May 24 @ UCLA UCLA will jumpstart the season with its own short film festival, Shorttakes. Shorttakes is a one night event (Thursday, May 24) that showcases short films from UCLA students, as well as students from colleges and universities throughout Southern California.
Shorttakes will take place at 319 Kerkhoff Hall, 308 Westwood Plaza in Westwood. For more information, visit students.asula.ucla.edu/cec/shorttakes.
CROSS CULTURAL FILM FESTIVAL – LOS ANGELES
June 1-6 @ The Whitefire Theatre
Los Angeles celebrates diversity with this Cross Cultural Film Festival.
The Whitefire Theatre is located at 13500 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. For more information, visit www.crossculturalfilmfestival.org.
THE HOLLYWOOD BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
June 5-10 in Beverly Hills
This six-day celebration of black cinema draws together established filmmakers, popular film and TV stars, writers, directors, industry executives, emerging artists and new audiences from Southern California and around the world.
The festival's goal is to play an integral role in discovering and launching independent films and filmmakers by bringing them to the attention of the industry, press and public. The festival has become an annual Mecca for the Black Hollywood creative community and has been affectionately called “The Black Sundance.”
For more information, call (310) 407-3596 or visit www.hbff.org .
LOS ANGELES GREEK FILM FESTIVAL
June 14-17 @ The Fine Arts Theatre
Head on down to the Fine Arts Theatre premiere of this Hollywood film festival that highlights and promotes the best in Greek cinema. More than 20 films will be screened, and the first Orpheus Awards will be given for Best Dramatic Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Audience Choice.
The Fine Arts Theatre is located at 8556 Wilshire Blvd., in Beverly Hills. For more information, visit lagreekfilmfestival.org.
SANTA MONICA TEEN FILM FESTIVAL
June 17 @ Santa Monica Public Library
This city-sponsored event is open to all filmmakers between the ages of 12-18.
Santa Monica Public Library's Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium is located at 601 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. Festival begins at 1 p.m. For more information, call (310) 458-8634 or visit smteenfilm.org.
LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL
June 21-July 1 @ Various locations
This 10-day gala presents the best of American and International cinema, screening over 175 narrative features, documentaries, shorts and music videos. The festival has grown into a world-class event, uniting new filmmakers with critics, scholars, film masters and the movie-loving public.
Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me will be featured as the opening night film. The closing night film will be Danny Boyle's Sunshine .
Festival passes for the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival are already on sale, and tickets to individual screenings will be available for purchase later this month. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866-FILMFEST (345-6337) or by logging onto lafilmfest.com .
OUTFEST
July 12-23 @ Various locations
This film festival offers the best films in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It also carries the unique distinction of being the oldest continuous film festival in Los Angeles. Outfest also offers Outfest Wednesdays, a weekly program with screenings of LGBT films from around the world.
For more information, call (213) 480-7088 or visit www.outfest.org .
SANTA MONICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Aug. 3-6 @ Various locations
Santa Monica is home to many film industry professionals and independent film production companies. The festival screens the work of independent filmmakers from around the world.
For more information, visit www.smfilmfestival.com.
Comment
