For those of you in LA that can’t wait a few hours to see Steven Spielberg‘s upcoming biopic on Abraham Lincoln, then AFI Fest has your ticket. The Los Angeles-based festival announced today that the world premiere of Lincoln will occur on Thursday, November 8th, just shortly before midnight screenings kick off that night when the film hits limited release, before going wide on November 16th. The film recently test screened in New Jersey this week and word has it press screenings will be happening next month, so expect some early buzz to leak out before this world premiere, but one can see all the details below in the official press release.

LOS ANGELES, CA, September 20, 2012 – The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that LINCOLN, directed by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg, and released by DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox, in association with Participant Media, will have its Official World Premiere on Thursday, November 8, as the Closing Night Gala of AFI FEST 2012 presented by Audi. The film stars Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role; Academy Award® winners Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones; Academy Award® nominees David Strathairn, Jackie Earle Haley, John Hawkes and Hal Holbrook; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader and Jared Harris. Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams scored the film, with 2012 marking a collaboration between Spielberg and Williams that has enriched 26 of their films together. From an original screenplay by Academy Award® nominee Tony Kushner based in part on the best-selling book, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the revealing drama explores our 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office during the Civil War.

”Steven Spielberg is an American master, enriching the cultural legacy of our nation with each new film in his extraordinary career,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. ”We are honored he has chosen AFI FEST for the World Premiere of LINCOLN, an historic cinematic event in itself as it brings the most dramatic American history to life for new generations.”

“Steven Spielberg epitomizes American filmmaking,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, Director, AFI FEST, “and who better to tell the story of one of the most significant figures in our country’s history. In this important presidential election year, Spielberg’s LINCOLN reminds us that the challenges of the past remain as relevant today.”

Spielberg has an impressive history with AFI. He was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1995, the highest honor for a career in film; five of his movies rate among the greatest films of all time on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list: SCHINDLER’S LIST (#8), E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (#24), JAWS (#56), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (#66) and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (#71); and last year he completed a one-hour special at the AFI Conservatory with friend and collaborator John Williams entitled TCM PRESENTS AFI’S MASTER CLASS: THE ART OF COLLABORATION that explored the four-decade friendship and working relationship between the two artists, among the most prolific and influential collaborations in film history. In addition, both Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy serve on the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees, which is chaired by Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sony Corporation, and is comprised of leaders of the motion picture and television communities and leaders from global goods and services companies. Spielberg has been an AFI Trustee since 1986, Kennedy since 1994.

LINCOLN stars acclaimed actor Day-Lewis, who has been honored with two Academy Awards® for his lead performances in THERE WILL BE BLOOD and MY LEFT FOOT. His film credits also include GANGS OF NEW YORK, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE AGE OF THE INNOCENCE and THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.