castro Theatre and exclusive VIP celebrity room access at Suede). Tickets are also available for $20 general public/$18 SFFS members for the film and Closing Night program at the Castro only.

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The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21—May 5, 2005 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Home of the Festival, the Castro Theatre, the Palace of Fine Arts, Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center and the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco; the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley; and Landmark's Aquarius Theatre in Palo Alto. Tickets for San Francisco Film Society members will be available on March 29 and for the general public on April 5. To purchase tickets and for ticket information log on to www.sffs.org, call 925.866.9559 or visit the Main Ticket Outlet, located in the atrium of the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street or the Satellite Ticket Outlet at the Virgin Megastore, 2 Stockton Street. For up-to-date Festival information log on to www.sffs.org or call 415.561.5000.

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5, 2005) is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, a nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image.