Gala Screenings
The Debut
SCAD Savannah Film Festival Centerpiece Gala Screening
Hoping to escape her quiet, invisible life as a New Jersey homemaker, Mona Friedman (Julianne Moore) tries out for the local community theater musical. So begins a wild comical journey in which Mona tumbles down a rabbit hole of unleashed creativity — blowing up her whole identity. As sweet, shy Mona dives into the depths of unhinged obsession to win over a tyrant director (Paul Giamatti), Jesse Eisenberg’s third feature film becomes a funny, stirring, darkly surreal portrait of a woman discovering the powerful artist within. An A24 release.
Actor Julianne Moore will be presented with the Icon Award. An In Conversation event with Moore immediately follows the screening.
DIRECTOR
Jesse Eisenberg
PRODUCERS
Emma Stone
Dave McCary
Ali Herting
Jesse Eisenberg
WRITER
Jesse Eisenberg
CAST
Julianne Moore
Paul Giamatti
Halle Bailey
Jesse Eisenberg
Cara Buono
Craig Bierko
Eldar Isgandarov
Bernadette Peters
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Jesse Eisenberg is an Academy Award-nominated actor and an acclaimed playwright, author, and director. Eisenberg’s acting credits include Adventureland, Zombieland, The Social Network, and Fleishman is in Trouble. He made his directorial debut with 2022’s When You Finish Saving the World, adapted from an Audible Original of the same name he wrote. He has also directed A Real Pain, which earned him an Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA.