As the Oscar® race heats up, Aspen Film announces its lineup for the 18th annual Academy Screenings, a two-week extravaganza running from December 21 - January 3 at Harris Concert Hall in Aspen. Celebrating films that have garnered considerable Oscar® buzz, Academy Screenings offers a sneak peek at top talent from around the world that will have everyone talking this Academy Awards® season.

Many of the twenty-two films in this year's Aspen Film Academy Screenings series have already achieved critical acclaim. Renowned directors and actors in this year's screenings include two films directed by Clint Eastwood; Changeling starring Angelina Jolie and Gran Torino starring Eastwood himself; Frost/Nixon directed by Ron Howard; Milk starring Sean Penn and directed by Gus Van Sant; Revolutionary Road directed by Sam Mendes and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio; Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt; Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button directed by David Fincher; and The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke.

In addition, many of the films that made unforgettable impressions on the festival circuit will also be screened: Che, Part 1: The Argentine and Che, Part 2: Guerrilla directed by Stephen Soderbergh and starring Benicio Del Toro, winner of Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival; The Class, winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival directed by Laurent Cantet and starring Francois Begaudeau; and The Wrestler, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Several foreign-language submissions for Oscar® consideration will be screened, including Sweden's Everlasting Moments, Italy's Gomorrah, France's The Class, and Israel's Waltz with Bashir.

For more information and a complete Aspen Film Academy Screenings program, including film descriptions, visit www.aspenfilm.org. Tickets go on sale December 10th through Aspen Show Tickets at the Wheeler Box Office (970.920.5770 and www.aspenshowtickets.com) or at the door at Harris Concert Hall. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and associated guilds should RSVP to Aspen Film at 970.925.6882, ext. 101.

2008 Aspen Film Academy Screenings Program At a Glance:

Sun Dec 21 | 5:30
Happy-Go-Lucky
Mike Leigh directs. Sally Hawkins stars. (Miramax Films)

Mon Dec 22 | 5:30
The Secret Life of Bees
Gina Prince-Bythewood directs. Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Queen Latifah star. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mon Dec 22 | 8:00pm
Changeling
Clint Eastwood directs. Angelina Jolie stars. (Universal Pictures)

Tue Dec 23 | 5:30pm
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Fincher directs. Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt star. (Paramount Pictures)

Fri Dec 26 | 5:15pm
Everlasting Moments
Jan Troell directs. Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, and Jesper Christensen star. (IFC Films)

Fri Dec 26 | 8:15pm
Milk
Gus Van Sant directs. Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco star. (Focus Features)

Sat Dec 27 | 5:30pm
Revolutionary Road
Sam Mendes directs. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio star. (Paramount Vantage)

Sat Dec 27 | 8:15pm
Defiance
Edward Zwick directs. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell star. (Paramount Vantage)

Sun Dec 28 | 5:30pm
I've Loved You So Long
Philippe Claudel directs. Kristin Scott Thomas stars. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Sun Dec 28 | 8:15pm
Waltz with Bashir
Ari Folman directs. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Mon Dec 29 | 5:15pm
The Class
Laurent Cantet directs. François Bégaudeau stars. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Mon Dec 29 | 8:15pm
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood directs and stars. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Tue Dec 30 | 5:30pm
Wendy and Lucy
Kelly Reichardt directs. Michelle Williams stars. (Oscilloscope Pictures)

Tue Dec 30 | 8:00pm
Gomorrah
Matteo Garrone directs. (IFC Films)

Wed Dec 31 | 5:30pm
Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard directs. Frank Langella and Michael Sheen star. (Universal Pictures)

Thu Jan 1 | 3:00pm
Doubt
John Patrick Shanley directs. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams star. (Miramax Films)

Thu Jan 1 | 5:30pm
Last Chance Harvey
Joel Hopkins directs. Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman star. (Overture Films)

Thu Jan 1 | 8:00pm
Che Part 1: The Argentine
Steven Soderbergh directs. Benicio Del Toro stars. (IFC Films)

Fri Jan 2 | 5:15pm
Che, Part 2: Guerrilla
Steven Soderbergh directs. Benicio Del Toro stars. (IFC Films)

Fri Jan 2 | 8:15pm
The Reader
Stephen Daldry directs. Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star. (The Weinstein Co.)

Sat Jan 3 | 5:30pm
The Duchess
Saul Dibb directs. Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes star. (Paramount Vantage)

Sat Jan 3 | 8:00pm
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky directs. Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood star. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Aspen Film embarks upon its 30th year as a non-profit media and arts organization presenting festivals, film series, and other programs year-round, making it one of Colorado's oldest and most established cultural organizations. Academy Screenings is made possible in part by its grantors and sponsors, including The Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation, Men's Journal, J. Crew, The City of Aspen, Town of Snowmass Village, The Aspen Times, American National Bank, Aspen Public Radio, and REEL PEOPLE, Aspen Film's membership program. For more information about Aspen Film and its programs, please contact 970.925.6882 or visit www.aspenfilm.org.