NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On Thursday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. The Picture House Regional Film Center (TPH) will show an advance screening of the much anticipated new film Lion, starring Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Nicole Kidman (The Hours, Moulin Rouge), Rooney Mara (Carol, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo), and David Wehnam (300). Lion is the feature film directorial debut for Garth Davis and is based on the non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley. It opens nationwide on Friday, November 25th.
Lion starts with the story of five year old Saroo (played by talented young actor Sunny Pawar) who gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
The film premiered to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, has won a number of awards at film festivals since then, and has been touted as an early Academy Award contender. Vanity Fair says of the film, “It’s an earnest but not cloying film, one that seems wise about the world and its alternately grim and encouraging complexity.” Both Patel and Kidman’s performances are being buzzed about as ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ Oscar nominations and Variety has already named Lion as a ‘Best Picture’ contender.
Tickets to the special screening and discussion are $15/general admission, $12/students, seniors, and members and are available at www.thepicturehouse.org or at the box office, 175 Wolfs Lane, Pelham, NY 10803.