LA Film Festival Announces Complete Line Up (Extended)

Details

Category: Entertainment News

Published on Tuesday, 05 May 2015 15:15

WORLD FICTION COMPETITION:

Unique fiction films from around the world from emerging and established filmmakers, especially curated for LA audiences.

• A Midsummer’s Fantasia– Japan (DIRECTOR Jang Kun-Jae PRODUCERS Naomi Kawase, Jang Kun-jae CAST Kim Sae-byuk, Ryo Iwase, Lim Hyung-kook) – A Korean director’s visit to a rural Japanese village inspires an exquisitely gentle love story about a Korean actress and a local Japanese persimmon farmer.

• Atomic Heart – Iran (DIRECTOR Ali Ahmadzadeh WRITERS Ali Ahmadzadeh, Mani Baghbani PRODUCERS Amir Seyedzadeh CAST Taraneh Alidoosti, Pegah Ahangarani, Mehrdad Sedighiyan, Reza Behboudi, Ehsan Amani, Mohammad Reza Golzar) – Giddily stumbling out of a party way past midnight, Arineh and Nobahar drive around Tehran with their hipster buddy Kami. Distracted, they cause an accident that leads to a bizarre series of events culminating on the brink of a parallel world. North American Premiere

• Ayanda and the Mechanic–South Africa (DIRECTOR Sara Blecher WRITER Trish Malone PRODUCERS Terry Pheto, Busi Sizani, Robbie Thorpe CAST Fulu Moguvhani, OC Ukeje, Nthati Moshesh, Kenneth Nkosi, Jafta Mamabolo, Thomas Gumede, Sihle Xaba, Venessa Cooke) – Within a multi-African Johannesburg community, a young hipster-designer saves her deceased father’s prized garage by refurbishing classic cars - until family secrets and a corrupt legal system threaten her passionate resolve. World Premiere

• Elvira, te daría mi vida pero la estoy usando (Elvira, I'd Give You My Life But I'm Using It) – Mexico (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Manolo Caro PRODUCER Rafael Ley CAST Cecilia Suárez, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Vanessa Bauche, Angie Cepeda, Carlos Bardem) – Elvira’s husband went to buy a pack of cigarettes – and never came back. A darkly comedic, frantic hunt for clues turns a 40-year-old mother of two into an amateur sleuth on the verge of an unexpected discovery. International Premiere

• Flocking (Flocken)– Sweden (DIRECTOR Beata Gårdeler WRITER Emma Broström PRODUCERS Agneta Fagerström Olsson, Annika Hellström CAST Fatime Azemi, John Risto, Eva Melander, Malin Levanon, Jacob Öhrman) – Breathtaking cinematography captures the desolation of a tiny Swedish village when a tight-knit community turns against a 14-year-old girl and her family after she reports being sexually assaulted by a popular classmate. North American Premiere

• Las Malas Lenguas (Sweet and Vicious)– Colombia (DIRECTOR Juan Paolo Laserna WRITERS Juan Paulo Laserna, Juan Camilo Brigard PRODUCER Juan Paulo Laserna CAST Sara Montoya, Pedro Mejia, Matilde de los Milagros Londoño, Felix Antequera, Maryuri Sanchez) – A secret and impossible love boils inside of a young woman as her high-class society prepares her for marriage and the impending birth of a baby that everybody wants – except her. World Premiere
• Sin Alas (Without Wings)–(DIRECTOR/ WRITER Ben Chace PRODUCER Sean Lamb CAST Carlos Padrón, Mario Limonta, Yusleivís Rodrígues, Lieter Ledesma, Adael Rosales, Camila Artecher, Veronica Lynn) – 1960s Havana to the present day is the non-linear setting for this richly textured portrait of an elderly man coming to grips with a lost love. International Premiere

• White Moss (Belyy Yagel)–Russia (DIRECTOR Vladimir Tumaev WRITER Valeriy Bakirov PRODUCER Svetlana Dalskaya CAST Evgeniy Sangadzhiev, Galina Tihonova, Irina Mihaylova, Efim Stepanov, Dolzhin Tangatova) – Love and betrayal in the arctic Russian tundra. A young indigenous man struggles with the obligations of an arranged marriage, while yearning for the love of his life, who has left for the city. International Premiere

LA MUSE:

World premieres of fiction and documentary films that are quintessentially LA.

Films are nominated for the LA Muse Award.

•   Aram, Aram – USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Christopher Chambers PRODUCERS Christopher Chambers, Jared Parsons CAST John Roohinian, Levon Sharafyan, Sevak Hakoyan, Alla Tumanian) – Violently uprooted from his home, a 12 year-old Armenian boy is sent to live with his grandfather in Los Angeles’ Little Armenia, where he faces a clash between old-world values and new-school Armenian identity. World Premiere

• A Beautiful Now - USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Daniela Amavia PRODUCERS Keith Kjarval, Lynn Kressel, Daniela Amavia CAST Abigail Spencer, Cheyenne Jackson, Collette Wolfe, Elena Satine, Sonja Kinski, Patrick Heusinger, John Patrick Amedori, Guy Burnet, Hana Hayes) – A dancer hangs on the razor’s edge between reality and fantasy as her loved ones question the decisions and desires that have shaped who they are and who they will become. World Premiere

• Can You Dig This – USA (DIRECTOR Delila Vallot PRODUCERS Chris Leggett, Rafael Marmor FEATURING Ron Finley, Mychael "Spicey" Evans, Kenya Johnson, Quimonie Lewis, Hosea Smith) In South Central Los Angeles, one of the largest food deserts in the US, inspirational stories of new gardeners reveal the beginnings of an urban gardening revolution and the lasting impact of planting seeds for a better life. World Premiere

• Day Out of Days – USA (DIRECTOR Zoe R. Cassavetes WRITERS Zoe R. Cassavetes, Alexia Landeau PRODUCERS Kate Roughan, Zoe R. Cassavetes, Gina Kwon CAST Alexia Landeau, Eddie Izzard, Melanie Griffith, Cheyenne Jackson, Alessandro Nivola, Brooke Smith, Bellamy Young, Vincent Kartheiser, Ione Skye, Matt Letscher, Josh Stamberg, Myndy Crist) – A 40-year-old actress navigates the cutthroat world of Hollywood while contending with youthful competition and changes within herself. World Premiere

• The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce – USA (DIRECTORS Baron Davis, Chad Gordon PRODUCERS Erikka Yancy, Paul Hunter, Chad Gordon, Ali Brown, Baron Davis FEATURING Dino Smiley, Baron Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Dorell Wright, Byron Scott, Casper Ware Jr.) – Besides the Staples Center, where do top basketball players face-off in Los Angeles? South Central’s Drew League, which has become a premiere destination for pro-amateur basketball through the hard work and persistence of a community. World Premiere

•  The Escort – USA (DIRECTOR Will Slocombe WRITERS Michael Doneger, Brandon A. Cohen PRODUCERS Michael Doneger, Blake Goza, Mark DiCristofaro CAST Lyndsy Fonseca, Michael Doneger, Tommy Dewey, Bruce Campbell, Rachel Resheff, Rumer Willis, Sonya Walger, Dan Bakkedahl, Iqbal Theba, Dean Chekvala) – Desperate for a good story, a sex-addicted journalist throws himself into the world of high-class escorts when he starts seeing a Stanford-educated prostitute. World Premiere

• Flock of Dudes – USA (DIRECTOR Bob Castrone WRITERS Bob Castrone, Jason Zumwalt, Brian Levin PRODUCERS Mark Manuel, Aaron Kaufman, Ted O’Neal, Brian Levin CAST Chris D’Elia, Hannah Simone, Bryan Greenberg, Eric Andre, Brett Gelman, Skylar Astin) – A thirty-something man-child is forced to break up with his three lifelong buddies after being evicted from their shared house. World Premiere

•   French Dirty – USA (DIRECTORS Wade Allain-Marcus, Jesse Allain-Marcus, PRODUCERS Jason Wolf, Mel Jones CAST Wade Allain-Marcus, Melina Lizette, Arjun Gupta) – After committing the carnal sin of sleeping with his best friend’s girlfriend, Vincent must deal with the consequences of his betrayal and hope that his bond with his brother-from-another-mother can withstand the blow. World Premiere

• No Más Bebés – USA (DIRECTOR Renee Tajima-Peña PRODUCERS Virginia Espino, Renee Tajima-Pena) – 40 years after the landmark case Madrigal v. Quilligan investigated the sterilization of Mexican American women at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, the ten courageous women who challenged the system break their silence. World Premiere

•  Weepah Way For Now – USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Stephen Ringer PRODUCERS Stephen Ringer, Aly Michalka, AJ Michalka, Kerry Barden CAST Aly Michalka, AJ Michalka, Mimi Rogers, Liam Aiken, Dan Byrd, Amanda Crew, Madeline Zima, Tyler Labine, Jon Heder, Gil Bellows, Ryan Donowho, Erin Cummings, Gale Harold) – Tucked into the heart of Laurel Canyon, two sisters prepare for their going away party before embarking on their next music tour. World Premiere