How do you run a hometown film festival in a town that's the hometown to film?
Exuberantly is a big enough word, we think. You also keep the cinema action going all year, and not just for a week or two and then out. And you know everyone who makes movies, and you invite them along for the ride.
That's how Film Independent, the group behind the Los Angeles Film Festival, does it. They throw a lively party each year -- this year the fest is on from June 13 through 23 at LA Live -- complete with outdoor screenings and panels and star appearances and rampant hobnobbing (the best kind of hobnobbing).
But they also keep the celluloid love going during every other non-festival month. Been to one of their script readings, where big stars make for LACMA and read "The Princess Bride" and other famous screenplays aloud? Charming stuff.
As for the festival itself? Films aplenty. "The Way, Way Back" from writer/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is the highly buzzy closing night film. Opening night? "I'm So Excited" from Pedro Almodovar.
And between the two? Quirky hearttuggers, indie documentaries, and funky dramas, per usual. Or unusual, if you like; the slate, which was announced on Wednesday, May 1, tends to veer between the very solid and spectacular.
Individual tickets go on sale on Tuesday, May 21, but you can nab passes now.
