Closing night screening of 'The Debut', written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti and Halle Bailey, at the Film Society Center.
The Debut closes the 35th Philadelphia Film Festival at the Film Society Center on Sunday, October 25. It's written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote the original songs for the fictional musical at the center of the story. The cast includes Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, and Halle Bailey.
It's a bit of a pivot for Eisenberg, who comes off his 2024 film A Real Pain. The story follows Mona Friedman, a woman who unexpectedly auditions for a local musical despite having no previous stage experience, and is cast by Jerry, a legendary theater director. Since Eisenberg wrote the songs himself, the musical numbers are his own work rather than something brought in from elsewhere.
The Debut is the closing night film of the 35th Philadelphia Film Festival, presented by the Philadelphia Film Society. The festival runs from October 15 to 25 and opened with Noah Segan's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. The rest of the program brings together international cinema, independent films, documentaries, animation, and repertory screenings, with James Gray's Paper Tiger and Jordan Firstman's Club Kid added to the lineup. This year the festival also debuts a new 70mm projection system, which it's using to screen 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
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If you're staying for the whole thing, the night doesn't end with the credits. The Closing Night Party is at Stratus Lounge, 433 Chestnut Street, from 9:30 PM to midnight, and it's 21-and-over.
