LA Film Festival Unveils 2016 Competition Lineup; 42 World Premieres Chosen Across All Categories

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Friday, 29 April 2016 11:43

World Fiction Competition

Heis (chronicles) – France (DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Anaïs Volpé CAST Akéla Sari, Matthieu Longatte, Anaïs Volpé, Emilia Derou-Bernal, Alexandre Desane) – A millennial artist returns to her mother's home in Paris, only to have her personal ambitions confronted by her family's expectations in this energetic and visually distinct debut film. World Premiere

Like Cotton Twines – USA/Ghana (DIRECTOR/WRITER Leila Djansi PRODUCERS Amanda Marshall, Akofa Djankui, Whitney Valcin, Dave Harper, Leila Djansi CAST Jay Ellis, Ophelia Dzidzornu, Miranda Bailey, Yvonne Okoro, Luckie Lawson, David Dontoh) – An African-American volunteer accepts a teaching job in a remote Ghanaian village and is ensnared in a battle between tradition and freedom when he is compelled to save one of his students from becoming a slave to the gods. World Premiere

London Town – UK (DIRECTOR Derrick Borte WRITER Matthew Brown PRODUCER Sofia Sondervan CAST Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Daniel Huttlestone, Dougray Scott, Natascha McElhone, Tom Hughes) – A 14-year old boy's life changes forever when his estranged mother introduces him to the music of The Clash in 1979 London. World Premiere

Lupe Under the Sun – Mexico/USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Rodrigo Reyes PRODUCER Su Kim CAST Daniel Muratalla, Ana Muratalla) – After a lifetime working in the California fields, Lupe learns that he is about to die and desperately struggles to return home to his family in Mexico to make amends—before it is too late. World Premiere

A Moving Image – UK (DIRECTOR/WRITER Shola Amoo PRODUCER Rienkje Attoh CAST Tanya Fear, Hussina Raja, Yinka Oyewole, Aki Omoshaybi, Alex Austin, Yrsa Daley Ward) – Reality and fiction merge in this personal reflection on gentrification in Brixton, told from the perspective of a sincere, yet stifled, young artist who struggles with her own complicity as she confronts the changing landscape of her South London neighborhood. World Premiere

Play the Devil – Trinidad, Bahamas, USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Maria Govan PRODUCER Abigail Hadeed CAST Petrice Jones, Gareth Jenkins, Akil Nicholas, Penelope Spencer) – Set against the backdrop of Trinidad and Tobago's mystical Carnival, a gifted and struggling young man becomes the object of intrigue for an older, well-meaning businessman until their worlds collide. World Premiere

LA Muse

Actors of Sound – USA/Ireland/India/Finland/Germany/Argentina (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Lalo Molina PRODUCERS Lalo Molina, Gustavo Bernla, Zoe Willoughby) – Will Hollywood's low-tech sound artists survive as digital technology consumes modern moviemaking? Foley artists, the unsung heroes of movie sound effects, recreate the sounds—from footsteps to bone crack—at the heart of film magic. World Premiere

Girl Flu. – USA (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Dorie Barton PRODUCER David K. Wilson, Jay Lowi CAST Katee Sackhoff, Jade Pettyjohn, Jeremy Sisto, Heather Matarazzo, Judy Reyes) – Bird, a smart level-headed tween, and her immature stoner mom gracelessly navigate the arrival of Bird's first period, which she gets on the last day of school … in front of the entire class. World Premiere

Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story – USA (DIRECTOR Eric "Ptah" Herbert WRITERS Michael Landers, Eric "Ptah" Herbert PRODUCERS Dr. Howard Mango, Eric "Ptah" Herbert, Oscar "Cali" Quiroz, Mack Tompkins, Jason Hart, Marcus Gradney, Schea Cotton) – One of the biggest mysteries in basketball's history is why Los Angeles legend Schea Cotton, one of the most highly touted high school athletes of a pre-social media era, never made it to the NBA. World Premiere

Namour – USA (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Heidi Saman PRODUCER Matt Keene Smith CAST Karim Saleh, Mona Hala, Waleed Zuaiter, Nicole Haddad) – Set in the City of Angels during the economic recession of the late 2000's, a twenty-something Egyptian-American valet driver must come to grips with his dead-end job, disintegrating family and disappearing relationships in this stylish homage to Los Angeles. World Premiere

No Light and No Land Anywhere – USA (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Amber Sealey PRODUCERS Amber Sealey, Drea Clark, Alysa Nahmias CAST Gemma Brockis, Jennifer LaFleur, Kent Osborne, David Sullivan, Jade Sealey, Deborah Dopp) – Grieving over her mother's death, Lexi abruptly leaves her life and husband in London to come to Los Angeles in pursuit of the father who abandoned her when she was three. World Premiere

Sensitivity Training – USA (DIRECTOR/ WRITER Melissa Finell PRODUCER Megha Kohli, Melissa Finell CAST Anna Lise Phillips, Jill Alexander, Quinn Marcus, Amy Madigan, Charles Haid, Amy Vorpahl, Andy Gala, Michael Laskin, Gregory Itzin, Finnegan Haid, Courtney Fansler, Tessa Goss, Challen Cates) – A grumpy microbiologist is forced into sensitivity training at work and forms an unlikely friendship with her overly vivacious coach. World Premiere

Nightfall

Abattoir – USA (DIRECTOR Darren Lynn Bousman WRITER Christopher Monfette PRODUCERS Jesse Berger, Brent C. Johnson CAST Jesse Lowndes, Joe Anderson, Lin Shaye, Dayton Callie) – A reporter unearths an urban legend about a home being constructed from rooms where horrific tragedies have occurred, giving new life to the term "haunted house." World Premiere

Beyond the Gates – USA (DIRECTOR Jackson Stewart WRITERS Jackson Stewart, Stephen Scarlata PRODUCERS Amanda Mortimer, Barbara Crampton, Ian Keiser, Jon Kondelik, Jackson Stewart, Stephen Scarlata CAST Graham Skipper, Chase Williamson, Brea Grant, Barbara Crampton, Matt Mercer, Justin Welborn, Jesse Merlin, Sara Malakul Lane, Henry LeBlanc) – Two estranged brothers dig through their missing father's video store, discovering a VCR board game that holds a connection to their father's disappearance and deadly consequences for anyone who plays it. World Premiere

Don't Hang Up – UK (DIRECTORS Alexis Wajsbrot, Damien Macé WRITER Joe Johnson PRODUCERS Jason Newmark, Laurie Cook, Romain Philippe, Farah Abushwesha, Alexis Wajsbrot, Damien Macé CAST Gregg Sulkin, Garrett Clayton, Bella Dayne, Sienna Guillory) – An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them, with deadly consequences. World Premiere

Mercy – USA (DIRECTOR/WRITER Chris Sparling PRODUCERS Andrew D Corkin, Kyle Franke, Robyn Bennett CAST James Wolk, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Tom Lipinski, Dan Ziskie, Michael Godere, Michael Donovan, Dion Graham, Constance Baron) – Brought together at their childhood home over their dying mother, an estranged family is thrust into a deadly fight for their own survival in a tense home invasion thriller. World Premiere

Officer Downe – USA (DIRECTOR M. Shawn Crahan WRITER Joe Casey PRODUCERS Skip Williamson, Mark Neveldine, Joe Casey CAST Kim Coates, Tyler Ross, Lauren Luna Velez, Meadow Williams) – Based on the cult graphic novel, a rookie is tasked with shadowing Officer Downe, a no-nonsense LAPD cop with regenerative powers, as he wages an ultra-violent war against the nefarious villains of Los Angeles. World Premiere

Villisca – USA (DIRECTOR Tony Valenzuela WRITER Owen Egerton PRODUCER Seth Caplan, Kevin Abrams, Michael Wormser CAST Robert Adamson, Jarrett Sleeper, Alex Frnka, Conchata Ferrell, Jon Gries) – Three ghost-hunting high schoolers visit the Moore House in Villisca, Iowa—the site of one of America's most grisly unsolved mass murders. After their private tour is interrupted, the group sneaks back in at night, unaware of the otherworldly terror that awaits them. World Premiere