Welcome to the Los Angeles CineFest.
Sat-Sun, Jan 14-15, 2023

Meet filmmakers in person at the Red Carpet, Awards Ceremony, and Q&A after screenings. We’ll present local, national and international productions.

Enjoy premieres and AWARD winning films previously screened at other famous film festivals around the world. Comedies, dramas, animations, you name it.

1% OF TICKET SALES WILL GO TO
FREE ARTS FOR ABUSED CHILDREN
www.freearts.org

Screenings, Q&As and Awards @
Promenade Playhouse
10931 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Join us. Have fun. Be inspired

Submit your film, screenplay, song or score for the Los Angeles CineFest Film Festival 2024 Edition. Click here

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PARKING INFORMATION.
2-hour street parking or parking structure across the street at 10909 Pico Blvd 2 hours/$5 or full day for $20. The Festival does not cover travel, accommodations, or parking costs.

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Awards Hosted by
Kristen Lundberg
Actress, comedian, producer

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2023 SCHEDULE

Saturday, January 14
Block 1 @ 1:00PM
EL ÚLTIMO TORERO (THE LAST MATADOR), 8:00 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
INSTANT LOVE, 11:46
On Island West, 13:29 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
But I Want to Leave the Party, 14:40 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Roger-Roger, 22:24
70 min total time
2:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
2:50PM Break
Block 1 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Block 2 @ 3:00PM
The Taking Of Harris Neck, 2:30
The Malfunction, 8:40
Remora: A Modern Folktale, 12:03 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Bernie Krause, a life with the great animal orchestra, 37:17 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
64 min total time
4:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
4:50PM Break
Block 2 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Block 3 @ 5:00PM
Gale - Stay Away From Oz, 2:25
LOSSES, 23:27 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Unbelievable! The Art Williams Story, 29:16 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
56 min total time
6:00PM Q&A with Filmmakers
6:20PM Break
Block 3 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Awards Ceremony @ 6:30PM
Saturday Screenings Winners Announcement

Wrap @ 7:00PM

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Sunday, January 15
Block 4 @ 1:00PM
Oriane, Oriane Dubois, 1:56
Barber School, 4:59 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Providence, 9:45 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
After the Rain, 27:54
Geography of the Heart, 30:00
75 min total time
2:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
2:50PM Break
Block 4 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Block 5 @ 3:00PM
Watch Your Language, 4:00
Something New, 14:29 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Prejudices, 21:01
Window Music, 8:45 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Oysters, 23:20
72 min total time
4:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
4:50PM Break
Block 5 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Block 6 @ 5:00PM
Bon Appétit!, 2:08
Garfield Seashell, 13:25
Lebensraum, 14:19
Homo Ignarus, 18:45
Part Forever, 12:33
63 min total time
6:15PM Break
Block 6 tickets are $10 door, $9 online here

Awards Ceremony @ 6:30PM
Sunday Screenings Winners Announcement.
Screenwriters Winner Announcement

Wrap @ 7:00PM

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GET TICKETS DIRECTLY
FROM LOS ANGELES CINEFEST click here

Get VIP ALL FILMS PASS directly from us
$60 door, $50 online here

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Detailed Program

Saturday, January 14
Block 1 @ 1:00PM

EL ÚLTIMO TORERO (THE LAST MATADOR), 8:00 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by KATARIINA LILLQVIST
When the last bullfighting arena in Catalonia has turned into a shopping mall, an old matador has to earn his living in the bars of Barcelona. One night, a bored Russian president pops in, trying to freshen up his too long holidays. In no time he feels an urgent desire to try on his luck as a corrido hero before it is too late.

INSTANT LOVE, 11:46
Directed by Kinga Kornak
Liliana lives in a world where no longer only sex - but also intimacy, tenderness and acceptance - is treated as a commodity available to all, with its own price. The woman, in her longing for intimacy, decides to get to know Adam, a man from the app.

On Island West, 13:29 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Carolyn Saunders
In a dystopian UK flooded by climate change into an archipelago, Arya, 18, is raised as a militant racist on an isolated, tribal island. When a persecuted indigenous Canadian stranger arrives, Arya sees her world through his eyes, igniting a longing for freedom and racial justice that clashes with her upbringing and her bond to home. When he discovers the safe haven he seeks is racist, both must decide what freedom is worth.

But I Want to Leave the Party, 14:40 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Gilles Plouffe
A young woman's emotionally distressing childhood, fuels her depression, affecting all areas of her life and she must decide to seek help before it's too late.

Roger-Roger, 22:24
Directed by Sam Einar Engh Syftestad, Espen Omland Hustvedt
Roger is looking for a girlfriend, but how hard can it be to meet someone who loves Star Wars as much as him? His best friend Hans Ola and his boyfriend Edvin try to help Roger out on his dating quest.

70 min total time
2:30PM Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
2:50PM BREAK

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Saturday, January 14
Block 2 @ 3:00PM

The Taking Of Harris Neck, 2:30
Directed by Kevin Mannens
The Gullah People were brought to Georgia, USA from Sierra Leone in the slave trade in the late 1700's. They endured the horror of slavery; and a century later the dread of the revolutionary war. Eventually, some Gullah People established a free, self-sustaining community in Harris Neck, GA. But in 1942 their homes were taken away from them by racism, greed and envy. "The Taking of Harris Neck" explores the strength of people who endured the impossible, yet kept hope and resilience.

The Malfunction, 8:40
Directed by Tom Festo
In the future, a successful businessman discovers that the primary mode of travel is not what it seems.

Remora: A Modern Folktale, 12:03 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Cassie Aheirs
Some people's fairy godmothers have a magic wand. Dylan's has a metal detector.

Bernie Krause, a life with the great animal orchestra, 37:17 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Vincent Tricon
Produced by Fondation Cartier, this first documentary by French filmmaker Vincent Tricon tells the story of Bernie Krause, a “soundscape ecologist” who, for more than fifty years, has traveled the world recording the sounds of animals in their natural habitats.

64 min total time
4:30PM Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
4:50PM BREAK

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Saturday, January 14
Block 3 @ 5:00PM

Gale - Stay Away From Oz, 2:25
Directed by Daniel Alexander
Long gone are the days of emerald cities and yellow brick roads. In this dark re-imagining of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale is now an elderly woman, broken by years of paranormal entanglement with a mystical realm, which has now echoed down to her only living relative, Emily, who is being called to settle unfinished business in this terrifying world of Oz.

LOSSES, 23:27 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Jack Murillo
Two brothers reconnect after the death of their mother.

Unbelievable! The Art Williams Story, 29:16 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Edward C. Bartel II
“Unbelievable!" provides the audience with a glimpse into the life of Art Williams. From his humble beginnings working alongside his mother and father in the cotton fields at the tender age of four, to his family’s experiences as part of the Great Migration, to breaking the color lines in the Detroit Tigers organization, working as a public servant, and ultimately becoming Baseball’s First Black National League Umpire.
The story is told through the eyes of Art’s younger brother, Dr. Audie Williams. Their brotherly bond is evident and palpable as Dr. Audie recounts a few of the significant moments that had a tremendous impact on his big brother’s life and career.

6:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
6:50PM Break
7:00PM Saturday Screenings Winners Announcement

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Sunday, January 15
Block 4 @ 1:00PM

Oriane, Oriane Dubois, 1:56
Directed by Un Homme Une Femme
Oriane is hanging out at home and depressed at the thought of being alone on Easter Monday.
She makes phone calls, to "see what's going on". She suggests to some of her friends to go to her place, or to go for a walk.
No one is available. She expands the options in her repertoire, and starts contacting people she hasn't seen in a long time...
Long enough.

Barber School, 4:59 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Raffaele Vesco
A man in for a quick haircut finds himself suddenly under the care of a troubled man trying to make a fresh start in barbering.

Providence, 9:45 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Jordan Lane Shappell
Three siblings witnessed the same traumatic family event, but interpreted it very differently. And now those differences are coming back to affect their lives.

After the Rain, 27:54
Directed by Beston Zîrian
After the Rain In the middle of nowhere, seven-year-old Yazidi girl Merjan finds herself stranded alone on an unknown shore. The only person around in this no man’s land is 19-year-old Diyab.
They don’t speak the same language and neither of them knows where they are. Holding on
the the hope of finding again her father Merjan refuses to leave the shore while Diyab wants

Geography of the Heart, 30:00
Directed by Alexandra Billington
Ambitious actor's agent - Felix (Clemens Schick) is at the top of his game in Germany and internationally - repping his successful actress fiancée Rachel (Heike Makatsch). Life could not be better - except Felix's mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and his father, Hans (Hans-Michael Rehberg) - secretly struggles to cope. When Felix, in the midst of moving to Berlin from LA, meets real estate agent Anna (Jana Pallaske) when viewing an apartment - and he is utterly blindsided by the one feeling he never knew he wanted, one he is shocked to realize he would give up everything for - intimacy. But Anna needs more security than a feeling.

75 min total time
2:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
2:50PM Break

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Sunday, January 15
Block 5 @ 3:00PM

Watch Your Language, 4:00
Directed by Kristýna Budínová
Mom's at a children's birthday party jump through hoops to protect their children from hearing foul language. There is a slight chance they may fail at this attempt.

Something New, 14:29 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Michelle Bossy

Prejudices, 21:01
Directed by Christian Kitzwögerer
Due to prejudices Julia’s and Rainer’s marriage ends up in a bloody fight. When Julia’s best friend Theresa comes to visit her she’s nowhere to be found. Theresa, a young police officer supposes that she has been killed by her husband. In order to go into the matter she decides to break into the alleged victim’s house on her own account. What she discovers inside exceeds her worst fears.

Window Music, 8:45 FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!
Directed by Lauren Rose Bartling
Nervous college student Nick will have to learn how to overcome his fears while he struggles with confronting the girl of his dreams.

Oysters, 23:20
Directed by Maïa Descamps
On the occasion of a bachelorette party, Charlotte, 30 years old, reunites with friends she hasn't seen for a long time. Unsaid things and apprehension mingle to the euphoria of reunion. Charlotte has a secret she painfully keeps for herself. All like the oysters the women are opening, tongues resist. But while the shells shatter and hands scratch, the truth comes to the surface.

72 min total time
4:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
4:50PM Break

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Sunday, January 15
Block 6 @ 5:00PM

Bon Appétit!, 2:08
Directed by David Guo
A flashy snail named Gus accidentally arrives atop a box of produce in the kitchen of a high-end French Restaurant. Despite the potentially fatal implications, Gus boldly expresses his ambitious dreams of becoming great through a fantastical, Broadway-inspired musical number complete with vegetable backup dancers, singing fish, and more.

Garfield Seashell, 13:25
Directed by Paul Marques Duarte
When the sea goes out, Killian wanders on the huge deserted beach with his friend Maxime. Between the seaweed and the debris, the two boys are looking for this strange orange shell that has been washing up on the coast for decades: the Garfield telephone.

Lebensraum, 14:19
Directed by Hannes Maar
Marie Kaufmann has to face an unusual interview that decides not only her own fate.

Homo Ignarus, 18:45
Directed by Joshua Scattergood
Two sisters (Ava & Maria) passionately disagree on the existence of a God. When the local priest announces the coming of the apocalypse, Ava attempts to find evidence of God's existence in order to bring her atheist sister back to the church.

Part Forever, 12:33
- Taiwanese Traditional Customs -
There is a traditional custom in Taiwan that the soul of a dead person would go home to visit his family within three days after his death. Therefore, the family would wait in the mourning hall all night to mourn the dead and express their feelings of remembrance until encoffining.
- Synopsis -
In the dark hall, candles flickered faintly. A body lay in the middle of the hall. Huei and her husband Wen Hsiung came to say goodbye to Huei’s dearest sister. The seemingly calm and sad farewell ceremony seemed to hide an astonishing and dark secret...

63 min total time
6:30PM Q&A with Filmmakers
6:50PM Break
7:00PM Sunday Screenings Winners Announcement.
Screenwriters Winner Announcement

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SONG CATEGORY

Please note that we do not play songs at the festival. If an officially selected work is available for the public, look for an inscription that says "Listen Here" next to the title.

Have You Tonight
Submitter Nathan Itter LISTEN HERE

PAIN THAT INVADES ME (DOR QUE ME INVADE)
Submitter Sabrina Lemos LISTEN HERE

U SO MEAN NOTHING 2 ME
Submitter Debra Gussin

Let The Women Eat
Submitter Rachel Walker Ma

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FILM SCORE CATEGORY

Please note that we do not play scores at the festival. If an officially selected work is available for the public, look for an inscription that says "Listen Here" next to the title.

Donovan City Fall
by Jeronimo Restrepo

Code Rood (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
by Jordan Paul Roussea

Promises
by  James Naleski

Down the Road (Original Score)
by Erik Margolin LISTEN HERE
https://erikmmusic.bandcamp.com/album/down-the-road-original-score
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXAPHi5zrA5ONaQPSxsYzjSchVA8pkG8q

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POSTER CATEGORY

Submitted by Terry Ayrault

Submitted by Simon Andreas Baumgartner

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SCREENPLAY CATEGORY

Please note that we do not read screenplays at the festival. You can read some of the scripts here, contact the writer, and collaborate. Look for an inscription that says "Read Here" next to the title.

The Dead Dude
Writer Dennis Zen
Feature Screenplay
After two guys unrolled a dead dude from a free carpet, they struggle to sneak him back to his house as they evade suspicion from his son! READ HERE

Immigrants United
Writer Viktoria Bene
Television Script
Panka Lakatos does not have it easy when adjusting to her new school in Los Angeles. She encounters all the good and bad that pertain to that infamous Californian lifestyle. She quickly falls for a rude Russian boy, Nikita, and loses focus of her privileges. Her fascination with Nikita may be the end of her American Dream, or is it just the beginning? READ HERE
WRITER IN PERSON!

Georges Creek
Writer James Shanklin
Feature Screenplay
In the early months of 1921, living in the coal mining town of Georges Creek, everything seemed perfect for the O'Farrell family, but by the summer of that same year, nothing would ever be the same. WRITER IN PERSON!

A Fine Finish
Writer SHERI L DAVENPORT
Television Script
When four generations of Sorrento women converge on the family vineyard to sort out their lives, they quickly discover that the business is on the verge of collapse and greedy investors are circling, so they must put aside their problems and pull together to turn things around against remarkable odds.

Street Soldiers
Writer Marc Castaldo
Television Script
An honorable former soldier returns home and falls down the rabbit hole of the criminal world in order to protect his family from a neighborhood loan shark.

Nesselrode
Writer Jim Norman
Feature Screenplay
As the only heir of the Grand Duke of Nesselrode, Charles-Edward must find a wife and produce an heir before his grandfather dies. A college internship sends him to an Oklahoma cattle ranch, where his challenge seems nearly impossible.

I want to be, Marilyn Monroe
Writer Elijah Gatlin-Tyler
Television Script
While trying to become a model in modern day LA, Marilyn gets entangled in the stardom life filled with drugs, sex, and death. WRITER IN PERSON!
READ HERE

Amy and Angel
Writers Julia Verdin, Deedee Benkovich
Feature Screenplay
Shy 16-year old Amy just wants to dance, but her deafness causes her dreams to be shattered when she is bullied out of dance class. Finding the most unbelievable new dance partner, her neighbors neglected dog, they perform a spectacular routine that lands them on a national TV talent show where they compete against her former dance crew.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Writer Barry Jay
Feature Screenplay
After killing an attacker, the son of a serial killer develops the urge to kill again.

Bloodlines: The Mogadishu Diaries 1992-1993
Writer Eddie Clay Thompkins III
Feature Screenplay
A US Marine recalls his mission to track a Somali Warlord, wherein he is confronted with love, loss and peril, in the most dangerous city in the world.

Mad Bad Dangerous to Know
Writers Leonora Pitts, Emily Robinson
Feature Screenplay
Silenced by the social obligations of Regency era London, Lady Caroline Lamb engages in a brief and infamous love affair with Lord Byron, which turns dark and ends in flames. Based on the true story.

Aftercare
Writers Leonora Gershman Pitts, Megan M Gray
Television Script
Nina’s life as the perfect suburban wife and mother is thrown into upheaval when she discovers the world of BDSM — and has to confront a side of herself that threatens everything.

American Nostalgia
Writer Isaac Ballesteros Barba
Short Screenplay
Aaron Safdie, a screenwriter struggles in modern Hollywood and its franchise reboots and remakes. Aaron has a mission... to write the next big franchise, the problem is... he only wants to write his original stuff. After being denied from original films, Aaron will take matters into his hands while trying to finish the script.

Inviolable
Writer Devin Dugan
Feature Screenplay
Kate DeCampo is a university tour guide at Northern Michigan University. She hates her job and can't wait for summer to be over and the new semester to start. She routinely experiences flashbacks of her abusive past which she would rather forget. A past that has scarred her in ways she still cannot face.

A Grandpa for Christmas
Writer Michael Lewis
Feature Screenplay
Just before Christmas, Renata Martinez, a vivacious Mexican woman, moves from Los Angeles to Oklahoma to live with her daughter and 10 year old grandson while her son in law is deployed. There, she meets Josh, the handsome retired history Teacher still struggling with the loss of his wife three years ago.

Desert Star News
Writer Robert Alan Haus
Television Script
After a Pittsburgh anchorwoman wins a sexual harassment lawsuit, she quickly learns no other station in the country will hire her - except for a low-budget, ramshackle station in the middle of nowhere.

All Will Turn Out Fine - 60 minutes pilot
Writer Cristina Rodríguez Graetsch
Television Script
Carles is a frontline doctor, Martina is an Italian scientist with a strong character, Camilo will be forced to close his innovative restaurant the same day he opens it, Henny is a sailor who will be confined to his boat, while Carla struggles to start a sustainable business and faces strange events on her land...

WHAT WOULD JARED DO?
Submitter Cassidy Alla
Television Script

Lake Opaque
Writer Amanda L. Andrei
Feature Screenplay
Two sisters must reckon with their rocky relationship and family history when the lake in their town turns into chocolate.

Rise
Writer Richard Goldstein
Feature Screenplay
After a young undereducated mother leaves an abusive relationship she meets with catastrophe in a career as a police officer and loses her daughter in the process. She then turns to an MMA cage to try to find redemption and win her daughter back.

American Superstar
Writer Robert D Tolz
Feature Screenplay
A 68-year old man becomes a contestant in a TV singing contest, revealing his life of love gained, love lost and self found.

The 22 (Short Screenplay)
Writer Amanda Gecewicz
Short Screenplay
Haunted by the combat of World War II, a veteran soldier is triggered to fight the darkness within him for a chance to live another day, tragically knowing that only the dead have seen the end of war.

Wolf Hollow
Writer Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid
Short Screenplay
An African American teenager abused in the foster system faces a new breed of predator during a “white party” at her adoptive family’s country estate.

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1% OF ALL SALES GOES TO
FREE ARTS FOR ABUSED CHILDREN
WW.FREEARTS.ORG

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Watch it FREE on TUBI.
Watch comedies previously submitted to us.
Click here

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Festival sponsored by

Thank you for being with us last weekend.
You’ll find photos from the event here and here

List of Winners.

BEST ANIMATION. EL ÚLTIMO TORERO (THE LAST MATADOR)

BEST DRAMA But I Want to Leave the Party

BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR On Island West, Carolyn Saunders

BEST COMEDY Remora: A Modern Folktale

BEST DOCUMENTARY Bernie Krause, a life with the great animal orchestra

BEST STORY Unbelievable! The Art Williams Story

BEST DIRECTOR Raffaele Vesco Barber School

2nd Place Winner Providence

1st Place Winner Window Music

3rd Place Winner Screenplay Category Immigrants United

2nd Place Winner Screenplay Category Georges Creek

1st Place Winner Screenplay Category I want to be, Marilyn Monroe

BEST SONG Have You Tonight

BEST SCORE Down the Road (Original Score)

BEST POSTER BEST OF THE LAKERS Terry Ayrault

Congratulations!

WINNERS laurels are available here https://www.lacinefest.org/laurels.html
PNG, JPG ready for social media, posters and other promotional materials.