Deadline.com reported today that the public, a film written and directed by Emelio Estevez (who also stars) and shot at Cincinnati's Main Library, will open the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 31. Here is the film's first trailer, and the setting should look very familiar:
Besides Estevez, the cast includes Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Taylor Schilling, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, Gabrielle Union, Jacob Vargas, Michael K. Williams and Jeffrey Wright. As the trailer shows, a group of homeless people refuse to leave the Main Library during a cold wave, and a tense situation develops.
The story quoted Robert Durling, the festival's executive director, as saying, “I’ve long admired Emilio Estevez as an artist-actor-director. “With the public, I feel he has done his most personal and fully realized work. The public speaks wonderfully about our current divided country, but it also does not preach. It keeps us cinematically immersed. I can honestly say this is the proudest choice for opening during my tenure at SBIFF. I cherish the friendship with Emilio and admire his accomplishment with the public.”
Here is the story that appeared in deadline.com
