Seasonal vignettes were well-combined and smartly put together by a group of remarkable filmmakers, plus exceptional performers.
When a blind date goes wrong, the atmosphere of this tiny, little creepy theater plays a series of obscure and bizarre tales by a group of funky performers.
The stories are rich and fascinating. It begins with a mind-numbing Christmas office party that turns into a bloody Russian roulette game.
A late-shopping madness ends up in a psycho “Chupacabras” eating people in the parking lot. A not-so-good neighbor’s experience transforms into a twisted version of Charles Dickens’s “Christmas Carol.” A dead deer avenges itself. Finally, a surreal extraterrestrial adventure at a friend’s dinner table gives closeness and hope to another couple.
“Opening Night” premiere, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
2016 will be considered the “Year of the Diversity” in the LA
Film Festival, regardless of the considerable reduction of foreign films selected.
“Dreamstates” Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
All the different communities were well represented: the Afro-American, Indian-American, Mexican-American, Asian-American, Middle Eastern, Latinos, Jewish, people with disabilities, the millenniums, the immigrants, and the LGBT community too.
Women Filmmakers. Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
This
year, 40 percent of the films selected by the LA Film Festival were directed by women.
“Lights Out” premiere, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
LA
Film Festival took good care of its filmmakers, sponsors, their programmers,
and the members of Film Independent. The prestigious festival still needs to work on its relationship
with the press in order to make more noise, reviews, and exposure of
the films and the filmmakers, simply to tell the world that something is happening in LA.
“Girl Flu” cast, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
All
the films were well-deserved award winners, and those films still need to hit
the movie theaters and digital distribution as soon as possible. They are very important and need to reach a wider audience.
“London Town” Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
AND
THE WINNERS ARE:
“Heis (chronicles)” Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
The World Fiction Award went to Anaïs Volpé for HEIS (cronicles), France.
“Lupe Under the Sun” cast, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights, 2016
Special Mention: Lupe Under the Sun, directed by Rodrigo Reyes, Mexico-US. The U.S. Fiction Award went to Remy Auberjonois for Blood Stripe.
The Documentary Award went to Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Wares for Political Animals.
The LA Muse Award was given to Heidi Saman for Namour.
The Nightfall Award went to Jackson Stewart for Beyond The Gates.
AUDIENCE AWARDS:
The Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film went to GREEN / is / GOLD, directed by Ryon Baxter.
Political Animals, directed by Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Wares, won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film.
The Award for Short Fiction went to The Beast
(Zvjerka), directed by Daina Oniunas Pusic.
The Award for Short Documentary went to The Gatekeeper,
directed by Yung Chang.
The Audience Award for Short Film went to Into
Darkness, directed by Rachida El Garani.
The Audience Award for Web Series went to Instababy,
directed by Rosie Haber.
