Los Angeles’ New Film Festival Is Totally Anti-Hollywood
When it comes to film festivals, Los Angeles seems to be cursed. This doesn’t make a ton of sense, considering Los Angeles is the home of Hollywood. And yet, unlike New York—which hosts the New York Film Festival every fall, along with other fests like Tribeca and DOC NYC—Los Angeles has faced a real festival drought in the past half-decade.
The Los Angeles Film Festival ran for 18 years, premiering titles like The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Things Behind the Sun, before ending in 2018. Just last year, OutFest—an LGBTQ+-themed film festival that took place in the summer—faced serious financial trouble; its future is now unclear. That leaves events like Beyond Fest (a genre festival that spotlights horror, sci-fi and fantasy) and AFI Festival (which runs in the fall and usually hosts the Los Angeles premieres of Oscar-bait films)—but there’s an overall lack of a local film festival showcasing a broad range of independent and international features.
Now, filmmakers/movie aficionados Micah Gottlieb and Sarah Winshall are looking to change that with the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies, which runs April 4-7.