Movie Treats: Sundance in Summer (and in LA)

Stow those mittens -- the famous indie film festival is in LA for four August nights.

When one hears the "Sundance" and "film" in a single sentence, one is often inclined to repair to one's personal mitten drawer and commence preparation for a jaunt over to Park City, Utah, where there may be a good amount of snow. (When one loves mittens one also goes on jaunts -- it's practically a rule.)

But the Sundance Film Festival, which is unarguably and for-sure-ably the world's most famous independent film festival, has a way of picking up and leaving Park City whenever it dang well feels like it. And though it is associated with the heart of winter, the fest has been known to go a-travelin' in the heat of summer.

Take, for example, Thursday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 10. We'd call that the unmitteniest time of year 'round about Los Angeles, but that's not stopping Sundance NEXT FEST from screening a caboodle of fresh cinema in our fair city.

Fresh cinema and a vintage favorite, too. "Napoleon Dynamite" gets the Hollywood Forever Cemetery treatment on Thursday, Aug. 7 -- how many "Vote Pedro" shirts shall be rocked, we wonder? -- but plan on making for The Theatre at Ace Hotel for the remainder of the weekend's cinema-rich program.

Aubrey Plaza's "Life After Beth" and "Listen Up, Phillip" with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss are two more movies set for the film-fest-y love, but there are more excellent choices to ponder, so ponder.

And have you had a chance to marvel at the recently restored former UA Theatre? The vintage Broadway film palace is a Spanish gothic rhapsody full of nooks and cubbies and lobby overlooks.

Meaning we totally meant "marvel" earlier and stand by the use of that pretty sizable word.

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

Musso & Frank's new ornament pays snazzy tribute to its iconic sign

This merry museum teatime will boast an Old West twist

For sure, keep the mitten drawer stocked: The Sundance Film Festival returns to its snowy Utah stomping grounds from Jan. 22 through Feb. 1, 2015.

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