Aldis Hodge, Sienna Miller lead third day of Savannah Film Fest

As the 2019 SCAD Savannah Film Festival gets into its groove of movies and industry education, the stars continue to find a wonderful space in the Hostess City for creativity and a love of the cinema.

Screening his latest film, “Clemency,” on Monday evening, Aldis Hodge was happy to return to Savannah, where he spent many weeks filming the WGN series “Underground.”

“The weather is nice, the heat is not killing me today and it just feels good,” he said.

“I know this street (Broughton Street) very well. I know the buildings — I just passed one of the buildings we shot at," he said. "It brings back some real good memories. It’s nice to get reacquainted.”

Hodge, who received the Discovery Award for his work in “Clemency,” won’t just be spending time in Savannah showing off his latest film. The “Straight Outta Compton” and “Hidden Figures” star is also getting the chance to speak with prospective film and television students from SCAD on Tuesday.

“I can’t wait to get in there tomorrow and see what’s going on,” he said.

“I think a teacher is always a student, so my idea is to first go in and see where they are, where they’re rooted in their craft and what their passion is — why they want do it," he said. "We start from that and then build on that.”

Hodge said he wants to come to them on their level and see what they’re hungry to learn before anything.

“I want to see what everybody is about and I know for sure I’ll come out of there having learned something myself,” he added.

Sienna Miller might not have the history with the city that Hodge had, but she is ready to make up for lost time.

“I will be coming back (to Savannah) because one night is not enough,” the “American Sniper” star said. “I’ve heard (they make movies) in Atlanta, but maybe I should push for Savannah.”

Miller was arriving at the festival to receive an Outstanding Achievement Award in Cinema honor while showing off her latest project, “American Woman.” Though she won’t be in the city long, she said she was excited to learn more about Savannah and to engage with the students while in town.

“It was so wonderful to get to sit and meet (the SCAD students). They were so engaged, so curious and so warm, and I loved it. The half an hour flew by. I could’ve carried on for hours,” she said.

The experience was as resonant for her as it was for the students, and she said it is always nice to see the younger generation so hungry to learn from those who have been acting for awhile.

“Their enthusiasm is infectious. You can really spend time doing this and you forget how exciting it is in the beginning (of your acting career),” she said. “To have experience working in the world, and to give it to them, it feels like a very important transaction and I loved it.”

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival treads on with showings of the popular independent hit “Booksmart,” complete with appearances by the film’s stars, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, along with the director, Olivia Wilde.