The Key West Film Festival announced today that its Opening Night film will be Martin Scorcese’s critically acclaimed “The Irishman” (Netflix) and that it will close with Trey Edward Shults “Waves” (A24), which takes place in nearby Hollywood, FL. Orlando-based director Shults will appear for a Q&A.

As part of its ongoing tradition – now in its 5th year – of having Opening and Closing Night films curated by top critics, the films were selected by K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair and Jen Yamato of The Los Angeles Times. Collins will be joined by Yamato for a pre-screening discussion about “The Irishman” on Wednesday, November 20, and both critics will conduct a Q&A with Mr. Shults following the screening of “Waves” on Saturday night, November 23.

KWFF began its Critic’s Choice program in 2015, in which two of the nations top critics curate the opening and closing night films. Past curating critics have included Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, Eric Kohn of indiewire, Emily Yoshida of New York Magazine, David Fear of Rolling Stone, Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York and Amy Nicholson of MTV News.

The eight films that have been showcased in the first four years of the program have amassed a total of forty seven Academy Award nominations – four of which were for Best Picture – and 13 Oscar wins, including two for Best Picture (Spotlight and Shape of Water), for an average of nearly six nominations per film included in this series

Michael Tuckman, Director of Programming of the Key West Film Festival, commented “It is a great honor to be able to showcase these two extraordinary pieces of cinema, made even more incredible by having Mr. Collins and Ms. Yamato share their keen insight on what makes these films so special with our audiences. Patrons of the festival are sure to have a one-of-a-kind experience in being able to interact with these extremely intelligent and creative thinkers after seeing these masterpieces on screen.”

Visit kwfilmfest.com for full program information – which will be announced on October 30, along with a schedule of events and travel and lodging details.