51ºÚÁÏ

New York, perhaps, or Toronto. Maybe Park City, Utah, or Cannes in France. The places with the biggest film festivals in the world.

"There are films here from Sundance, from Cannes, Berlin, Tribeca," says Cliff Froehlich, executive director of Cinema 51ºÚÁÏ, which produces the festival. "It's kind of stunning, to be honest. It's almost head-shaking to me that we were able to get this many high-quality films." 

The shutdowns associated with COVID-19 last year created a backlog of festival-quality films, which are all coming out now, he says. SLIFF, which presented a virtual festival in 2020, has snagged a good number of those films.

Even so, what is likely to be the hottest ticket at the festival isn't the type of movie that typically screens at such events.

"American Underdog" — opening nationwide on Christmas Day — is the story of quarterback Kurt Warner, who failed repeatedly until he succeeded massively as the leader of the 51ºÚÁÏ Rams, who won the Super Bowl in 2000. The film focuses on how Warner's faith — in God and in himself — helped him become possibly the greatest undrafted player in the history of football.

Zachary Levi stars as Warner, with Anna Paquin as his wife, Brenda, and Dennis Quaid as coach Dick Vermeil. Kurt and Brenda Warner will attend the screening, which will be followed by a Q&A. (8 p.m. Nov. 9; Tivoli Theatre, 6530 Delmar Boulevard; $50)

The festival runs Nov. 4-21. Attendees will be required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, and masks will be required at all times, including for staff and guest filmmakers. No concessions will be sold.

"We want to take every step possible to make sure that everyone who comes to see a movie does not take a risk of coming down with COVID-19," Froehlich says.

About 150 feature-length films will be shown — the number is nearly 400 if you count short subjects — and nearly 100 of them will be available for virtual screenings at home. Others, especially high-profile movies from major studios, will be shown to in-person audiences only. Most can be seen both ways. 

With selections from across the United States and around the world, the festival gives equal weight to narrative films and documentaries. This year includes several films that Froehlich predicts will either be nominated for best picture Oscars or "will be in the conversation," he says.

The full festival lineup is at . Among the highlights:

• "Belfast" is the latest from Kenneth Branagh. Inspired by his own youth in Northern Ireland and shot in black and white, it tells the story of a young boy growing up in a loving family during a time of political strife. With a cast including Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds and Jamie Doran, it won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. (8 p.m. Nov. 5, Tivoli, $15)

• Joaquin Phoenix, who won the Oscar for best actor for playing the title character in "Joker" (2019), is back with a smaller film. In "C'mon C'mon," he plays a radio reporter who bonds with his nephew on a road trip across the country. (8 p.m. Nov. 7, Tivoli, $15)

• Froehlich sees a connection to the coronavirus in the film "Encounter," which stars Riz Ahmed as a former Marine who kidnaps his two sons to take them to safe harbor from micro-organisms sent out by aliens. But the threat may only be in his mind. With Oscar winner Octavia Spencer. (8:15 p.m. Nov. 14, Tivoli, $15)

• Stephen Karam makes his debut as a director with the filmed version of his own Tony Award-winning play "The Humans," which was produced on Broadway by 51ºÚÁÏ-based Fox Theatricals. It depicts a Thanksgiving get-together in which three generations slowly reveal hidden troubles, secrets and, especially, a fear of the unknown. The cast includes Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell (of the Broadway company), Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun and June Squibb (of Vandalia, Illinois). (5 p.m. Nov. 20, Tivoli, $15)

• The Richard in "King Richard" is Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams and therefore, if you think about it, one of the most successful tennis coaches of all time. Will Smith stars as the father, who crafted and followed a 78-page plan to turn his daughters into elite athletes of the highest order. (7 p.m. Nov. 18, Tivoli, $15)

• At the end of China's catastrophic Cultural Revolution, a stolen reel of film — and what it may contain — takes on special significance for, eventually, an entire village. "One Second" is a lighthearted drama from the great Zhang Yimou, who calls it his love letter to the cinema. Chinese officials disagreed and kept it under wraps for two years. In Mandarin. (8 p.m. Nov. 6, Tivoli, $15)

• The festival's opening-night film, "±Ê°ù´Ç³¦±ð²õ²õ¾±´Ç²Ô,"Ìýfocuses on six Kansas City men who were abused by priests as children. Under the direction of Robert Greene, each man films a scene re-creating their memories of what happened and their reactions to it. "It's cathartic," says Froehlich, who also calls it "weirdly uplifting. ... In addressing it this way, they actually learn to process more than they have been able to do up to now. At the end of the day, it's a film about survival and also recovery." (7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Tivoli, $15)

• Among the smaller narrative pictures to come to the festival, one of the most quirkily intriguing is "18½,"Ìýwhich begins with the premise that the missing 18½ minutes of the Watergate tapes from the Nixon White House were found and transcribed by a well-meaning typist. The story takes off from there. "It's got comedy in it, it has thriller elements; it's quite a delight," Froehlich says. (8 p.m. Nov. 10, Tivoli, $15)

• In a sharp comedic satire from Romania, a couple makes a sex tape that is accidentally released to the internet. Suddenly, their lives are turned upside down, especially because the woman involved is a teacher. "Bad Luck Banging, or Loony Porn," Froehlich says, is "not true pornography, mind you, but nonetheless if people are easily offended, they might want to avoid it." (8 p.m. Nov. 9, Tivoli, $15)

50-year-old classics

If you'd rather watch a movie with an established pedigree, the festival presents six classics from 1971. All will be shown for free at the 51ºÚÁÏ Public Library, 1301 Olive Street.

• "Duel," Steven Spielberg's debut, depicts an unseen driver in a truck menacing a hapless traveler. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 6)

• "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" is the revolutionary story of a Black man framed by white cops who decides to fight back. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 7)

• "The French Connection," the best-picture winner, depicts a dedicated cop tracking a shipment of heroin, with a chase scene that still thrills. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 19)

• "A Clockwork Orange" depicts a shockingly violent near future, where the cure for society's ills may be worse than the problem. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 14)

• "Two-Lane Blacktop" is an existential race across America with romantic jealousy as the fuel. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 20)

• "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a groundbreaking film about a man and a woman in love with the same young man. (1:30 p.m. Nov. 21)

Documentaries

SLIFF always highlights documentaries to a degree rarely seen at other film festivals, and this year's program is, once again, strong. Among the most noteworthy:

• "Magic in the Mountains," from 51ºÚÁÏ filmmaker Cody Stokes, examines the ways the 1960 Winter Olympics in tiny Squaw Valley, California, forever changed the way the Olympics are held. Walt Disney was involved, leading to the pageantry of opening and closing ceremonies, and other innovations ranging from the use of instant replay to the creation of the Olympic Village for athletes. (6 p.m. Nov. 14, Tivoli, $15)

• "Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority" looks at the history and impact of one of the preeminent Black organizations in America. Formed in 1908, the sorority has a host of good works to its name and an even more impressive roster of alumna, from the "Hidden Figures" of NASA to Maya Angelou to Vice President Kamala Harris. This film may sell out quickly. (5 p.m. Nov. 13, Tivoli, $15; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $15) 

• Former 51ºÚÁÏan Eric Becker directed "´¡±ô³Ü³¾¾±²Ô²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô,"Ìýa documentary about the history and influence — both in lifestyle and design — of the Airstream trailer. The film makes considerable use of archival footage of Airstreams being taken on what Froehlich calls "outlandish trips to all sorts of different places really far flung." (4 p.m. Nov. 21, Tivoli, $15)

• "The Boys Who Said No!" looks at the young men who resisted the draft during the Vietnam War, risking up to five years in prison for doing so. The film focuses on antiwar activist David Harris and his first wife, singer Joan Baez, but features other aspects of the movement as well. (1 p.m. Nov. 13, Brown Hall Auditorium at Washington University, free; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $5)

• Froehlich calls "Alien on Stage" "probably the most delightful film in the whole festival" and compares it to "Waiting for Guffman." A group of bus drivers in Dorset, England, put on an amateur (and amateurish) stage production of "Alien," resulting in laughter from the audience. Realizing they had made a comedy instead of a horror show, they took it to London. (6 p.m. Nov. 13, Tivoli, $15; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $5)

• "Any Given Day" follows three people with bipolar disorder as they navigate their daily lives over several years. The director has bipolar disorder and at one point while filming had to be hospitalized. The subjects' reaction to her episode lays bare the usually unmentioned symbiotic relationship between filmmaker and subject. (4 p.m. Nov. 21, Brown Hall Auditorium at Washington University, free; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $5)

• Froehlich says he won't be surprised if "The First Wave" gets noticed at Oscar time. When COVID-19 first came to the United States and began devastating New York City, the filmmakers had what he says is "incredible access" to the unfolding tragedy. "It puts you through an emotional wringer, but it's also a first-rate film. People will be talking about it," he says. Shown with "·¡14,"Ìýa short subject about COVID-19 in the UK. (6 p.m. Nov. 10, Tivoli, $15)

• "°ä´Ç·É"Ìýfollows a dairy cow for a year on a factory farm, through calving cycles (her calves are taken away from her) and time spent in a complex more industrial than pastoral. "It's a really terrific film, but I'm not going to undersell the fact that it's going to confront you with some stuff that's not so fun," Froehlich says. (4 p.m. Nov. 13, Tivoli, $15)

Locally focused documentaries

Three documentaries look into matters of inequality in 51ºÚÁÏ:

• "Target: 51ºÚÁÏ Vol. 1" details a little-known aspect of our history. During the Cold War, the U.S. government sprayed radioactive materials in areas of north 51ºÚÁÏ, including the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects, to see what effect it would have on their lungs. Even now, former residents attribute their poor health to the secret project. (7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Brown Hall Auditorium at Washington University, free; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $5)

• "The Kinloch Doc" shows the devastation that ravaged the city of Kinloch after 51ºÚÁÏ bought up much of the town for an airport expansion that never happened. It focuses on the residents who are trying to bring the city back together and infuse it with new life. Screens with the short subject "I am Kinloch." (2 p.m. Nov. 6, Tivoli, $15; also available Nov. 4-21 online, $15)

• "Ferguson Rises" begins with the details of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, follows with the protests, both nonviolent and violent, that occurred in Ferguson after his death, and ends with residents bonding together and working toward solutions. The personal sorrow of Michael Brown Sr. is also prominently featured. (4:30 p.m. Nov. 6, Tivoli, $15)