Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Here’ to World Premiere at 2024 AFI Fest

Robert Zemeckis is being celebrated at the 2024 AFI Fest.

The American Film Institute (AFI) confirmed that Zemeckis’ upcoming AI feature “Here” will make its world premiere at the festival with the Centerpiece Screening celebration on October 25. Zemeckis will also be honored by AFI Fest on October 24 with a Directors Spotlight event featuring clips from
his filmography and an in-depth conversation with Zemeckis about his illustrious career.

“Here” stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as a couple who spends their whole adult lives in one house; the film is from the perspective of a room in their home. Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Dockery, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and David Fynn.

Zemeckis reunites with his “Forrest Gump” stars for the decades-spanning drama. “Here” incorporates AI-assisted technology Metaphysic Live, which digitally de-aged both lead actors. The feature is based on Richard McGuire’s graphic novel of the same name, which was released by Pantheon Books in 2014 starting with a six-page comic strip McGuire originally published in 1989. Eric Roth wrote the script.

“Robert Zemeckis is, first and foremost, a master storyteller – and, uniquely, one who has spent a lifetime utilizing the latest technologies to tell the human story,” Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, said. “‘Here’ presents a profoundly powerful emotional experience while also bringing the art of film into the future.”

Zemeckis, whose filmography ranges from “Death Becomes Her” to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” added, “AFI serves as a valued institution in the important preservation and celebration of motion pictures, and it is an honor to premiere ‘Here’ at AFI Fest. I hope audiences will enjoy the film as much as Tom, Robin, Eric, and I loved reuniting to bring this story to the screen.”

As previously announced, 2024 AFI Fest will open with the world premiere of documentary “Music by John Williams” from Williams’ frequent collaborators Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and George Lucas’ respective production companies Amblin Documentaries, Lucasfilm Ltd, and Imagine. The documentary is directed by Laurent Bouzereau, and features interviews with aforementioned auteurs along with Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Chris Martin, Ke Huy Quan, James Mangold, Alan Silvestri, and more.

The 2024 AFI Fest, presented by Canva, will take place from October 23 through 27. The full festival
lineup will be unveiled on October 1. “Here” premieres November 15 in theaters.