OUTFEST LOS ANGELES IS SOMETHING SPECIAL
By Bob Sharka, Executive Director, Friends Of Film
What do you do for an encore when you’re, simply put, the best LGBTQ+ film festival there is? Well, for OUTFEST Los Angeles, you keep the top programmer from last year and then take a step back and let her work the magic. I’m simplifying things, of course, because there’s so much that goes into putting on a world-class event, from sponsorships to ticket sales to promotion to volunteers, the list goes on and on but…
Year after year, OFLA brings the top films in this genre to its main venue, the ever-stunning state-of-the art Director’s Guild Theaters in Los Angeles, CA for its 11-day festival, starting July 7th thru July 17th, 2016.
OUTFEST also utilizes the stone’s-throw-away from the DGA, the HARMONY GOLD, another terrific large venue and the ever-popular RED CAT
in downtown L.A. very close the newly opened BROAD Contemporary Art Museum (if you are from out-of-town, don’t miss it – if you live in L.A wait till after the festival J )
Additionally, this year marks the return of the Ford Amphitheater and the annual Opening Night Film at downtown L.A.’s historical Orpheum Theater, followed by the not-to-be-missed Opening Night Gala.
Hard to believe this festival has been going on for 33 years but year 34, I’m guessing, will be the best ever!
See the complete line-up/ticket info at www.OutFest.org
Join Friends of Film for a subscriber-based Advance Screening Series, including the much-talked-about Foreign Oscar® Submission Program at
Dick Clark Screening Room 2900 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA and
Laemmle Royal (11523 Santa Monica Blvd, West, L.A.)
10 films for $100 - you can start any week
"The best way to see advance screenings in L.A......Park - for free - in the back lot steps away from the entrance to the beautiful lobby, grab some freshly popped popcorn, candy and bottled water, sit back in a comfy leather seat with a terrific image and beautiful sound in a professional screening room and hear from occasional special guests...it's really tough to top."
Debbie DePauk
Saturday, June 25, 2016
5pm
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Members only Screening of
Stanley Isaacs' documentary on Alan Ladd, Jr.
with Isaacs in attendance for pre-screening beverage and post-screening Q+A
Saturday, April 2, 2016
2pm
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Advance Screening of
WEDDING DOLL
Directed by Nitzan Giladi
Friends Of Film presents two Polish short documentaries
Both films will be screened twice, once at 7pm then at 8pm
with a wine reception in between and after
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
7pm and 8pm
International Documentary Association (IDA) - Best Short Nominee
OBJECT (15 minutes)
Director: Paulina Skibińska
A creative image of an underwater search in the dimensions of two worlds - ice desert and under water - told from the point of view of the rescue team, of the diver, and of the ordinary people waiting on the shore.
On the short list for an Oscar® nomination in short documentary category
STARTING POINT (25 minutes)
Director: Michał Szcześniak
A woman sentenced to prison at age 19 for murder forms an unlikely friendship with Helena, an elderly woman with severe rheumatism
FRIENDS OF FILM
FOREIGN OSCAR® SUBMISSION SERIES
Friday, November 27, 2015
The day after Thanksgiving
A full day of films from 10am to 7pm
at Dick Clark Screening Room
-------------------------------------------------------------------
10am
Guatemala's Official Submission
IXCANUL VOLCANO
Directed by Jayro Bustamante
--------------------------------------------------------------
Noon
South Korea's Official Submission
THE THRONE
Directed by Lee-Joon-ik
-----------------------------------------------------
2:30pm
Estonia's Official Submission
1944
Directed by Elmo Nuganen
-------------------------------------------------------------------
5pm
A special program
TWO of the Oscar® short-list short docs with international themes!
50 FEET FROM SYRIA
Directed by Skye Fitzgerald
MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER-------------------------------------------------------------------
Directed by Ann Shin
Saturday, October 31, 2015 - 4pm
South Korea's Official Submission
THE THRONE
Directed by Lee-Joon-ik
Rodeo Screening Room
150 S. Rodeo Drive #140
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Noon
Jordan's Official Submission
THEEB
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 W. Olympic Blvd (enter off of Stewart Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Sunday, October 4, 2015
1pm
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 Olympic Blvd (enter off of Stewart Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Greece's Submission
XENIA
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Noon
Dick Clark Screening Room
2900 Olympic Blvd (enter off of Stewart Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Sweden's Submission
A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Directed by Roy Andersson
Sunday, August 31, 2014 - 2pm
Sundance Film Festival Audience Award - Best Documentary, World Cinema
Coming to LANDMARK THEATRES Sept 12th!
THE GREEN PRINCE
Directed by Nadav Schirman
Film courtesy of Music Box Films
http://www.musicboxfilms.com/the-green-prince-movies-107.php
Sunday, Sept 7, 2014 - a doubleheader 2pm and 4:15pm
2pm - PAY 2 PLAY
Long-time Friend Of Film Executive Producer, Holly Mosher, and her team will be in New York during our screening, attending the qualifying run on the "right" coast but - rest assured - Angelenos will have their chanced to see this pic, starting next week
This documentary follows filmmaker John Ennis' quest to find a way out from under the Pay 2 Play System, defined by Ennis as the cycle where Politicians reward their donors with even larger sums from the public treasury -- through contracts, jobs, tax cuts, and deregulation. P2P picks up where Ennis left off in his last film FREE FOR ALL, after his investigation into election fraud in Ohio led him to establish Video the Vote to watch the polls on Election Day. Ennis has recognized that by Election Day, so much has already happened to decide which candidates are or are not on the ballot, the result is surprisingly undemocratic. Driven by his need to make the world better for his newborn daughter to inherit, Ennis determines to study our road to elected office to find a way we can get out from under the Pay 2 Play System.
Directed by John Wellington Ennis
http://pay2play.nationbuilder.com
"A terrific, yet quite troubling, doc sure to get the attention of award-season voters."
- Bob Sharka, Friends Of Film
4:15pm - CANOPY
Wartime, 1942. Singapore. An Australian fighter pilot shot down in combat awakens suspended in the treetops. As night devours day, he must navigate through dangerous jungle in search of sanctuary. Transcending language and culture, CANOPY is a cinematic tour de force exploring the collision of war, nature and its impact on humanity.
Advance Screening, opening at Laemmle's MUSIC HALL Sept. 12th
Directed by Aaron Wilson
http://www.montereymedia.com/canopy
Sunday, Sept 14th - 2pm
A SURPRISE SCREENING
A true sneak preview - We're not even releasing the title of the film!!!
Subsequent title announced after the screening
BRONX OBAMA
Sunday, Sept 21 - 2pm
LILTING
Another winner from Sundance
Coming to Laemmle Playhouse 7 and Sundance Sunset on October 3rd!
The sudden death of a young London man named Kai leaves his headstrong Chinese-Cambodian mother, Junn, and his boyfriend, Richard, each in a personal and profound state of grief. Feeling a strong sense of responsibility toward Kai’s only family member, Richard reaches out to Junn, who has been biding time in an assisted-living home. Though Junn speaks little English, her dislike of Richard is plain, and she meets him with stony resistance. Since they share no common language, Richard hires a translator to facilitate communication, and the two improbable relatives attempt to reach across a chasm of misunderstanding through their memories of Kai.
Writer/director Hong Khaou’s intimate debut feature film dances between the real and imaginary to express the unspeakable loss that both characters experience. Quiet and spare, Lilting boasts delicate performances by Ben Whishaw and legendary Chinese actress Pei-Pei Cheng, who sustain a palpable sense of discomfort when in each other’s presence onscreen. Lilting is a perceptive meditation on the path to connection between two human souls and reveals that what separates us can also bind us together.
Courtesy of our Friends Of Film at STRAND RELEASING
Sunday, Sept 28th 2pm
WHIPLASH
A multiple award-winning film from Sundance 2014
Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle
Thanks to our Friends Of Film at Sony Pictures Classics
Coming to theaters October 10th, 2014
"One of the wildest rides of the year and a sure Oscar contender."
- Bob Sharka, Friends Of Film
Sunday, Oct 5th, 2014
Two screenings at 2pm and 3pm of the short documentary (34 min)
OF MANY
SYNOPSIS
Set against the dramatic backdrop of 9/11, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the tension between Jewish and Muslim students on college campuses, OF MANY focuses on the surprising and transformative relationship between an orthodox rabbi and imam, who serve as university chaplains in New York City. Through a series of voyages tocommunities struck by catastrophe, we witness young religious Jews and Muslimsworking together and overcoming long-standing divides. Timely and funny, this short documentary offers an inspiring and hopeful narrative of friendship and cooperation between faiths.
See the trailer at www.OfManyFilm.com
Director: Linda Mills, in attendance!
Producer: Danielle Emery
Executive Produder: Chelsea Clinton
With a post-screening reception at Bob/Debbie Sharka's home
"Think there's no hope for peace in the Middle East? Think again...and while you're at it, flip a coin for the next political party Sarna/Latif or Latif/Sarna....here's two men who can cross the aisle."
- Bob Sharka, Friends Of Film
NOTE NEW DATE!!!!!
THE FOREIGN OSCAR SUBMISSION SERIES BEGINS
SATURDAY, Oct 11, 2014 2pm
Our first Foreign Language Oscar® Submission from Venezuela
THE LIBERATOR
Simón Bolívar fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great.
His army never conquered -
it liberated.
Starring Édgar Ramírez, with a soundtrack by Gustavo Dudamel.
Thanks to our Friends Of Film at Cohen Media Group
OUR FOREIGN OSCAR® SUBMISSION SERIES
Sunday, Oct 19, 2014
Malta's Oscar® Submission
SIMSHAR
2PM Dick Clark Screening Room
Sunday October, 26, 2014
Israel's Oscar® Submission
GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Chile's Oscar® Submission
TO KILL A MAN
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, November 9 , 2014
Estonia's Oscar® Submission
TANGERINES
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, November, 16, 2014
South Korea's Oscar® Submission
SEA FOG
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
SATURDAY, November 22 - Note Saturday screening
Finland's Oscar® Submission
CONCRETE NIGHT
11am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, November, 23, 2014
Czech Republic's Oscar® Submission
FAIR PLAY
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, November, 30
Norway's Oscar® Submission
1001 GRAMS
10:30am
Laemmle Royal
Dec 7th, 2014
China's Oscar Submission
THE NIGHTINGALE
10:30 am
Laemmle Royal
Sunday, August 10, 2014 -2pm
Advance Screening
JEALOUSY
One of the major French filmmakers of the post-New Wave, Philippe Garrel has belatedly been recognized as a master in America, and JEALOUSY may be his most accessible film in nearly 50 years of filmmaking. Shot in lustrous, widescreen black and white by the great Willy Kurant (Masculin Feminin, Under Satan’s Sun), the film opens with a man leaving his wife and daughter and, in a series of brief conversations, observed gestures, chance encounters and impulsive acts, tells the story of the relationships that flounder and thrive in the wake of this decision. In a autobiographical nod to his actor father Maurice’s abandonment of himself and his mother, the director casts his son and frequent star Louis Garrel as the husband who moves into a garret apartment with his actress girlfriend (Anna Mouglalis) and struggles with fidelity and the temptation to give up their art for an easier life. Shot with Garrel’s celebrated sensitivity and attention to faces, bodies, hands and the intricacies of the human heart, JEALOUSY is an especially intimate, deeply poignant and never less than enthralling tale of love, temptation and betrayal.
Courtesy of Distrib Films
COMING TO LAEMMLE ROYAL!
Sunday, August 24, 2014 - 2pmAdvance Screening
FRONTERA
Directed by Michael Berry
Set along the tumultuous Arizona-Mexico border, FRONTERA, starring Ed Harris, Eva Longoria, and Michael Pena, follows Miguel (Peña), a hardworking father and devoted husband who crosses the border illegally and is wrongfully accused of murdering the wife of a former sheriff (Harris). Miguel’s pregnant wife (Longoria) lands in the hands of corrupt Mexican “Coyote” smugglers as she tries to help her husband, while the ex-lawman investigates his wife’s death and unearths evidence that could destroy one family’s future.
FRONTERA examines both sides of the complex issues of immigration and human trafficking that deeply affects both the U.S. and Mexico. It shows that a border might divide two countries, but can’t divide humanity, for good or bad, we are all part of the problem and the solution.
Print courtesy of Magnolia Pictures – coming to theaters September 5, 2014
Sunday, August 31, 2014 - 2pmSundance Film Festival Audience Award - Best Documentary, World Cinema
THE GREEN PRINCE
Directed by Nadav Schirman
Set against the chaotic backdrop of recent events in the Middle East, Nadav Schirman’s THE GREEN PRINCE retraces the details of a highly unprecedented partnership that developed between sworn enemies. In the style of a tense psychological thriller, this extraordinary documentary recounts the true story of the son of a Hamas leader who emerged as one of Israel’s prized informants, and the Shin Bet agent who risked his career to protect him.
As a defiant teenager growing up in Palestine, Mosab Hassan Yousef’s fervor against Israel was unquestionable, ultimately landing him in prison. Shaken by Hamas’s brutality within the prison’s walls and a growing disgust for their methods, particularly suicide bombing, he had an unexpected change of heart and began to see Hamas as more of a problem than a solution. Recruited by the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) and given the code name "Green Prince," he spied on the Hamas elite for over a decade, constantly risking exposure and certain death while grappling with the perception that he had betrayed his own family and people. Along the way, what started as a cautious alliance between Mosab and his Shin Bet handler Gonen Ben Yitzhak grew into an enduring loyalty that no one could’ve ever predicted.
Based on Mosab Hassan Yousef's bestselling memoir Son of Hamas, THE GREEN PRINCE exposes a complex world of terror, betrayal, and impossible choices. Through exclusive first-hand testimony, dramatic action sequences, and rare archival footage, decades of secrets come to light in this unflinching exploration of a profound spiritual transformation and the transcendent bonds of friendship. THE GREEN PRINCE will challenge much of what you know about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
From the Academy Award® Winning Producers of MAN ON WIRE, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN and ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER.
Print courtesy of Music Box Films – coming to theaters September 12, 2014
NOW PROGRAMMING FOR OCTOBER
PAST PROGRAMS
Sunday, July 6th, 2014 2pm
Join Friends Of Film for an intimate sneak preview of
LAND HO
Opening in LA and NY on July 11th
Written and Directed by Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz
Starring: Paul Eenhoorn and Eral Lynn Nelson
OFFICIAL SELECTION
*Sundance Film Festival 2014*
*Tribeca Film Festvial 2014*
*Los Angeles Film Festival 2014*
Feeling disenchanted with life after retirement, Mitch, a brassy former surgeon, convinces his mild-mannered ex-brother-in-law Colin to take a trip with him to Iceland. The sixty-something pair set off in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavík nightclubs, trendy spas, adventurous restaurants, and rugged campsites. But they quickly discover that you can’t escape yourself, no matter how far you travel.
LAND HO! is a bawdy road trip comedy as well as a candid exploration of aging, loneliness, and friendship. Iceland's vast and haunting landscapes--moss-coated cliffs, fog-shrouded mountains, and geothermal pools--form a primordial Eden, the perfect backdrop for Mitch and Colin's escapades.
MPAA RATED R | RUNTIME: 95 MINUTES
Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Sunday, July 20th 2pm, Dick Clark Screening Room
SLINGSHOT
Directed/Produced by Paul Lazurus, Produced by Barry Opper
Iconoclast, Kamen, is a modern hero. His inventions, mostly medical devices, help people in need and ease suffering. There are several documentaries currently being produced about the world’s dire water challenges. SlingShot is a film about an indomitable man who just might have enough passion, will, and innovative thinking to create a solution for a crisis that affects billions.
A quirky genius with a sharp wit and a provocative worldview, Kamen is our era’s Thomas Edison. He takes on the world’s grand challenges one invention at a time. Best known for his Segway Human Transporter, Kamen has reconceived kidney dialysis, engineered an electric wheelchair that can travel up stairs (the Ibot), reworked the heart stent, built portable insulin pumps, founded FIRST robotics to inspire young students, and on and on. Holder of over 440 patents, Kamen devotes himself to dreaming up products that improve people’s lives. For the last 15 years, he has relentlessly pursued an effective way to clean up the world’s water supply.
Fifty percent of all human illness is the result of water borne pathogens. Dean Kamen has invented an energy efficient vapor compression distiller that can turn any unfit source of water (seawater, poisoned well water, river sludge, etc.) into potable, safe water without any need for chemical additives or filters. Kamen has nicknamed his device the SlingShot as in the David and Goliath story. In Kamen’s imagining, undeveloped countries are filled with little Davids, and just like the biblical slingshot and stone, the SlingShot device is the tiny piece of technology that is going to take down the gigantic Goliath of bad water.
The SlingShot machine is capable of producing 1000 liters (250 gallons) of pure, distilled water every day, using only the power of a hairdryer. It is roughly the size of a small college dorm refrigerator. Once installed in a remote village, it can supply the daily water needs for up to 100 people, providing drinking, washing and cooking water. With this clean water supply, general health conditions will improve instantaneously.
Kamen has been struggling for well over fifteen years to get his SlingShot machines mass-produced and distributed around the world. He has gone to many organizations for help: the World Bank, the UN, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many other governmental agencies, and NGO’s. But, these entities are not set up to help mass manufacture the SlingShot technology or distribute Kamen’s machine to the poorest corners of the world.
Recently, Kamen and his company, DEKA Research, formed an alliance with Coca-Cola. Kamen’s technological innovation combined with Coke’s global reach is a powerful force to address this major global challenge.
SlingShot traces the story of Dean Kamen’s water purification machine from its earliest development through recent trials in five schools in rural Ghana and beyond. Kamen’s passion and commitment to the impossible are as inspiring as his revolutionary technology.
Previous programs
Two screenings scheduled already
Saturday, May 3, Noon
Dick Clark Screening Room
Lantana Building
2900 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Title courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio.
Check out their website for one of the best distributors for independent film www.CinemaLibreStudio.com
Saturday, May 3, 2:30pm
Special Screening of South East European Film Festival
Dick Clark Screening Room
Lantana Building
2900 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
VIS-A-VIS
Director: Nevio Marasović
Producers: Nevio Marasović, Danijel Pek
Genre: comedy/drama
Running Time: 80 minutes
Country: Croatia
Language: Croatian
Subtitles: English
Set mostly on the remote island of Vis, the story is about a director who plans to make a movie who travels with his lead actor to the island to work on the screenplay.
But each young man first has his own personal baggage to contend with.
Deadpan humor and top notch cast at crisp 80 minutes give credit to helmer Marasović, a young Croatian director to watch.
Check out their web-site www.SeeFilmLA.org/program
Now accepting submissions for pre-releases, and films looking for distribution, for our June/July/August dates...
If you'd like to screen your film, send Bob Sharka a dvd,
Blu Ray screener/ or file...or email Bob@FriendsOfFilm.com
Congrats goes out to
Belgium's (BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN)
for its Oscar® Nomination
screened on Nov. 24, 2013 at Friends Of Film Foreign Oscar® Submission Series
Bob Sharka programs the Friends Of Film Award-Season Series
Drop him a note if you'd like to attend or screen your film
Bob@FriendsOfFilm.com
Friends Of Film welcomes award winning filmmaker Michael Stevens for a one-screening-only of
HERBLOCK: The Black and The White
Sunday, October 20th, 2014
11am
Santa Monica 4-Plex
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica, CA
Look for HERBLOCK: The Black and the White on HBO starting Monday, Jan 27th and ON DEMAND
Directed by Michael Stevens
