Catch a very special screening of A24’s Academy Award-Winning film “The Whale” on August 29, 2023 at 5:30 PM at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, ID to benefit Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency. The evening includes a pre-screening reception and a post-screening conversation with playwright, screenwriter, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, and Idaho-native Samuel D. Hunter. The Q&A will be moderated by Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency Artistic Director John Baker. Hunter and Baker worked closely together on Hunter’s acclaimed play “The Whale,” which Hunter later adapted for the screen.

Following its premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, the Darren Aronofsky film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won two. Brendan Fraser won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.

Film running time: 117 minutes; Rating: R

TICKETS: www.sunvalleyplaywrights.org

General Admission tickets are $25, and VIP Tickets are $150. VIP Admission also includes a pre-screening reception with hors d’oeuvres with Samuel D. Hunter plus prime seating for the screening. All ticket sales benefit Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency.

Sponsors for the evening include The Argyros Performing Arts Center, Atkinsons’ Market, The Salty Sisters, and Wall Property Management.

Now in its second year, Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency is a nonprofit that pioneers a radically new approach to supporting playwrights and the development of their new work. In partnership with The Argyros Performing Arts Center and The Community Library, Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency gives playwrights time and resources to write in an inspired Idaho setting and provides the local community events that offer insight into writers’ creative processes. Pulitzer Prize-winner and Tony Award-nominee Martyna Majok (“Cost of Living”) is the 2022-2023 Sun Valley Resident Playwright. Majok’s residency began in October 2022 when she was a writer-in-residence at the historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House, which is managed by The Community Library as a private residence for visiting writers, and is the site of ongoing preservation efforts. Majok will return to Ketchum in September 2023 to share a new work in progress at The Argyros.