Robert Redford in J.C. Chandor’s “All is Lost”

From its opening-night premiere October 17 of J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost with Robert Redford to its closing-night event October 25 of  Jason Reitman’s Labor Day with Kate Winslet, The 22nd Philadelphia Film Festival is ambitious, star-studded and international in scope.

It runs October 17 though 27 (“closing night” is the Friday prior to its Sunday curtain) and no matter if your taste runs to martial arts (Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut, Man of Tai-Chi) or the electoral process (AJ Schnack’s Caucus), the selections are thin-crust, deep-dish and everything in between.

Besides those four films,  I look forward to:

Documentaries: The Unknown Known, Errol Morris’ portrait of Donald Rumsfeld;  Let the Fire Burn, Jason Osder’s investigation of the 1985 MOVE bombing; Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, Chiemi Karasawa’s look at the immortal entertainer and Documented, an account of Antonio Vargas, Pultizer-Prize winning journalist and undocumented alien.

Features: Justin Chadwick’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, starring Idris Elba; Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern (who will also receive the Festival’s Life Achievement Award); John Wells’ August: Osage County, an adaptation of the Tracy Letts’ play, with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts; and Cannes favorite, Addellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color.

For the complete lineup, consult: http://filmadelphia.org/festival/

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, October 1.

Which movies do you most want to see? Why?