June 11-19, 2014 US/Pacific
Los Angeles Film Festival 2014
held in the Entertainment Capital of the World.
Los Angeles, CA -
The 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival took place this year and was truly a celebration of
the filmmaking experience! Filmmakers and cinephiles alike congregated to enjoy the extensive showcase of the best in
new American and international cinema.
The Los Angeles Film Festival is an annual, world-class,
cinematic event. For years now, the LAFF both affords emerging filmmakers the highly coveted opportunities to
engage with, learn from, and mingle amongst the movers and shakers from the industry and provides moviephiles with access to some
of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals and new talent.
The Los Angeles Film Festival is "produced by Film Independent,
a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting and supporting independent films and filmmakers. In addition to the Festival,
Film Independent also produces the acclaimed Spirit Awards, honoring vanguard films that embody innovation and originality."
This year, the LAFF 2014 celebrated its 20th anniversary at L.A. LIVE in downtown
Los Angeles. Staying true to form, it carried quite
a diverse line-up of nearly 200 features, shorts and music videos from around the world!
Here you will find links to interviews, photos, and reviews for a sampling of some of the incredible movies
showcased this year. Enjoy! ~ The "IN" Show
Cut Bank,
written and directed by Matt Shakman, had its World Premiere at this year's 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival.
It boasted an all-star cast in Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, Billy Bob Thornton, John Malkovich, Bruce Dern, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Oliver Platt; and, they did not disappoint!
SYNOPSIS: DWAYNE MCLAREN (Liam Hemsworth, Hunger Games), a high school star athlete recently turned auto mechanic,
dreams of getting out of tiny Cut Bank, MT - the coldest town in America - and whisking his pageant-hopeful girlfriend,
CASSANDRA (Teresa Palmer), away to the big city. But his plan to do so sets in motion a deadly series of events and
...read more...
Eat With Me,
is the promising directorial and writing debut from David Au. World Premiering at the
20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival,
Eat With Me offers a fresh take on life, love and food in the heart of Los Angeles.
SYNOPSIS: Emma's (Sharon Omi) life is so bland that the only way she can spice it up is to add hot sauce to everything she eats.
A middle-aged empty nester, she leaves her loveless marriage and winds up crashing in her son Elliot's apartment.
Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver) runs the family restaurant, a floundering Chinese greasy spoon. But mother and son have grown
apart over the years. Emma is old-world traditional; Elliot is gay. Their one common denominator
...read more...
Frank, a film by
by acclaimed Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, is an offbeat comedy about Jon (Domhnall Gleeson),
a young wanna-be musician, who discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric
pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
SYNOPSIS: The film begins with would-be musician Jon invited to join the band right
before a concert, only asked if he is able to play a few notes. It becomes increasingly clear that Jon is finding himself out of his depth around Frank
(Michael Fassbender) - the musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head - and his terrifying
bandmate Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) ...read more...
I Am Big Bird:
It's hard to imagine that there could exist in this world a person who doesn't know Big Bird. A cynic would say the reason
for that is due, in no small part, to the mechanism of commercialism. Watch
I AM BIG BIRD: The Story of Caroll Spinney and you will see that the cynic couldn't be further from the truth.
SYNOPSIS: I AM BIG BIRD profiles Caroll Spinney, the 80-year-old puppeteer who has been behind Sesame Street's Big Bird and
Oscar the Grouch since the show's first season. Relying heavily on Caroll's incredible archive of home videos dating back
to the 1950s, I AM BIG BIRD captures how the love radiating from Caroll has created a worldwide cultural icon and answers
why he can't say goodbye to the characters he cherishes ...read more...
Man From Reno, a film by David Boyle, had
its World Premiere at the 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival! In
attendance and on the Red Carpet were writer/director Dave Boyle and stars Ayako Fujitani, Pepe Serna.
SYNOPSIS: In a small town south of San Francisco, Sheriff Paul Del Moral (Pepe Serna) is driving home through the fog one night
when he accidentally strikes a pedestrian, a lone Japanese man. However, before an investigation can take place the man
disappears from the hospital without a trace. At the same time, Japanese mystery author Aki Akahori (Ayako Fujitani), feeling
lonely and vulnerable, escapes to San Francisco and begins a romantic affair with a mysterious Japanese traveller from Reno
who ...read more...
Meet the Patels, a film by
siblings Geeta V. and Ravi V. Patel, screened at this year's 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival
to widespread acclaim; and, once seen, it's easy to see why!
SYNOPSIS: MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30-
year-old Indian-American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams ... and
his parents. Filmed by Ravi's sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and
heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair.
The IN Show spoke with Geeta and Ravi at ...read more...
Nightingale, a film by
Elliot Lester, had its World Premiere screening at the 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival.
SYNOPSIS: A provocative drama that probes the darkest corners of a disturbed mind, NIGHTINGALE tells the story of Peter Snowden and
his obsession with an old army friend named Edward. The film follows Peter as he records his private thoughts and feelings
- his nightingale song - in the days leading up to his reunion with Edward. Before long the hostile world outside Peter's
door begins to threaten the idyllic future that he's so desperately trying to build.
...read more...
Out In The Night World Premiered at this year's
Los Angeles Film Festival.
SYNOPSIS: Taking us beyond the sensational "Attack of the Killer Lesbians" headlines, Blair Dorosh-Walther's
provocative documentary pulls back the curtain on a tragic miscarriage of justice. In New York City's West Village in 2006,
four gay African-American women were brutally assaulted by a stranger whose unwanted sexual advances they'd just spurned.
In defending themselves, they also unwittingly left themselves vulnerable to draconian prison sentences that wrested them
from their supportive New Jersey families. Dorosh-Walther returns to the scene of their alleged crime, using security
footage to condemn the deplorable conduct of unscrupulous reporters and callous police officers. With a deep compassion for
its subjects tempering its outrage over the indignities they've suffered, the film poses a troubling question:
How would have this unfolded had it been four straight white women instead?
...read more...
The Life and Mind of Mark DiFriest
World Premiered during the 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival.
SYNOPSIS: Initially sentenced to four years over a misunderstanding, he's now spent three decades behind bars,
amassing a laundry list of disciplinary reports and earning a reputation as the "Houdini of high security prisons."
With fantastical animated sequences conveying DeFriest's past exploits and delving into his troubled psyche,
Gabriel London's documentary questions how redemption can possibly be achieved when an unforgiving system simply
won't allow for such things.
The IN Show had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Filmmaker Gabriel London ...read more...
The Young Kieslowski, a Kerem Senga film,
World Premiered at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival.
SYNOPSIS: Brian Kieslowski (19), a virgin and a science student at CalTech, knows the probability that a
beautiful girl like Leslie Mallard (21), who's saving herself for marriage, would fall for him is infinitesimally small -
but on one very drunken night, the universe allows it to happen. Defying the odds for a second time, Mallard gets pregnant
with twins after their first night together. When she tells him that she wants to keep the babies,
The IN Show caught up with Filmmaker Kerem Senga and the cast of
...read more...
Two Faces of January,
is screenwriter Hossein Amini's directing debut. Showcased at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival,
Two Faces of January was a must see.
SYNOPSIS: A sleek thriller set in Greece and Istanbul, 1962, and adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel,
intrigue begins at the Parthenon when wealthy American tourists Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his young wife
Collete (Kirsten Dunst) meet American expat Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a scammer working as a tour guide.
Mr. Amini graciously sat with The IN Show to talk about his Two Faces of January ...read more...
Gus Summers is the Host and Broadcast Producer for The "IN Show, an entertaining broadcast that covers all things exciting and enlightening.
When Gus isn't busy covering current events and interesting people, you'll see him out and about enjoying all that the City of Angels has to offer.
For any questions, comments, or program ideas, he can be reached at gus@theinshow.com.
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