LA Film Festival Announces Gala Screenings, Special, Buzz Section, Podcast and Series (Complete Schedule)

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Thursday, 23 August 2018 07:27

LA Muse (10)

The Advocates – USA (DIRECTOR Rémi Kessler PRODUCERS Rémi Kessler, Robert McFalls) – A sweeping look at the homeless crisis in Los Angeles and an intimate view of the tireless advocates who strive to create better lives for their clients. World Premiere

El Chicano – USA (DIRECTOR Ben Hernandez Bray WRITERS Ben Hernandez Bray, Joe Carnahan PRODUCERS Joe Carnahan, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Frank Grillo CAST Raúl Castillo, George Lopez, Aimee Garcia, Emilio Rivera, David Castañeda, Marlene Forte, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sal Lopez) – A cop is drawn into his ex-con brother's death while investigating the crime-fighting exploits of a mysterious vigilante known as "El Chicano." World Premiere

Fire on the Hill – (DIRECTOR/WRITER Brett Fallentine PRODUCERS Brett Fallentine, Jordana Glick-Franzheim, Steven Amato) – Three Black cowboys in South Central share their stories following a mysterious fire that burnt down the community's stables, leaving the fate of the culture in question. World Premiere

Funke – (DIRECTOR Gabriel Taraboulsy PRODUCERS Gabriel Taraboulsy, Alex Emanuele, Jay Holzer, Cecile Murias) – A prodigious chef mounts his culinary comeback, eyeing the most competitive street in America as a stage for his ode to the dying art of handmade pasta. World Premiere

Making Montgomery Clift – (DIRECTORS/WRITERS/PRODUCERS Robert A. Clift, Hillary Demmon) – Classic film star Montgomery Clift's legacy has been a story of tragedy and self-destruction, but a more complicated picture emerges when his nephew dives into the family archives. World Premiere

Saint Judy – USA (DIRECTOR Sean Hanish WRITER Dmitry Portnoy PRODUCERS Sean Hanish, Paul Jaconi-Biery CAST Michelle Monaghan, Leem Lubany, Common, Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Mykelti Williamson) – The true story of LA immigration attorney Judy Wood, who single-handedly changed the United States Law of Asylum, saving countless lives in the process. World Premiere

Solace – USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Tchaiko Omawale PRODUCERS Tchaiko Omawale, Maya Emelle, Hope Olaide Wilson, Sabine Hoffman, Sascha Brown Rice CAST Hope Olaide Wilson, Lynn Whitfield, Chelsea Tavares, Glynn Turman, Luke Rampersad, Sydney Bennett) – A teenage orphan moves to LA to live with her estranged grandmother and works to win a performance art grant while secretly struggling with binge eating. World Premiere

Staycation – USA (DIRECTOR Tanuj Chopra WRITERS Tanuj Chopra, Anthony Ma, Grace Su PRODUCER Lalithra Fernando CAST Anthony Ma, Grace Su) – A modern millennial codependent couple in DTLA have their relationship thrown for a loop when he discovers a photo from an ex on her phone. World Premiere

Stuntman – USA (DIRECTOR Kurt Mattila PRODUCERS Steven Golebiowski, Kurt Mattila, Eddie Braun) – A veteran stuntman sets out to complete the jump that bested his idol Evel Knievel: clearing the Snake River Canyon in a rocket-powered craft. World Premiere

We the Coyotes – USA (DIRECTORS/WRITERS Hanna Ladoul, Marco La Via PRODUCERS Raphael Gindre, Kevin Van Der Meiren, Julius Schultheib CAST Morgan Saylor, McCaul Lombardi, Betsy Brandt, Khleo Thomas, Lorelei Linklater) – A young couple moves to LA from the Midwest to start a new life together, but things don't go exactly as planned. North American Premiere

Shorts (41)

Agua Viva – USA (DIRECTOR Alexa Lim Haas) – A Chinese manicurist in Miami attempts to describe feelings she doesn't have the words for.

Audition – USA (DIRECTOR Richard Van) – Unable to find a sitter, an aspiring actress has no choice but to drag her three-year-old son to her audition.

Beastly Things – USA (DIRECTOR Zev Chevat) – A young artist encounters a vicious group of local schoolchildren and learns what beastly behavior truly means.

Black 14 – USA (DIRECTOR Darius Clark Monroe) – An archival social study examining the media coverage of a 1969 racial protest at the University of Wyoming.

Burn Bridge – USA/England (DIRECTOR Rhys Jones) – Hopelessly infatuated with his clueless best friend, an adolescent boy in North Yorkshire explores his sexuality and acts out with destructive behavior.

Caroline – USA (DIRECTORS Celine Held, Logan George) – A precocious six-year-old is faced with a big responsibility on a hot Texas day.

Cheer Up, Baby – USA (DIRECTOR Adinah Dancyger) – A young woman who has been sexually assaulted by a stranger on the subway is rendered with psychological menace and sensory dislocation in this elliptical tale.

Counterfeit Kunkoo – India (DIRECTOR Reema Sengupta) – In a city that houses millions, Smita fights a stubborn cultural bias while trying to rent a house in middle-class Mumbai.

Coyote – Switzerland (DIRECTOR Lorenz Wunderle) – After wolves attack his family, a coyote goes on a vision quest of revenge.

Cross My Heart – Jamaica/USA (DIRECTOR Sontenish Myers) – An American teenage girl visits her family in Jamaica and uncovers a secret that changes the way she sees the people she loves.

Delay – Iran/Italy (DIRECTOR Ali Asgari) – A man and his two children miss their flight and while waiting for the next flight, undergo a transformative moment.

The Earth is Humming – USA (DIRECTOR Garrett Bradley) – In Japan earthquake preparedness is a way of life, and a full-blown industry.

Falling – France (DIRECTOR Benjamin Vu) – In 1994 France, a clever, gay, much-bullied young esthete and his naïve, athletic classmate develop an unexpected intimacy when they're paired up for a high school presentation.

Hair Wolf – USA (DIRECTOR Mariama Diallo) – In a black hair salon in gentrifying Brooklyn, the residents fend off a strange new horror: white women sucking the lifeblood from black culture.

Hierophany – USA (DIRECTOR Kevin Contento) – A Florida boy comes in contact with the sacred while living in the margins of the South.

Intercourse – Sweden (DIRECTOR Jonatan Etzan) – A passing joke between a couple blurs the lines and brings them to terms with how it has changed their relationship.

Jeom – USA (DIRECTOR Kangmin Kim) – A father and son, who share the same big birthmark on their butt wage war against this genetic blemish.

Kevlar – Sweden (DIRECTOR Tuna Özer) – A young man from the projects outside of Stockholm borrows his friend's jacket to impress a hip city girl and winds up at a party in a strange land.

Ladders – USA (DIRECTOR Andrew Stephen Lee) – The bright future facing a smart, ambitious Dominican teen becomes clouded with doubt following a pointed interaction at a fundraising gala.

Libre – USA (DIRECTOR Anna Barsan) – Undocumented immigrants forced to spend months in detention turn to private companies to secure their release on bond in this gripping documentary.

Lotus – Iran (DIRECTOR Mohammadreza Vatandoust) – After a controlled flood an old woman is left to gaze from her window at the island she's forbidden to visit, longing for the object of her affection.

Mud – USA (DIRECTOR Shaandiin Tome) – On her last day of life, a woman faces the inescapable remnants of alcoholism, family and culture.

Nevada – USA (DIRECTOR Emily Ann Hoffman) – A young couple's romantic weekend getaway is interrupted by a birth control mishap in this stop-motion animated comedy.

One Leg In, One Leg Out – Canada (DIRECTOR Lisa Rideout) – A lively, strong-willed sex worker struggles to move from the streets and into a career as a social worker, hoping to help fellow trans sex workers find acceptance.

The Passage – USA (DIRECTOR Kitao Sakurai) – Fleeing a pair of mysterious agents sends a dim-witted mute on a series of absurd misadventures.

Room 140 – USA (DIRECTOR Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz) – Immigrants just released from detention centers spend their first night in Oakland at a motel paid for by a local pastor.

Roya – USA (DIRECTOR Shaina Pakravan) – On the night of a relative's engagement party, an image conscious Iranian-American mother clashes with her free-spirited teenage daughter.

Scratch – Spain (DIRECTOR David Valero) – A young DJ with a cognitive disability has trouble understanding the violent word around him; his actions subvert societal concepts of perpetrator and victim, apology and forgiveness.

Shadow Animals – Sweden (DIRECTOR Jerry Carlsson) – A young girl follows her parents to a party where the adults' behavior becomes increasingly strange.

The Shift – USA (DIRECTOR Elivia Genny Shaw) – For San Francisco's 911 dispatchers, the city is hard to escape.

Sin Cielo – USA (DIRECTOR Jianna Maarten) – Two teenagers pursue young love in the borderlands where life under cartel violence may be inescapable.

Skip Day – USA (DIRECTORS Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan) – With graduation approaching, a group of high school seniors take a day at the beach to revel in the joys of being young in an increasingly unsteady world.

Swedi – Sweden (DIRECTOR Sosi Chamoun) – A woman in a grocery store contends with a clerk who won't leave her alone in this one-take shot.

This Magnificent Cake! – Belgium/France/Netherlands (DIRECTORS Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels) – Set in colonial Africa in the late 19th century, this breathtaking stop-motion epic examines colonialism through five different stories.

This, My Favorite Mural – USA (DIRECTOR Michael Arcos) – The Latinx immigrant experience in Louisiana is explored through the eyes of a German woman who becomes obsessed with finding the artist who painted a tire shop mural.

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The Things You Think I'm Thinking – Canada (DIRECTOR Sherren Lee) – On his first date since a devastating accident, a burn victim throws himself back into the world of relationships and the fear of allowing love back into his life.

True Love in Pueblo Textil – USA (DIRECTOR Horatio Baltz) – A young girl living in the Cuban countryside describes how it feels to be stricken with the world's oldest infliction: love.

War Paint – USA (DIRECTOR Katrelle Kindred) – For a bright South LA teen, what should be a happy 4th of July weekend becomes an unexpected lesson in the stark realities of power and racism.

Weekends – USA (DIRECTOR Trevor Jimenez) – A young boy shuffles between the homes of his recently divorced parents in this surreal hand-animated film set in 1980s Toronto.

While I Yet Live – USA (DIRECTOR Maris Curran) – African-American quilters from Alabama talk about love, religion and the fight for civil rights as they continue the tradition of quilting that originally brought them together.

Wild Wild West: A Beautiful Rant By Mark Bradford – USA (DIRECTOR Dime Davis) – The origin of artists is explored through paper, percussion and one provocative creative.

Web Series (10)

Avant-Guardians – USA (DIRECTOR Clarence Williams IV) – A woke(ish) guardian angel to the third Black President goes a little off her rocker and is mandated by God to see a therapist angel.

Flatbush Misdemeanors – USA (DIRECTORS Dan Perlman, Kevin Iso) – Two longtime friends adjust to their new surroundings in the brash environment of Flatbush, Brooklyn. Against a quickly ticking clock, they hilariously scramble to right a mistake that could end them both.

Fresh – Australia (DIRECTOR Grant Scicluna) – A diverse range of characters make their living in an open Australian market. Their differences pull them apart and draw them together.

Kiki And Kitty – Australia (DIRECTOR Catriona Mackenzie) – The adventures of a young, Native Aboriginal woman in a big, white world where her vagina is a big, Native woman and her best friend!

Otis – USA (DIRECTOR Alexander Etseyatse) – A young, mentally unstable man attempts to win back the affection of his ex-fiancée and daughter.

Pedal & Paint – USA (DIRECTOR Bradley Smith) – Illustrator and host Mike Dutton hops on his bike and meets up with fellow illustrator Sophia Foster-Dimino to find inspiration, adventure and new perspectives.

Psusy – New Zealand (DIRECTOR Anna Duckworth) – Two close friends drag us through their controversial, inappropriate, but always playfully feminist world.

Tracy Buckles – USA (DIRECTOR Robin Nystrom) – A young woman becomes the victim of a despicable curse that prevents other people from hearing her voice. She joins forces with a down-and-out vagabond and a bumbling wizard in order to break free from the evil sorcery.

Revenge Tour – USA (DIRECTOR Andrew Carter) – He's been cheated on, living in a friend's living room and stuck at a dead-end job. But one night he finds an unlikely stress-reliever—rapping.

Robits – USA (DIRECTOR Christopher Parks) – This series follows the funny and nonsensical misgivings of three robots living in a post-A.I. world.