San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is pleased to announce that actor Haley Joel Osment will be a recipient of the festival’s Spotlight Presentation: Craft in Focus Award. His new film How to Date Again, will have its World Premiere at this year’s edition of the SLO Film Fest. The feature film was primarily shot in San Luis Obispo County.
New to the festival this year, the Spotlight Presentation: Craft in Focus Award celebrates standout talent from the festival program through in-depth conversations exploring their past and current work, creative journeys, and perspectives on filmmaking.
The festival runs from Thursday, April 23 through Tuesday, April 28. The Spotlight Presentation, conversation with Haley Joel Osment, and the premiere of How to Date Again, are scheduled for Saturday, April 25 at the historic San Luis Obispo Masonic Lodge.
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Executive Director Skye McLennan said, “Haley first captured audiences with his standout childhood performance in The Sixth Sense, and we’re looking forward to reflecting on his notable career as well as spotlighting his evolution into comedy and his continued commitment to championing independent film.”
Haley Joel Osment is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and two-time Actor Award-nominated actor with a robust career spanning across genres. On the TV side, he appears in the latest season of Poker Face for Peacock, alongside Natasha Lyonne, Patti Harrison, and Simon Helberg. He can be seen in season two of Tim Burton’s hit Netflix series Wednesday. He was seen in the final season of Amazon’s Billy Bob Thornton-led legal drama, Goliath, Haley’s work also includes season three of the award-winning comedy The Kominsky Method, and a recurring role on Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys, produced by Point Grey. Previously, he starred in the Hulu science fiction comedy Future Man, directed and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Other TV credits include Silicon Valley, X Files, Spoils Before Dying, Alpha House, and Spoils of Babylon.
His stage credits include American Buffalo (2008), Red (2011), Midnight Coleslaw (2024) and the upcoming Space Cowgirl.
On the film side, Haley was most recently seen in Happy Gilmore 2. He starred opposite Adam Sandler, Margaret Qualley and Julie Bowen. He starred in Zoe Kravitz’ dark comedy, Blink Twice, for MGM, opposite Channing Tatum, Naomie Ackie, and Simon Rex. Osment starred in the 2020 comedy Death of a Telemarketer alongside Lamorne Morris and Jackie Earle Haley. He starred in the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Selection Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, opposite Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jim Parsons and John Malkovich. Other credits include the Edward James Olmos film The Devil Has a Name, Clara’s Ghost (Sundance Film Selection in 2018), Izzy Gets the F Across Town, Entourage, Tusk, A.I., and his unforgettable, Academy Award-nominated performance in M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense.
With a slate of over 100 films from 25 countries including narrative features, short films, feature documentaries, and doc shorts, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is known for its dedication to diversity and inclusivity, highlighting both emerging and established filmmakers from around the globe. This year brings two new categories – Episodics and a special award recognizing the Best Genre/Horror Film.
SLOIFF has announced this year’s exciting film lineup, led by the Opening Night selection of the documentary about tennis legend Billy Jean King, Give Me The Ball!, and Power Ballad, starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, as the Closing Night selection.
Also on tap at the festival are the fest’s famous Surf Nite, the popular Central Coast Filmmaker Showcase, Cal Poly Short Cuts, Music Video Showcase, and Community of Skate. Additional programs include short films curated by R.A.C.E. Matters, and Filmmakers of Tomorrow, featuring short films by those 18 and under.
Passes are now on sale and information on the film festival can be found at https://slofilmfest.org.