Starting: 8:15 PM

Academy Award®-winning director Alexander Payne (ELECTION, SIDEWAYS) returns to HIFF with the story of a curmudgeonly instructor (Academy Award® nominee Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school, who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break with the handful of students with nowhere to go. Gradually, he forms an unlikely bond with brainy troublemaker Angus (newcomer Dominic Sessa) and the school’s head cook Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is grieving her son’s recent death. Brought to life through instantly memorable and comedic performances coupled with a nostalgic soundtrack and lived in design, THE HOLDOVERS transports audiences to a bygone era in this heartwarming holiday story of friendship. A Focus Features release.