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Entertainment and Culture
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Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles Review - First Annual Cinema Festival Ignites Biz District
By Judith Orr and Chase Masterson,
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Pacific Electric Lofts Penthouse
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Filmerati were in full swing last night, with fans and filmmakers alike lined up around the block to get into the Opening Night Gala of the hottest new film festival on the West Coast. Westwood? The Fine Arts Theatre? The DGA or WGA Theatre? Guess again. The much-discussed revitalization is complete, with the premiere night of the
Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles taking what is commonly seen as a business-only district by storm.
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Director of "in Search of A Midnight Kiss" Alex Holdridge
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The first dedicated film festival in the district, presented by
Barker Block Live/Work Lofts, kicked off with IFC's "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," by director
Alex Holdridge, with a special Gala program at the historic
Orpheum Theater benefiting the nonprofit Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation (www.lahtf.org). The hot-ticket after-screening Gala party went until the wee hours in the gorgeous penthouse of the
Pacific Electric Lofts building.
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A host of Different Tequilas
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Chef
Joachim Splichal and
Patina Catering's culinary team provided sumptuous appetizers, and free-flowing libations sponsored by
Karl Strauss and
Tommy Bahama were served up by featured celebrity bartender
Whitney Bain as well as in other bars around the stunning loft.
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Catering & Beverages by Patina Catering
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A little known fact is that the Downtown Los Angeles Historic Theater District contains more architecturally significant movie theaters than anywhere else in the world. This year's Centerpiece film is the 1929 classic silent film "Piccadilly," starring silver screen siren
Anna May Wong, the Silent Era's most significant female Asian-American actress. (Wong was born in Downtown's Chinatown neighborhood.) The film will be presented on Friday August 15 at 8 pm at the historic Los Angeles Theatre; the Festival's Centerpiece Gala presentation is devoted to celebrating Downtown L.A.'s unique starring role in the early development of the city's movie industry and American cinema.
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Enjoying the Gala
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Indeed, several of the films that the Festival has garnered celebrate both the beauty of downtown Los Angeles and spotlight exceptional screenwriting. “In Search of a Midnight Kiss” has won rave reviews, and “recalls
Woody Allen's ‘Manhattan’ in its celebration of a cityscape” according to Variety. Filmmaker Magazine proclaimed that the film “is so well-written, charming and beautifully photographed that it is inconceivable to think of audiences not falling in love.”
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"Yesterday Was A Lie" starring Chase Masterson & Kipleigh Brown
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“Yesterday Was a Lie,” a noir film shot in classic black and white in downtown Los Angeles which has screened in 35 festivals, has been touted with 4.5 stars by Film Threat for “expert cinematography” and “brilliance that demonstrates the best of what independent filmmakers strive to do.” The award-winning film screens Saturday, August 16th at 8:30 pm at the
Laemmle Grand.
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Filmmakers Christo DiMassis producer of "Audie & the Wolf" and Chase Masterson, producer of "Yesterday Was a Lie"
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True to the diverse demographics of the downtown area, the wide range of the Festival’s programming offers something for nearly every filmgoer. The horror-comedy “Audie & the Wolf” bares its fangs for a topsy-turvy take on the classic werewolf mythos, featuring the legendary Rance Howard and Scream Queen
Christa Campbell. It screens Thursday, August 14th at 7:30 pm at the Los Angeles Theatre.
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Roxanne Messina Captor's "A Couple of White Chicks Sitting at the Hairdresser" starring Shelley Long, Harry Shearer, and Deborah Theaker
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“DFFLA is excited to have received strong submissions from a wide variety of award-winning features, shorts and docs; even in the Festival’s first year, we’re registering high on the radar of the international film community,” said Festival Co-Director
Henry Priest.
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Festival Co-Director Henry Priest
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“After reviewing over 900 strong submissions, I narrowed our findings down to 23 features and 175 shorts that represent the diversity of an artistic and ethnic community that is really discovering its own voice,” said Festival Programming Director
Roger Mayer, who has worked with both Sundance Tribecca Film Festivals and is a film producer in his own right.
Highly anticipated shorts include
Roxanne Messina Captor’s “A Couple of White Chicks at the Hairdresser,” starring Shelly Long, Harry Shearer and “Heroes” star James Kyson Lee.
Festival highlights include the Los Angeles premiere screenings of Overture's "Traitor" by writer-director
Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of 2004's blockbuster hit "The Day After Tomorrow") and starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Jeff Daniels.
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Stunning Architecture
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Additionally, the Festival offers several curatorial film series, including Afrique 360°, a selection of films from Africa and the Diaspora, highlighting the Los Angeles premiere of the celebrated feature "Confessions of a Gambler.”_
“The American Latino Film Series,” an exploration of the American experience through the lens of Latino-American filmmakers has been highly awaited, as is “Downtown Cinema,” a program of short films from Downtown L.A. denizens. “Best of Siggraph” features the "best of show" computer animation shorts from the annual computer graphics convention, which is taking place in Los Angeles simultaneously with the festival.
"Drive-In At SCI-Arc,” an authentic drive-in movie experience at the parking lot of SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in Downtown's Arts District, features a special preview screening of "Mock Up on Mu," the latest film by avant-garde director
Craig Baldwin. "Shorts & Sweets” is a program of short film previews presented during the workday lunch hour and designed for the Downtown's commuters.
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More of the Beautiful Loft
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In addition to screenings, the festival will present a digital arts festival, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (www.lacda.com), and “Sustainable L.A.,” a full day of "green" programming for the urban citizen that includes panel discussions, a farmer's market and family-friendly activities on Sunday, August 17th along Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill in the heart of downtown L.A.
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Greg Ptacek Festival Co-Director
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"The festival offers the opportunity to encounter all the fun and excitement of L.A.'s Downtown through a structured but creative entertainment experience. For cinephiles, there's something for everyone: new Hollywood and independent narrative and documentary features, foreign films, an incredible selection of shorts and special series. For those curious about what the buzz is about in the 'new Downtown,' here's a chance to explore historic movie palaces, world-class lounges and L.A.'s hippest lofts," summarized Festival Co-Director
Greg Ptacek, who for 7 years has also served as Co-Director of the acclaimed Silver Lake Film Festival.
"The Downtown Film Festival is all about the spirit of community,” added Special Projects Director
Kate Marciniak. “It is celebrating not only the filmmaking community but our community at large."
The festival continues with special events and rare films, as well as features, shorts, and docs through August 17, 2008. For tickets and a full schedule of events, please go to:
www.dffla.com
All Photos © Judith Orr Photography
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