Los Angeles Film Festival

The Los Angeles Film Festival moves to downtown LA and boasts a robust international selection of films which hopes to put the festival on par with larger festivals such as Toronto and Tribeca.

Festival director, Rebecca Yeldham, has big hopes for this local indie showcase to be a global destination with 50% of the program offering an international flavor and its new downtown location where theater goers are spoilt for choice for restaurants, bars and hotels.

Thanks to LAFF for the following program guide:

Opening Night Film:

• The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko (Focus Features)

Closing Night Film:

• Despicable Me, Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin (Universal Pictures) – WORLD PREMIERE

Bonus By Invitation Screening:

• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, David Slade (Summit Entertainment) – WORLD PREMIERE

Gala Screenings (5):

• Animal Kingdom, David Michod – Australia (Sony Pictures Classics)

• Cyrus, Jay & Mark Duplass (Fox Searchlight)

• Mahler on the Couch, Percy & Felix Adlon – WORLD PREMIERE

• Revolución, Mariana Chenillo, Fernando Eimbcke, Amat Escalante, Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo

García, Diego Luna, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Piá, Carlos Reygadas & Patricia Riggen – Mexico –

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim (Paramount Vantage)

Narrative Competition (9): The Narrative Competition is comprised of films made by talented

emerging filmmakers that compete for the Filmmaker Award. The winner is determined by a panel of

jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

• Dog Sweat, Hossein Keshavarz – Iran – WORLD PREMIERE

• A Family, Pernille Fischer Christensen – Denmark – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Hello Lonesome, Adam Reid – WORLD PREMIERE

• The New Year, Brett Haley

• Of Love and Other Demons, Hilda Hidalgo – Costa Rica/Colombia – NORTH AMERICAN

PREMIERE

• Orly, Angela Schanelec – Germany/France – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Parade, Isao Yukisada – Japan – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Upstate, Katherine Nolfi, Andrew Luis – WORLD PREMIERE

• The Wolf Knife, Laurel Nakadate – WORLD PREMIERE

Documentary Competition (9): The Documentary Competition is comprised of films made by

talented emerging filmmakers that compete for the Documentary Award. The winner is determined by

a panel of jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best

Documentary Feature.

• Camera, Camera, Malcolm Murray – WORLD PREMIERE

• Circo, Aaron Schock – USA/Mexico – WORLD PREMIERE

• One Lucky Elephant, Lisa Leeman – WORLD PREMIERE

• Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, Lev Anderson, Chris Metzler – WORLD

PREMIERE

• Farewell, Ditteke Mensink – Netherlands – US PREMIERE

• Life with Murder, John Kastner – Canada – US PREMIERE

• Make Believe, J. Clay Tweel – WORLD PREMIERE

• Vlast, Cathryn Collins

• Where Are You Taking Me?, Kimi Takesue – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

International Showcase (20): The International Showcase highlights innovative independent

narrative and documentary features from outside of the United States. Films in this section are eligible

for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary

Feature.

• 1428, Du Hai-bin – China

• Army of Crime, Robert Guédiguian – France (Kino)

• Bibliotheque Pascal, Szabolcs Hajdu – Germany/Hungary/England – NORTH AMERICAN

PREMIERE

• Café Noir, Jung Sung-il – South Korea – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Disco & Atomic War, Jaak Kilmi, Kiur Aarma – Estonia/Finland

• Down Terrace, Ben Wheatley – England (Magnolia Pictures)

• Eastern Plays, Kamen Kalev – Bulgaria

• Eyes Wide Open, Haim Tabakman – Israel/Germany/France (New American Vision)

• Family Tree, Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau – France

• Golden Slumber, Yoshihiro Nakamura – Japan – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

• Judge, Liu Jie – China

• La Pivellina, Rainer Frimmel, Tizza Covi – Austria/Italy

• Lebanon, Samuel Maoz – Israel (Sony Pictures Classics)

• The Peddler, Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovich – Argentina

• R, Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer – Denmark

• The Red Chapel, Mads Brugger – Denmark

• Secrets of the Tribe, José Padilha – England/Brazil

• Space Tourists, Christian Frei – Switzerland

• Street Days, Levan Koguashvili – Georgia

• Woman on Fire Looks For Water, Woo Ming Jin – Malaysia/South Korea

Summer Screenings (12): The Summer Screenings section offers an advance look at this summer’s

most talked about independent film releases from the festival circuit. Films in this section are eligible

for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary

Feature.

• Ain’t In It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm, Jacob Hatley

• Cane Toads: The Conquest, Mark Lewis – Australia/US

• Cold Weather, Aaron Katz

• Four Lions, Christopher Morris – England

• Kings of Pastry, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus (First Run Features)

• Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg

• Monsters, Gareth Edwards (Magnolia Pictures)

• Night Catches Us, Tanya Hamilton (Magnolia Pictures)

• The Tillman Story, Amir Bar-Lev (The Weinstein Company)

• Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham (IFC Films)

• Welcome to the Rileys, Jake Scott (Apparition, Destination Films)

• White Material, Claire Denis – France (IFC Films)

Outdoor Screenings at the Ford Amphitheatre (4): These official Los Angeles Film Festival

selections, sponsored by Brand X and American Airlines, are included as part of the 2010 Ford

Amphitheatre Summer Season; a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts

Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County-based arts organizations. Films in this section are

eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best

Documentary Feature.

• Centurion, Neil Marshall – England (Magnolia Pictures)

• The Last Exorcism, Daniel Stamm (Lionsgate) – WORLD PREMIERE

• The People vs. George Lucas, Alexandre O. Philippe

• Thunder Soul, Mark Landsman

International Spotlight (4): A tribute to a forgotten giant of South American cinema, Argentina’s

Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, sponsored by Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and

Sciences.

• The Fall (1959)

• The Hand in the Trap (1961)

• The House of the Angel (1957)

• The Seven Madmen (1973)

Selections from the Ambulante Film Festival (3): Sponsored by Hoy, and returning for a

second year, Ambulante is a traveling documentary film festival produced by the non-profit organization

Documental Ambulante A.C., in collaboration with Canana, Cinepolis, and the Morelia International Film

Festival. It was created in 2005 by Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Pablo Cruz to promote

documentary culture across Mexico. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best

International Feature or Best Documentary Feature.

• One Day Less, Dariela Ludlow – Mexico – US PREMIERE

• Presumed Guilty, Roberto Hernández, Geoffrey Smith – Mexico

• The Toledo Report, Albino Álvarez Gomez – Mexico

Community Screenings (4): These films will be presented free to the public. Films in this section

are eligible for Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature or Best Documentary Feature.

• Climate Refugees, Michael P. Nash – Grand Performances Screening

• Gasland, Josh Fox

• Lost Angels, Thomas Napper – WORLD PREMIERE

• A Small Act, Jennifer Arnold – Project:Involve Screening

The Beyond (4): The Beyond offers films that dare to be different. Films in this section are eligible for

Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

• All About Evil, Joshua Grannell

• Bitter Feast, Joe Maggio – WORLD PREMIERE

• Mandrill, Ernesto Diaz Espinoza – Chile

• Separado!, Gruff Rhys, Dylan Goch – Wales – US PREMIERE

Special Screenings (3):

• The Life of Richard Wagner (1913), Carl Froelich – Germany

• The Wheeler Boys, Philip G. Flores – WORLD PREMIERE – Netflix FIND Your Voice Winner

• Utopia in Four Movements, David Cerf, Sam Green

UCLA Film & T.V. Archive Collaborations

L.A. Film Critics: The Films That Got Away (2): Co-presented by the Los Angeles Film Critics

Association and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

• The Happiest Girl in the World (2009), Radu Jude – Romania

• Katalin Varga (2009), Peter Strickland – Romania/England

Downtown Confidential (2): Co-presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive

• Hickey and Boggs (1972), Robert Culp

• The Driver (1978), Walter Hill

The Film Foundation Screening Program (2):

• The Leopard (1963), Luchino Visconti – Presented by The Film Foundation and Gucci as part of

“Cinema Visionaries.”

• The Music Room (1958), Satyajit Ray – Presented by The Film Foundation and American

Express as part of “20 Years/20 Films.”

Short Films (33): Shorts are shown before features and as part of five short film programs. With

their diverse and complex content, these films shine brilliantly. Most short films, domestic and

international, will compete for prizes in Narrative, Documentary, and Animation/Experimental

categories. The winner is determined by a panel of jurors. An Audience Award for Best Short Film is also

presented.

• Shorts Program 1-5

Future Filmmakers Showcase: High School Shorts (32): These two programs of shorts,

sponsored by Best Buy, made by high school students from around the country feature work by the next generation of filmmakers.

Ginger Liu