SPECIAL PREMIERE: With unvarnished clarity, unflinching courage, and delicate grace, versatile British director Roger Michell (Tea with the Dames, Le Week-End, MVFF 2013) sensitively examines the complex strands of parental, sibling, and other intimate relationships as three generations of an American family gather over the course of a weekend to bid farewell to their matriarch Lily (Susan Sarandon), who has chosen to take control over her final moments before end-stage ALS robs her of that dignity. Lily uses her indomitable will and her wicked sense of humor to counter the physical pain, but the idyllic weekend she envisioned is quickly sabotaged by her sparring adult daughters (Kate Winslet and Mia Wasikowska) who cast last minute doubts about her end-of-life decision. Michell has carved a niche in crafting unconventional, nuanced portraits of adults over 50, and with the stunningly cinematographic Blackbird, the complexities of long-term marriage and the two-way street of misunderstandings between parents and adult children are on tremendous display, alongside provocative and timely questions about how, and when, to say goodbye.
EXPECTED GUEST: Director Roger Michell