Now Bel Air Has a Film Festival

Imagine trying to walk back to your car at night in this neighborhood. Shudder. Photo courtesy Atwater Village Newbie. via the LAist Featured Photo Pool.

With the AFI Festival recently over, and the holiday media blitz still a few weeks away, you may be looking for some under-the-radar films to fend off your all-too-inevitable turkey-induced football coma. At least, the hard-working, agrarian folks from Bel Air certainly hope so. Somewhere between standing in line at the soup kitchen and picking up extra night shifts at the local Big 5 Sporting Goods, these hardscrabble film lovers decided to put up the first ever Bel Air Film Festival.

Beginning November 14th and running until 19th, the 1st annual Bel Air film festival has compiled an impressive list of films designed to inspire and promote cultural awareness. There will be a Film Fashion Night gala event to open the festivities at Lionsgate VP Mark Amin’s private estate, and a night of honor for comedian Jamie Kennedy on the 16th. Prominent films include Heckler, an honest look at the relationship between comics and critics, and Carissa, a documentary sponsored by Virgin Mobile and the Dodgers Dream Foundation, about a struggling pre-teen on the streets of Fresno who follows her dreams.

The films will all be shown on the in and around Bel Air. Hopefully you feel safe parking your car in that neighborhood for a few hours to go inside and watch a great film. For more information, showtimes / locations, and ticket info, check out their website.