Ben Affleck’s AIR to Make Surprise Debut as Closing Night Film at SXSW 2023

Announcing Ben Affleck’s AIR, from Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, Artists Equity, and Mandalay Pictures, as this year’s Closing Night Film, set to make its surprise debut on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the Paramount Theatre.

AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.

“We are so excited to close out the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival with AIR,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP of Film & TV, SXSW. “Ben Affleck has crafted an exceptional film filled with outstanding performances that capture the emotional ride behind the creation of this legendary brand. We know it will be a true one-of-a-kind experience.”

“I could not be more thrilled to surprise the SXSW audience with our very first screening of AIR,” said director, producer, and star Ben Affleck. “The energy in Austin is in a class of its own, and we know the crowd will respond to the film’s inspiring story and brilliant performances. We could not imagine a better spot for the launch of the movie.”

Matt Damon plays maverick Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro and Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight with Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, Chris Messina as David Falk, Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Marlon Wayans as George Raveling, Chris Tucker as Howard White, Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan, Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler, and Julius Tennon as James Jordan – among others.

This marks the first time Affleck is directing a feature film starring Damon. With a script penned by Alex Convery, AIR is produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman. Executive producers include Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss, and Jordan Moldo.

Amazon Studios will release the film globally in theaters on April 5 in advance of its premiere in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on Prime Video.

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