AFI FEST 2009 presented by Audi today announced that Kirk Jones’ EVERYBODY’S FINE will have its world premiere on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. AFI FEST also announced the debut of the New Lights Competition, which features a selection of groundbreaking films by first and second time filmmakers from around the world.

Free tickets to all Festival films are available online at AFI.com/AFIFEST and by phone at 1-866-AFI-FEST beginning October 16, at the Mann Chinese 6 Theatre (6925 Hollywood Blvd.) beginning October 26, and on the day of scheduled screenings via Rush Lines. Early entry to screenings can be secured by becoming a patron of the Festival and purchasing an AFI FEST Patron Pass, available now at AFI.com.

EVERYBODY’S FINE, a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s STANNO TUTTI BENE, stars Robert De Niro as a widower who, upon realizing his only connection to his family was through his wife, sets off on an impromptu road trip to reunite and reconnect with each of his grown children. What follows is a series of eye-opening experiences for the working-class man as he learns the truth about each of their lives. Written and directed by Jones, the film also stars Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. Jones, as well as De Niro and Beckinsale, will attend the world premiere of the film. The Miramax Films release is due in theaters on December 4.

The New Lights Competition was created to acknowledge and honor vital, groundbreaking films by first- and second-time feature filmmakers from around the world. Films selected this year include Israel’s Ophir (Best Picture) winner and the country’s Official Selection to the Academy Award foreign-language competition; AJAMI, directed by the Israeli/Palestinian tandem of Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti; Andrea Arnold’s UK coming-of-age story FISH TANK; Oren Moverman’s wartime drama THE MESSENGER starring Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton; NORTHLESS, Rigoberto Perezcano’s debut from Mexico; and the previously announced German drama EVERYONE ELSE (directed by Maren Ade) and POLICE, ADJECTIVE (directed by Corneliu Porumboiu), the winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard jury prize and Romania’s Official Selection to the Academy Award foreign-language competition.

“The establishment of AFI FEST New Lights Competition is another highlight this year” said AFI FEST Artistic Director Rose Kuo. “These films represent a selection of the year’s most essential work from the international film festival circuit.”

AFI FEST Director of Programming Robert Koehler added, “This competition is a great example of what we wanted to achieve with the programming for this year’s festival. They are accomplished and challenging works that strive to be memorably cinematic.”

New Lights competition selections are:

AJAMI (Israel/Germany)
Directors: Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
The film follows the interconnected stories of people of different faiths living side by side in a crime-ridden neighborhood. Israel’s foreign-language Academy Award submission, the film won a special mention Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, where it played in Directors’ Fortnight.

EASIER WITH PRACTICE (USA)
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez
A young author sets out on a book promotion road trip with his younger brother. However, a random phone call from a mysterious woman begins a funny and intimate long-distance relationship that leads the man on another path to discover not only the truth about their relationship but also about himself.

EVERYONE ELSE (ALLE ANDEREN) (Germany)
Director: Maren Ade
A couple’s psychological and emotional ties as they are put to the test during an increasingly volatile holiday in Sardinia.

FIRST OF ALL, FELICIA  (FELICIA INAINTE DE TOATE) (Romania/France/Belgium/Croatia)
Directors: Razvan Radulescu, Melissa de Raaf
A grown daughter experiences an extremely frustrating day as she attempts to return home from a family visit in Bucharest.

FISH TANK (UK)
Director: Andrea Arnold
Winner of Cannes’ Grand Jury Prize, this explosively realistic coming-of-age tale reveals the dynamics beneath a girl’s dangerous friendship with an older man.

I KILLED MY MOTHER (Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan
Directed by a 20-year-old who already is the recipient of three Cannes awards, this film follows a teenager as he wrestles with his sexuality, his talent and his mom.

THE MESSENGER (USA)
Director: Oren Moverman
Winner of two awards at the Berlin Film Festival, this debut feature by acclaimed screenwriter Moverman follows soldiers on a tough assignment: informing the families of the dead. The cast includes Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone and Ben Foster.

THE MILK OF SORROW (LA TETA ASUSTADA) (Spain/Peru)
Director: Claudia Llosa
Winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, this work transmutes Peru’s brutal civil war into an allegorical tale: a young woman determined to turn the fear she inherited into hope.

NORTHLESS (NORTEADO) (Mexico)
Director: Rigoberto Perezcano
A touching drama follows a would-be migrant from Oaxaca who finds friendship at a Tijuana market as he attempts to cross the border into the United States. The film explores what is left behind when a Mexican crosses the border into El Norte.

POLICE, ADJECTIVE (Romania)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
This Cannes winner tracks a weary officer who resists busting a hash-smoking teen: Will he ruin a kid’s life because of youthful indiscretions? This drama follows the impact on a young policeman’s life after following his actions.

WOMAN WITHOUT PIANO (LA MUJER SIN PIANO) (Spain/France)
Director: Javier Rebello
The second feature follows the nocturnal adventures of a homemaker in Madrid as she attempts to escape her mundane family life only to wind up caring for an escaped Polish immigrant.