Los Angeles is known for its prolific filmmakers, and we would be remiss if we didn't encourage the next generation of artists in this field to explore their craft and grow up to tell their stories. In an effort to do just that, City Councilmember Paul Krekorian launched the Los Angeles Student Media Festival (LASMF) this year. more ›

Night two of Sundance was all about 2011 Grammy Award double nominee/performer, Janelle Monae at the Bing Bar Music Series. The R&B songstress held court during an exclusive set that included hits "Tightrope" and "Many Moons" at one of the oldest buildings in Park City. more ›

Writer/director/transcendental meditator David Lynch emerges for a screening of cult classic Eraserhead on Saturday afternoon at the Egyptian. The cryptic auteur appears as the first Guest Artistic Director of AFI's Annual Film Festival, and will answer three questions drawn from tweets directed @AFIFEST. Lynch's other selections for the festival include classics Sunset Boulevard, Rear Window, Mon Oncle, Lolita & The Hour of The Wolf. Of course, AFI has programmed plenty of new films as well. Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams uses the latest 3D technology to capture humanity's oldest known works of art. John Cameron Mitchell (of Hedwig inch-famy) follows Nicole Kidman & Aaron Eckhart down Rabbit Hole, while Aaron Sorkin and Halle Berry appear in lengthy conversation. Lesser known (but higher concept) films include Carancho, an Argentine noir thriller about an ambulance chaser, and Rubber, a killer tire movie. For full line-up and additional ticket sales, visit AFIFest.com. more ›

A year ago, LAist wrote about a group of energetic, young, indie filmmakers who, instead of taking the traditional route of trying to get their movies into film festivals, invented a new model of film promotion by putting together their own little film festival and taking it on the road, touring from city to city in a van, rock band-style. more ›

Remember last year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed taking away “traditional navigable waters" status for the Los Angeles river? That stirred some major controversy including a three-day kayak trip from the Valley to the ocean by a group of activists set out to prove the river's navigability. Heather Wiley, who works for the Army Corp and disagrees with their decision, was caught up in the mess. more ›

Now that the summer blockbuster season's in gear, it's time to counter-program with an influx of festivals! The Israel Film Festival runs through the 18th at Laemmle's Fallbrook in West Hills & the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Highlights include Lost Islands, which cleaned kibbutz at the Israeli box office last year and won four Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars); The Seven Days, another Ophir powerhouse; and audience favorite & Oscar nominee Waltz With Bashir. Rather than feature one-off screenings of a multitude of films, the festival has a smaller slate (30 films) but more dedicated screening times; a nice touch for patrons with less flexible schedules. more ›

Every so often, two movies play in theaters that appear so similar, it rips a hole in the cultural zeitgeist. Antz & A Bug's Life. Armageddon & Deep Impact. Capote & Infamous. Back to the Future & Back to the Future. Take your pick; the entire trilogy plays this weekend at both the New Beverly and the Aero. Same Doc-day, same Doc-ticket price. It's probably easier to sneak beverages into the New Bev, but Great Scott - do NOT, under any circumstances, play the Back to the Future drinking game! Trust me on this... more ›

No, really - did some memo go around saying all film festivals had to be scheduled within the same two-week period? The Polish Film Festival continues, flanked by the South-East European Film Festival & the last stands of the Los Angeles Jews & the Pacific Asian subcontinent. But with all the talk of Iran lately, the Noor ("light" in Arabic) Film Festival may prove the most noteworthy. While stark, realistic Iranian New Wave films by the likes of Abbas Kiarostami & Mohsen Makhmalbaf have nabbed accolades at Western film festivals for decades, less "artsy" films like the historical epic Flags of Kaveh's Castle & crime thriller In The Dark reveal a different side of the country. This theme of revelation & East-West conflict motivates much of the festival, coming to a most human (and most absurd) head with Donkey In Lahore, undoubtedly the first and only documentary to follow a Gothic Australian puppeteer, his teenaged Pakistani fiance & her traditional Muslim family.
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It's a very festive time right now. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and there's a lot of copying & pasting in Film Digest land. The Indian Film Festival continues its run at the Arclight, as well as its mixed masala line-up. Joining it are the 10th Annual Polish Film Festival, the 4th Annual Jewish Film Festival & a virtual continuation of last week's Japanese Film Festival at the Egyptian with a series dedicated to controversial auteur Nagisa Oshima. If those aren't exotic enough, you can always make the journey to San Pedro for the L.A. Harbor Film Festival, or trek all the way to Orange County for the Newport Beach Film Festival. Even the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is getting in on the act, with panels dedicated to Hollywood biographers & the adaptation of The Soloist.
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The first annual Los Angeles Taiwanese Film Festival takes place this weekend at the James Bridges Theater at UCLA, featuring documentaries and blockbusters from Taiwan. Among others, the festival features pop singer Jay Chou's directorial debut and one of this year's Oscar contenders for the Best Foreign Language Film award, Cape No. 7. more ›

Film Independent, who originally did not accept LA Film Festival Richard Raddon's resignation after he was outed for donating to pass proposition 8, today accepted it "with great reluctance." Raddon then released a statement. In part, it said: "As many know, I consider myself a devout and faithful Mormon. I prefer to keep the details around my contribution through my church a private matter. But I am profoundly sorry for the negative attention that my actions have drawn to Film Independent and for the hurt and pain that is being experienced in the GLBT community." more ›

today from 4-8 pm. Enjoy biodynamic wine, organic h'dourves and learn important information about chemicals that are in your everyday personal care products. more ›

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. more ›

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National Geographic’s 5th Annual All Roads Film Festival begins tonight and lasts though Sunday at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It’s a showcase of films from around the world, with a focus on stories from indigenous and underrepresented minority cultures. During the festival, there’ll be music performances, art and, of course, film screenings. more ›

Brendt Barbur's Bicycle Film Festival opened strong with an enthusiastic crowd filling the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard as the The What Cheer Brigade, a "Luddite Hard Core Marching Band," marched down the street and proceeded to stop traffic, both motor vehicle and pedestrian. more ›

The Bicycle Film Festival takes over the Vine Theatre on Friday and Saturday and wraps with an all day BFF Street Party at Heliotrope and Melrose (aka "The Bicycle District," aka "HelMel"). more ›

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We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on LAist. more ›

For me, the Sundance Film Festival officially ended at the airport in Salt Lake City when I was waiting in line behind Bijou Phillips at the Quizno's in Terminal 1. She was politely arguing with the counter guy about why she couldn't get fresh mustard from behind the counter instead of having to use the the mustard packets by the napkin stand. In a heavy accent, he kept saying that all they had was "runny mustard" and she kept asking, "What is runny mustard?" before finally realizing he was saying "honey mustard" and asking him to give her some. Somehow, that moment perfectly captured the surreality of Sundance. more ›

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We just received an unbelievable e-mail from friend-of-LAist and local indie troubadour Matthew Moon and wanted to share. Some amazing and surprising things really do happen at Sundance. Read on:

Two days ago I was performing at a Sundance Film Festival event in Salt Lake City, UT. After my performance at Rose Wagner Theater, I began driving the 25 minutes it takes to get back up to Park City. more ›

As one of my favorite bloggers Jeffrey Wells recently wrote, "The Sundance Film Festival is a 10-day event, but it's always over as of Wednesday morning...the voltage turns down, there are fewer people on Main Street, all the presumably hot titles (i.e., name casts, advance-hyped) have been screened." Park City actually becomes a manageable town again and tickets that were impossible to get a few days ago can usually be had for less than face value. With that in mind, I decided to blow off the morning's press screenings and head out with a group of friends to see a film I'd been closed out of earlier, . more ›

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Even on the best days, the Sundance Film Festival is an extremely hectic place to be. Screenings and events often overlap and are spread all over town, and even though the public transportation is good (and free!), it can still be a nightmare to get someplace quickly. Cabs can be hard to come by and parking (when available) is expensive. Furthermore, there are always going to be lines waiting for you so you have to plan to get everywhere fairly early. Sometimes, you get bit in the ass like I did (twice) yesterday. more ›