DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL L.A.
ANNOUNCES 2010 FEATURE FILM LINE-UP
More Than A Dozen Premieres Highlight Wide-Ranging Program
of Narrative and Documentary Full-Length Movies
(LOS ANGELES) – Sept. 1, 2010 – Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles announced today the feature film line-up for the 2010 festival, scheduled for Sept. 8-12 in venues throughout downtown Los Angeles.
The 17 features include many Los Angeles, West Coast. U.S. and world premieres from filmmakers as far away as New Zealand and Iran. Content is equally diverse with documentaries about the culture and commerce of cannabis (“How Weed Won The West”) as well as a beauty contest with deep roots in downtown L.A.’s post-WWII history (“Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown”).
Other nonfiction films tackle the well-intentioned but often futile attempts to “green” film productions (“Greenlit”) and one man’s passion to save a tree stranded in a field of asphalt (“Sick Amour”). And, another man’s obsession with political-revolutionary-cum-pop-superstar Che Guevara is documented in his four-year personal journey through Latin America (“Chasing Che”).
L.A.’s genre-bending music icons get a behind-the-scenes treatment in “The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Unitled Documentary,” presented at a special premiere showcase at The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live. Gender-bending artists who defy societal male-female definitions are explored in “Assume Nothing.” And, indie artists who defy the increasingly commercialization of the Austin music scene get their story told (and performances captured) in the documentary “Echotone.”
Previously announced “American: The Bill Hicks Story,” the definitive biopic doc about the controversial stand-up comic, will have its Los Angeles premiere as the festival’s Opening Night Film.
Conceived and coordinated online via Twitter, and taking its cue from the 140 characters that messages are limited to on the micro-blogging service, the documentary “140” is the ultimate joint project, involving 140 filmmakers in 140 different locations who simultaneously shot 140 seconds of footage. The range of participating filmmakers is diverse, including students and seasoned Hollywood directors, all documenting the exact same moments captured across the planet.
In the narrative category, “The Prospects” revolves around two young Brooklyn buskers whose plans for an unusual heist are turned upside down by a Jamaican nurse. In “William Never Married,” a budding alcoholic in his late 20s tries to keep his head above water as three women are intent on pulling him back down – not the least of which is his freewheeling mother, who insists on living on the streets. “Bunny and The Bull” finds protagonist Stephen Turnbull’s homebody life turned inside out by a mice infestation, prompting him to escape to a past journey through subterranean Europe with his friend Bunny, a womanizing addict.
“On Holiday” is cut from a cloth that some critics have identified as a new genre of fiction filmmaking, namely “mumblecore.” Characterized by ultra-low budget production (often employing digital video cameras), the films tend to focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, improvised scripts, and non-professional, as well professional, actors. “So Long Lonesome,” produced on a budget of $1,100, captures the thoughts of a dying man, highlighting the power and potential of microbudget cinema.
The festival’s annual American-Latino Series is highlighted this year with two narrative features: “I’m Not Like That No More,” a comedy about an extended Mexican-American family with downtown L.A.’s own Felipe Venezuela starring, and “Bedrooms,” a collaboration among a collective of filmmakers in which four distinct stories with connected interpersonal themes are all are set in bedrooms.
The previously announced “Everything Will Happen Before You Die,” a comic romp through Hollywood’s boho subculture, will be presented as the festival’s Centerpiece Gala world premiere.
“If you listen to the naysayers, independent cinema died sometime last year with the latest wave of independent film distributors going underwater. However, our remarkable line-up of features is evidence that the spirit of independent filmmaker is alive and well and living in every corner of the world,” said DFFLA Programming Director Rod Ramsey.
Screening times, venue location, and ticket prices for the films are available online at the www.dffla.com. Advanced tickets to all feature film screenings are now on sale at the website.
About Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles
DFFLA is a nonprofit media arts organization dedicated to showcasing the best of independent cinema in the center of the Film Capital of the World. At the same time, the festival celebrates downtown L.A.’s renaissance and pays tribute to the unique role the city’s center played in the development of American cinema.
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Press Contacts:
Greg Ptacek
Downtown Film Festival L.A.
323-841-8002; greg@dffla.com
Katie Littlejohn
Downtown Film Festival L.A.
676-898-3587; Katie@dffla.com
