It's that time again, when the best of independent, national and international cinema comes all together in Los Angeles. It's celebration of the best in films, where you get to see not only established filmmakers celebrate their work, but also many up & coming, and to-be stars. Los Angeles Film Festival is known for that. If you're a film lover, you cannot and should not afford to miss LAFF2016, that starts tomorrow.

The 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival, produced by Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that also produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, begins with the opening night film “Lowriders” directed by Ricardo de Montreuil starring Eva Longoria and closes with the visceral suspense-thriller “Desierto” directed by Jonás Cuarón and producer Alfonso Caurón, starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

Keeping the issue of inclusion and diversity firmly in the headlines director Ryan Coogler (“Creed”) has been added as Guest Director and will attend the 15th annual Filmmaker Retreat, a signature program which brings together all the feature directors [in this year’s Festival] along with seasoned filmmakers and Film Independent Board Members who attend as honored artists.

On June 2nd Nate Parker will share what it took to bring the story of Nat Turner, an African-American preacher to the big screen in Labor of Love: The Birth of a Nation Conversation and will be joined by cast members Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away with Murder) and Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane).

This years’ Spirit of Independence Award which honors those who advance the cause of independent film and champion creative freedom will be awarded to Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) and her distribution company Array Releasing, on June 4th.

Exploring inclusion on a global scale the Global Media Makers Presents: Storytelling From The Inside Out, a U.S. Department of State and Film Independent international mentoring initiative that connects visual storytellers from around the world with leading U.S. entertainment professionals through specially tailored mentorships, workshops and master classes.

Highlighting the continued conversation on diversity, the Diversity Speaks Panels brings together content creators of underrepresented communities who embody innovation to discuss how they manage to combine their passions for storytelling, entrepreneurship and their cultural identities into success stories. One of the many highlights include Issa Rae (Awkward Black Girl) will join Film Independent Curator Elvis Mitchell in conversation for an intimate off-the-record talk.

Festival Director Stephanie Allain weighed in on this years’ selection. “We are thrilled to open with ‘Lowriders,’ a culturally vibrant film that explores familial relationships within a second-generation Mexican family in East LA. Made by filmmakers of color, ‘Lowriders’ embodies our mission of shining the light on unique voices. Spirit Award winner Ryan Coogler honors us as Guest Director – we had Fruitvale Station at the Festival in 2013 and are so happy to have him back this year as our Guest Director.”

Film Independent President Josh Welsh shared his enthusiasm on awarding Ava DuVernay the Spirit of Independence Award.

“We can’t imagine a more fitting recipient of the Spirit of Independence Award than Ava DuVernay and her distribution company Array Releasing,” said Welsh. “In addition to being a brilliant filmmaker, Ava is a passionate, forward-thinking distributor, helping unique and diverse voices find their audiences. Array bought Takeshi Fukunaga’s Out of My Hand at last year’s Festival, a film that we celebrated at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards.”

 

AFRICAN/AFRICAN AMERICAN films at LAFF include:

 

72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story?

Director Raafi Rivero

June 2

A charismatic teen is thrown into a crisis of life and love when he must decide whether to leave his rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn community to pursue a prestigious academic scholarship.

 

Like Cotton Twines

DIRECTOR/WRITER Leila Djansi

June 2

An African-American volunteer accepts a teaching job in a remote Ghanaian village and is ensnared in a battle between tradition and freedom when he is compelled to save one of his students from becoming a slave to the gods.

 

The House on Coco Road

June 2

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Damani Baker

An activist and teacher abandons the racial violence permeating Oakland in the 1960’s in pursuit of the utopic possibilities of Grenada’s revolution—only to put her family in harm’s way during a brutal invasion by the U.S. military.

 

Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story

DIRECTOR Eric "Ptah" Herbert

June 2

One of the biggest mysteries in basketball’s history is why Los Angeles legend Schea Cotton, one of the most highly touted high school athletes of a pre-social media era, never made it to the NBA.

 

Dreamstates

DIRECTOR/ WRITER Anisia Uzeyman

June 3

Created in collaboration with Saul Williams, this non-linear tale is about two wayward souls discovering their love for one another, as reality and fiction blur on a tour across the United States with pivotal figures of the Afro-Punk movement.

 

Woven

DIRECTORS Salome Mulugeta, Nagwa Ibrahim

June 4

When a mysterious crime takes the life of her only brother, an Ethiopian-American woman searches for the truth behind his death; while struggling to reconcile cultural expectations with her own pursuit of self-identity and love.

 

Dying Laughing

DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS Lloyd Stanton, Paul Toogood

June 4

Riveting interviews lend insight into the creative craft of comedy and the psychology behind some of the world’s greatest stand-ups, including Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld and Jamie Foxx.

 

 

 

A Moving Image

DIRECTOR/WRITER Shola Amoo

June 5

In South London reality and fiction merge in this personal reflection on gentrification in Brixton, told from the perspective of a sincere, yet stifled, young artist who struggles with her own complicity as she confronts the changing landscape of her neighborhood.

 

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

DIRECTOR/ WRITER Deborah Riley Draper

June 6

Follow the historic story of 18 African-American athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, undermining the fallacy of Aryan supremacy and exposing the hypocrisy of life under Jim Crow laws in the U.S.

 

Jackson

DIRECTOR Maisie Crow

June 6

This doc explores a single mother, an abortion clinic director and fervent pro-lifer as they lay bare their stakes in the fight of one of the last remaining abortion clinics to stay open against the pro-life movement’s efforts to make abortions illegal in the Deep South.

 

Destined

DIRECTOR/WRITER Qasim Basir

June 7

A man navigates parallel realities: one as a hardened criminal who has spent years building his drug empire; the other as an ambitious architect who has been working his way up the corporate ladder. Ensemble includes Hill Harper and Lala Anthony.

 

Jean of the Jonses

DIRECTOR/WRITER Stella Meghi

June 7

When the estranged patriarch of the Jones family abruptly drops dead on their doorstep, sharp-witted Jean Jones stirs up familial dysfunctions to distract herself from an unraveling love life and a stalled writing career.

 

Company Town

DIRECTORS Natalie Kottke, Erica Sardarian

June 7

In this doc almost every resident of Crossett, Arkansas, has worked for (or is currently employed by) Georgia-Pacific, a company privately-owned by the Koch brothers. Now, one by one, former employees are getting sick and dying of cancer.

 

Kicks

DIRECTOR Justin Tipping

June 8

After getting his dream pair of Air Jordans snatched, Brandon and his friends go on a dangerously epic mission through Oakland to get them back in this vibrant coming-of-age story bursting with magical realism. CJ Wallace makes his film debut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHORT PROGRAM and WEB SERIES

And Nothing Happened

DIRECTOR Naima Ramos-Chapman

This combination documentary, personal essay and magical realism format film, captures a young woman's struggle with self, family and love in the aftermath of sexual assault.

 

Dirt

DIRECTOR Darius Clark Monroe

Some things must die to live.

 

Into Darkness

DIRECTOR Rachida El Garani

This documentary gives insight into a deeply religious Moroccan family as they struggle with blindness and extreme poverty.

 

Jungle

DIRECTOR Asantewaa Prempeh

Two Senegalese immigrants try to make a living selling fake designer purses on the bustling streets of New York City’s Chinatown.

 

Like

DIRECTOR Garrett Bradley

A behind-the-scenes examination of Bangladeshi “click-farms,” an industry that grows social media followings for celebrities and brands alike.

 

Little Hero

DIRECTORS Marcus A. McDougald, Jennifer Medvin

A six-year-old explains her unique relationship with her twin brother, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

 

Noni & Elizabeth

DIRECTOR Nanna Blondell

Ten-year-old Noni lives with her mother during the week and her father on weekends. With her stepsister during one weekend, Noni sees the world for what it is—upside down.

 

Reluctantly Queer

DIRECTOR Akosua Adoma Owusu

A story that both disrobes and questions what it means to be a queer man in this time and space.

 

The Black Belt

DIRECTOR Margaret Brown

In 2015 Alabama closed 31 DMVs, which largely impacted the Black Belt, and created a mobile unit that travels across the state to issue ID cards.

 

The Send-Off

DIRECTORS Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan

Prom day serves as the backdrop to this immersion into the rural industrial sugar town of Pahokee, Florida.

 

Univitellin

DIRECTOR Terence Nance

A love story about how we are conditioned to live out love stories in ways deriving from folklore.

 

Use of Force

DIRECTOR Rita Baghdadi

 An examination of the LAPD's efforts to reconcile a series of officer-involved shootings.

 

Women in Deep

DIRECTOR Janicza Bravo

 A woman calls a suicide prevention hotline and is put on hold.

 

WEB SERIES

 

Her Story

DIRECTOR Sydney Freeland

The new web series follows Violet and Paige are two transgender women in Los Angeles who have given up on love—until chance encounters give them renewed hope.

 

Instababy

DIRECTOR Rosie Haber

Gay adoption is illegal in Mississippi, so Toni and Keeta look for a baby on Instagram.

 

The Ghost and the Negro

DIRECTOR Sylvester K. Folks

Framed for murder, a bookstore keeper turns to a supernatural entity to clear his name.

 

Free CeCe!

Date TBD

DIRECTOR Jacqueline Gares /WRITERS & Producer Laverne Cox

CeCe McDonald survived a brutal attack, only to be incarcerated for defending her life. After an international movement to free her, CeCe emerges as a leader who interrogates the prison industrial complex and inspires women to fight back when attacked.

 

ASSETTS

Videos

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