LAFF 2017 Announces Full Slate, Including Competition and Episodic Offerings
This year’s Los Angeles Film Festival, better known as LAFF if you’re fun, has unveiled its full slate of 2017 offerings, including new offerings from Vincent Grashaw, Leena Pendharkar, Hong Sangsoo, Lea Thompson and many more. The slate includes 48 feature films, 51 short films, 15 high school short films and 10 short episodic works representing 32 countries. The festival’s five competitions feature 37 World Premieres, 2 International Premieres and 9 North American Premieres. Across the competition categories, 42% of the films are directed by women and 40% are directed by people of color.
“Our competitions reflect who Film Independent is as an organization,” said LA Film Festival Director Jennifer Cochis. “Within each section you’ll find discovery, diversity, and promising talent both in front of and behind the camera.” Programming Director Roya Rastegar added, “The films curated for the 2017 competition reflect the changing political climate’s impact on emerging independent filmmakers, who are compelled to tell stories about the power of conviction, collectivity and resilience.”
READ MORE: Film Festival Roundup: BAMcinemaFest Unveils Full Slate, SIFF Picks Lineup, LAFF Announces Opener and MoreAs was previously announced, LAFF will open with Colin Trevorrow’s “The Book of Henry.” Further special screenings and programs will be announced in the coming weeks.
This year’s Los Angeles Film Festival runs June 14 – 22 in Los Angeles, and is headquartered at ArcLight Cinemas Culver City, with additional screenings at ArcLight Hollywood, ArcLight Santa Monica and more. Check out the full lineup below, along with introductions to each of the various sections.
U.S. Fiction Competition (10)
Original voices with distinct visions from emerging and established American independent filmmakers.
“20 Weeks,” dir. Leena Pendharkar, USA, World Premiere
“And Then I Go,” dir. Vincent Grashaw, USA, World Premiere
“Beauty Mark,” dir. Harris Doran, USA, World Premiere
“Becks,” dir. Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell, USA, World Premiere
“Don’t Come Back From The Moon,” dir. Bruce Thierry Cheung, USA, World Premiere
“Everything Beautiful is Far Away,” dir. Andrea Sisson, Pete Ohs, USA, World Premiere
“Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town,” dir. Christian Papierniak, USA, World Premiere
“Moss,” dir. Daniel Peddle, USA, World Premiere
“Never Here,” dir. Camille Thoman, USA, World Premiere
“Village People,” dir. Paul Briganti, USA, World Premiere
Documentary Competition (10)
Compelling, character-driven non-fiction films from the U.S. and around the world.
“Abu,” dir. Arshad Khan, Canada, World Premiere
“Dalya’s Other Country,” dir. Julia Meltzer, USA, World Premiere
“Liyana,” dir. Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp, Swaziland / USA / Qatar, World Premiere
“Mankiller,” dir. Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, USA, World Premiere
“Monkey Business,” dir. Ema Ryan Yamazaki, USA, World Premiere
“Opuntia,” dir. David Fenster, USA / Mexico / Spain, World Premiere
“Out of State,” dir. Ciara Lacy, USA, World Premiere
“Stella Polaris Ulloriarsuaq,” dir. Yatri N. Niehaus, Germany / Greenland, World Premiere
“Thank You For Coming,” dir. Sara Lamm, USA, World Premiere
“Two Four Six,” dir. Leyla Nedorosleva, Russia / USA / Haiti, World Premiere
World Fiction Competition (8)
Unique fiction films from around the world by emerging and established filmmakers, especially curated for LA audiences.
“Butterfly Kisses,” dir. Rafael Kapelinski, Great Britain, North American Premiere
“Catching Feelings,” dir. Kagiso Lediga, South Africa, World Premiere
“Dark Blue Girl,” dir. Mascha Schilinski, Germany / Greece, International Premiere
“In This Corner of the World,” dir. Sunao Katabuchi, Japan, North American Premiere
“Moko Jumbie,” dir. Vashti Anderson, Trinidad and Tobago / USA, World Premiere
“The Nightguard,” dir. Diego Ros, Mexico, North American Premiere
“Nocturne,” dir. Luis Ayhllón, Mexico, North American Premiere
“On the Beach at Night Alone,” dir. Hong Sangsoo, South Korea, North American Premiere
LA Muse (12)
Fiction and documentary films that capture the spirit of Los Angeles.
“And Then There Was Eve,” dir. Savannah Bloch, USA, World Premiere
“Anything,” dir. Timothy McNeil, USA, World Premiere
“Built to Fail,” dir. Bobby Kim, Alexis Spraic, Scott Weintrob, USA, World Premiere
“The Classic,” dir. Billy McMillin, USA, World Premiere
“Fat Camp,” dir. Jennifer Arnold, USA, World Premiere
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” dir. Casey Wilder Mott, USA, World Premiere
“Mighty Ground,” dir. Delila Vallot, USA, World Premiere
“Roller Dreams,” dir. Kate Hickey, USA, International Premiere
“Skid Row Marathon,” dir. Mark Hayes, USA, World Premiere
“What We Started,” dir. Bert Marcus, Cyrus Saidi, USA, World Premiere
“The Year of Spectacular Men,” dir. Lea Thompson, USA, World Premiere
“Your Own Road,” dir. Brandon Buczek, USA, World Premiere
Nightfall (8)
From the bizarre to the horrifying, these are films to watch after dark.
“Desolation,” dir. Sam Patton, USA, World Premiere
“The Housemaid,” dir. Derek Nguyen, Vietnam / USA, North American Premiere
“It Stains the Sands Red,” dir. Colin Minihan, USA, North American Premiere
“Midnighters,” dir. Julius Ramsay, USA, World Premiere
“The Neighbor,” dir. Giancarlo Ruiz, Mexico, World Premiere
“Replace,” dir. Norbert Keil, Germany / Canada, North American Premiere
“Serpent,” dir. Amanda Evans, South Africa, World Premiere
“Thread,” dir. The Boy, Greece, North American Premiere
Episodes: Indie Series from the Web (10)
This showcase of independently crafted web series, 70% of which are directed by people of color and 40% are directed by women, celebrates rising creators whose work and subjects are innovative and unfiltered.
“BKPI,” dir. Hye Yun Park, USA
“Danny the Manny,” dir. Mike Roma, USA
“High & Mighty,” dir. Carlos Lopez Estrada, USA
“My America,” dir. Anna Jones, Asaad Kelada, USA
“People Of…,” dir. lamia Alami, SWITZERLAND
“The F Word,” dir. Nicole Opper, USA
“The Show about the Show,” dir. Caveh Zahedi, USA
“Two Sentence Horror Stories,” dir. J.D. Dillard, USA
“Very Animated People,” dir. Joseph Bennet, USA
“Steps,” dir. Fernando Sanchez, Pascual Sisto, USA
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