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LA FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE FILM PROGRAM
The 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen more than 230 feature films, shorts, and music videos. This year the Festival received more than 5000 submissions from filmmakers around the world with the final selections representing several World, North American, and U.S. premieres.
Big Heart City
Frankie is a young man whose tales of domestic bliss are at odds with his mysteriously empty apartment in this taut look at life on the edges of a sun-blanched Los Angeles.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Ben Rodkin PRODUCER Matthew Harrison CAST Shawn Andrews, Seymour Cassel, Desi Lydic, Jake Alston
HottieBoombaLottie –World Premiere
Cheerfully clueless and unexpectedly charming, clueless hipster doofus Ethan attempts to win the heart of high school hottie Madison Sweet, only to find himself in competition with his own brother.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Seth Packard PRODUCERS Ben Lakey, Seth Packard CAST Seth Packard, Lauren McKnight, Matthew Webb, Shay Williamson, Pam Eichner, Trace Williamson
I'll Come Running –World Premiere
An impulsive fling between a Danish tourist and a Texan waitress leads to a life-changing journey in this poignant, darkly humorous, and deeply affecting fractured romance starring Melonie Diaz in a breakout role.
DIRECTOR Spencer Parsons WRITERS Line Langebek, Spencer Parsons PRODUCERS Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Anish Savjani CAST Melonie Diaz, Jon Lange, Christian Tafdrup, Birgitte Raaberg, Hallie Bulleit
Medicine for Melancholy
A one-night stand blossoms from awkwardness to romance during a day in San Francisco, as two twenty-something African-Americans forge a connection despite other lovers and different perspectives on identity.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Barry Jenkins PRODUCERS Justin Barber, Cherie Saulter CAST Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins
The Pleasure of Being Robbed
Anchored by a quirky and seductive lead performance from Eléonore Hendricks, Josh Safdie's inspired first feature adopts the skewed but wonderous perspective of a young woman who savors the imaginary connections that come from theft.
DIRECTOR Josh Safdie WRITERS Josh Safdie, Eléonore Hendricks PRODUCERS Josh Safdie, Brett Jutkiewicz, Zachary Treitz, Sam Lisenco CAST Eléonore Hendricks, Josh Safdie, Wayne Cin, Batman, Jordan Zaldez, Jerry Damons, Andy Spade, Alex Greenblatt, Gary Greenblatt
The Poker House –World Premiere
Actress Lori Petty makes her directorial debut with this poignant, beautifully crafted film about a teenage girl trying to survive the dismal circumstances of her life with dignity, humor, and basketball.
DIRECTOR Lori Petty WRITERS Lori Petty, David Alan Grier PRODUCERS Steve Cannell, Mike Dubelko CAST Selma Blair, Jennifer Lawrence, Bokeem Woodbine, David Alan Grier, Sophia Bairley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Clarke Peters
Prince of Broadway – World Premiere
A charming hustler in New York City's vibrant Garment District has his life irrevocably thrown off course by the arrival of a toddler who may or may not be his.
DIRECTOR Sean Baker WRITERS Sean Baker, Darren Dean PRODUCER Darren Dean CAST Prince Adu, Karren Karaguilian, Aiden Noesi
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
This fascinating and telling documentary about one-time GOP chairman Lee Atwater chronicles how, in the 1980s, he pioneered the modern art of hardball campaigning and solidified the GOP’s hold on Middle America.
DIRECTOR Stefan Forbes PRODUCERS Stefan Forbes, Noland Walker FEATURING Ed Rollins, Mike Dukakis, Tucker Eskew, Howard Fineman, Mary Matalin, Sam Donaldson
Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe –World Premiere
Underground artist David Choe's rise to fame and bizarre adventures are chronicled by his lifelong friend Harry Kim, the only one brave enough to follow him from the mean streets of L.A. to the heart of the Congo.
DIRECTOR Harry Kim PRODUCERS Elizabeth Ai, Harry Kim FEATURING David Choe
Finishing Heaven –World Premiere
In 1970, Robert Feinberg set out to make Heaven, a feature film meant to be his directorial debut. In 2007, a documentary crew uncovers why it has taken so long to bring Heaven to fruition.
DIRECTOR Mark Mann PRODUCERS David Shapiro, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Ian Rosenberg FEATURING Robert Feinberg, Ruby Lynn Reyner
Largo –World Premiere
Performances by Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Brion and many more are featured in this intimate concert film shot in the famed Los Angeles music and comedy venue Largo.
DIRECTORS Andrew van Baal, Mark Flanagan PRODUCER Mark Flanagan FEATURING Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Aimee Mann, Patton Oswalt, Andrew Bird, Grant-Lee Phillips
Loot –World Premiere
Despite the complications of fading memories and failing health, an amateur treasure hunter from Utah helps two WWII veterans search for the treasures they buried more than 60 years ago in this quietly devastating documentary.
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Darius Marder FEATURING Lance Larson, Andrew Seventy, Darrel Ross, Michael Larson
Must Read After My Death –US Premiere
Audio recordings and home-movie footage create a shattering portrait of the dark, secret lives of one free-thinking family that roiled beneath the surface of the American dream in the 1960s.
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Morgan Dews
Paper or Plastic? –World Premiere
Celebrating the spirit of the American working class, Paper or Plastic? follows eight grocery-bagging state champions as they prepare for the nationals, held in the Mecca of the American dream, Las Vegas.
DIRECTORS Justine Jacob, Alex D. Da Silva PRODUCER Justine Jacob
Pressure Cooker –World Premiere
Tyrannical Culinary Arts teacher Mrs. Stephenson disses her students' “ghetto palates” but spurs them to win fortunes in scholarships to culinary schools in a high-heat documentary about three kids whose futures depend on making the perfect crêpe.
DIRECTORS Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker PRODUCER Jennifer Grausman
Thing With No Name
A chronicle of two African women and their decisions to begin antiretroviral drug therapy for their late-stage HIV/AIDS, this sensitive documentary expands to show a culture struggling to maintain hope in the face of an epidemic.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Sarah Friedland PRODUCERS Sarah Friedland, Esy Casey
Trinidad –World Premiere
With humor and sociological precision, this compelling documentary chronicles the contradictions of Trinidad, Colorado, a rodeo-loving Red State town that also happens to be the “sex change capital of America.”
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS PJ Raval, Jay Hodges FEATURING Marci Bowers, Laura Ellis, Sabrina Marcus
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela – Iceland/Philippines/USA
Raquela, a charming and insightful Filipina transsexual longing for Parisian romances and a better life, takes the audience on a heartbreaking, profound, and ultimately inspiring journey.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Olaf De Fleur Johannesson PRODUCERS Olaf De Fleur Johannesson, Stefan Schaefer, Arleen Cuevas CAST Raquela Rios, Stefan Schaefer, Brax Villa, Via Galudo, Valerie Grand
Captain Ahab (Capitaine Achab) – France
With stunning imagery reminiscent of French realist painting and early photography, Philippe Ramos constructs a mysterious portrait of Moby Dick's Captain Ahab, revealing him as a man wounded as much by life as the whale.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Philippe Ramos PRODUCERS Florence Borelly CAST Denis Lavant, Philippe Katerine, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Bonnaffé
The Choir – South Africa – North American Premiere
Led by a charismatic convicted bank robber, the prison choir of Leeuwkop Prison in South Africa teaches its members discipline and faith through the transformative power of music.
DIRECTOR Michael Davie PRODUCER Chris Hilton FEATURING Jabulani Shabangu, Coleman Mgogodlo, Richmond Febana, Thabo Molahli
Exodus (Ceot Oi Kap Gei) – Hong Kong
Police officer Tsim can’t resist investigating a suspect’s wild claims about a cabal of women conspiring to kill all men in Pang Ho-Cheung’s deadpan black-comic fable about the eternal battle of the sexes.
DIRECTOR Pang Ho-Cheung WRITERS Pang Ho-Cheung, Cheuk Wan Chi, Jimmy Wan PRODUCERS Stanley Tong, Pang Ho-Cheung CAST Simon Yam, Annie Liu, Nick Cheung, Irene Wan
Fear(s) of the Dark (Peur(s) du Noir) – France
Asked to draw from their own personal phobias and fears, six internationally renowned graphic artists have come together for this black and white omnibus film filled with ominous portents, paranoid delusions, and fears—rational and irrational.
DIRECTORS Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire WRITERS Blutch, Charles Burns, Romain Slocombe, Pierre di Sciullo, Jerry Kramsky, Richard McGuire, Michel Pirus PRODUCERS Válerie Schermann, Christophe Jankovic CAST Aure Atika, Arthur H, Guillaume Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Louisa Pili
Four Wives – One Man – Sweden/Iran
In Iran, polygamy isn't illegal. This outrageous three-year portrait of an outspoken family is funny and infuriating, as rural farmer Heda's solution to marital discord is to bring home another bride.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Nahid Persson PRODUCER Setareh Persson FEATURING Farang, Goli, Shahpar, Ziba, Heda, Golshah
Hafner’s Paradise (Hafners Paradies) – Austria/Spain – US Premiere
Paul Hafner would be the model octogenarian if he weren't penning a book called Hitler for Eternity. The former SS officer considers his life perfect in this documentary that tries to probe his conscience.
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Günter Schwaiger
Heartbeat Detector (La Question Humaine) – France
In Nicholas Klotz’s haunting mystery, a corporate psychologist starts to lose his grip when he has to investigate his company's CEO and uncovers long-buried secrets about the firm’s past.
DIRECTOR Nicolas Klotz WRITER Elisabeth Perceval PRODUCERS Sophie Dulac, Michel Zana CAST Mathieu Amalric, Michael Lonsdale
Hello, Stranger (Cher-eum Man-nan Sa-ram-deul) – South Korea – North American Premiere
The wondrous strangeness and difficulty of daily life for a newly “adjusted” North Korean defector in South Korea forms the core of this gentle and moving drama about uprooted connections.
DIRECTOR/ WRITER Kim Dong-hyun PRODUCERS Kim Dong-hyun, Park Jin-soo CAST Park In-soo, Choi Hee-jin, Quang Su, Bang Young
Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go – England
Documentarian Kim Longinotto follows the experience of four boys at the unconventional Mulberry Bush School, where emotionally traumatized children who've been written off as lost causes get a last shot at fixing their lives.
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Kim Longinotto
Hotel Very Welcome – Germany
The overly-romanticized notion of finding oneself in an exotic land may not be all it's cracked up to be for five hapless twenty-somethings traveling through South Asia in this delightful comedy.
DIRECTOR Sonja Heiss WRITERS Sonja Heiss, Nikolai von Graevenitz PRODUCERS Janine Jackowksi, Maren Ade, Sonja Heiss CAST Svenja Steinfelder, Eva Lobau, Chris O'Dowd, Ricky Champ, Gareth Llewelyn
Infinite Border (La Frontera Infinita) – Mexico – US Premiere
As a northbound train gathers speed, migrants quickly jump onboard to hitch a clandestine ride toward a better life in this transcendent portrait of the present-day migration from Central America toward the U.S.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Juan Manuel Sepúlveda PRODUCER Patricia Coronado Nobrega
La France – France
Serge Bozon's absolutely singular film sets a band of pop-singing soldiers in the midst of battle-ravaged WWI France, crossing paths with a woman disguised as a man searching for her husband at the front.
DIRECTOR Serge Bozon WRITER Axelle Ropert PRODUCER David Thion CAST Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Guillaume Verdier, François Negret, Laurent Talon, Pierre Leon, Benjamin Esdraffo
Mechanical Love – Denmark
Can emotions be transmitted through circuitry? Is love given to a machine still love? These questions are at the heart of Phie Ambo's fascinating look at the developing field of therapeutic robotics. DIRECTOR/WRITER Phie Ambo PRODUCER Sigrid Helene Dyekjœr FEATURING Hiroshi Ishiguro, Takanori Shibata, Frau Körner
Sonetàula – Italy/France/Belgium
A young boy in the idyllic Sardinian countryside grows up to become a man on the run from both the law and his own past in this moving, beautifully filmed historical drama.
DIRECTOR Salvatore Mereu WRITERS Salvatore Mereu, Giuseppe Fiori PRODUCER Gianluca Arcopinto CAST Francesco Falchetto, Manuela Martelli, Antonio Crisponi, Serafino Spiggia
Tricks (Sztuczki) – Poland
As his older sister begins to make plans for her future, a young boy attempts to bribe fate with small offerings in order to reunite his family with the father who abandoned them years ago.
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Andrzej Jakimowski CAST Damian Ul, Ewelina Walendziak, Rafal Guzniczak, Tomasz Sapryk
Useless (Wu Yong) – China
Jia Zhang-ke's gorgeous documentary examines China's shift from artisanal to industrial through its fashion industry, drawing connections between textile factory workers, an uber-hip designer, and an old man taking his pants to be mended.
DIRECTOR Jia Zhang-ke PRODUCER Chow Keung FEATURING Ma Ke
When Clouds Clear (Después de la Neblina) – Ecuador/USA
Despite frequent threats of violence and conflicts that have split families apart, a community in the mountainous central region of Ecuador fights back against international mining corporations.
DIRECTORS/WRITERS Anne Slick, Danielle Bernstein PRODUCERS Anne Slick, Danielle Bernstein, Gabriela Calvache
Where Are Their Stories? (¿Donde Estan Sus Historias?) – Mexico/Canada
Further evidence of a new Mexican cinema of bold aesthetics and keen social conscience, this startling debut employs mesmerizing long takes to tell the story of a young man's attempt to save his grandmother's land from being sold.
DIRECTOR/ WRITER Nicolás Pereda PRODUCER Catalina Pereda CAST Gabino Rodriguez, Teresa Sanchez
Wonderful Town – Thailand
Visually stunning, with an entrancing soundtrack, this debut feature follows a fragile romance between a Bangkok architect and a rural hotel owner in a Thai coastal town still recovering from the 2004 tsunami.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Aditya Assarat PRODUCERS Soros Sukhum, Jetnipith Teerakulchanyut CAST Anchalee Saisoontorn, Supphasit Kansen, Dul Yaambunying
You, the Living (Du Levande) – Sweden
This is the way the world ends—not with a bang but a tuba—in Roy Andersson's ultra-black comedy, featuring a symphony of downtrodden city-dwellers complaining to the camera while watching the skies for the final end.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Roy Andersson PRODUCER Pernilla Sandstrom CAST Jessica Lundberg, Elisabet Helander, Bjorn Englund, Leif Larsson, Ollie Olson
American Son
With 96 hours before his deployment to Iraq, a young Marine struggles to deal with expectations of old friends, lingering family tensions, and the excitement of new love.
DIRECTOR Neil Abramson WRITER Eric Schmid PRODUCERS Danielle Renfrew, Michael Roiff CAST Nick Cannon, Melonie Diaz, Matt O'Leary, Jay Hernandez, Chi McBride, Tom Sizemore, April Grace
The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not For Sale – WORLD PREMIERE
Painter Chuck Connelly should have been a star like Schnabel or Basquiat—but he's not. Combining unvarnished interviews and revealing home movies, Jeff Stimmel creates a striking portrait of the artist as his own worst enemy.
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Jeff Stimmel
Baghead
In this improvisational comedy, four struggling actors head to a secluded cabin. When it seems they are being stalked, it's hard to know what's scarier: the thing in the woods or the awkward sexual tensions between them.
DIRECTORS/WRITERS Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass PRODUCERS John Bryant, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass CAST Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller
Ballast
Lance Hammer creates one of the year's most exciting debuts with a precise, moving, delicately modulated look at lives teetering on the brink, as a family struggles to come to terms with a death in their midst.
DIRECTOR Lance Hammer WRITER Lance Hammer PRODUCERS Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh CAST Micheal J. Smith Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail
Boy A – England
Anchored by finely nuanced performances by Peter Mullan and newcomer Andrew Garfield, Boy A is a powerful story of a young man slowly re-entering society in search of rehabilitation and redemption.
DIRECTOR John Crowley WRITER Mark O'Rowe PRODUCER Lynn Horsford CAST Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Katie Lyons
Choke
Somehow tying together sexual addiction, low-grade con artistry, and historical theme parks, Clark Gregg's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's darkly comic novel captures one man's struggles to escape his own worst impulses.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Clark Gregg PRODUCERS Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson, Jonathan Dorfman CAST Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite) – Brazil
Filmmaker José Padilha's latest follows three police officers—two rookies and their burnt-out captain—as they are drawn into a world of rampant police corruption and Rio's most dangerous gang-controlled neighborhoods.
DIRECTOR José Padilha WRITERS José Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani, Rodrigo Pimentel PRODUCERS Marcos Prado, José Padilha CAST Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Janqueira, Milhem Cortaz, Fernando Machado, Maria Ribeiro
Encounters at the End of the World
In his most recent tongue-in-poetic-cheek study, Warner Herzog takes a bizarre and profound look at the people and creatures living in nature's most extreme environment—Antartica.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Werner Herzog PRODUCER Henry Kaiser
Frozen River
A knockout of carefully modulated storytelling with astounding dramatic heft, Frozen River is a tale of two women who form an unlikely bond and provide each other with a way forward.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Courtney Hunt PRODUCER Heather Rae CAST Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe, Mark Boone Jr., Jay Klaitz, Bernie Littlewolf
A Girl Cut in Two (La Fille Coupée en Deux) – France
Claude Chabrol's latest sharp-eyed social satire follows a young TV weathergirl pursued by both a jaded novelist and an unstable heir to a pharmaceutical fortune.
DIRECTOR Claude Chabrol WRITERS Claude Chabrol, Cécile Maistre PRODUCER Patrick Godeau CAST Ludivine Sagnier, Benoît Magimel, François Berléand
Man on Wire – England
A tribute to the art of dreaming big, Man on Wire tells the story of how Philippe Petit came to walk a tight-rope between the newly-erected twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
DIRECTOR James Marsh PRODUCERS Simon Chinn, Jonathan Hewes FEATURING Philippe Petit
Momma’s Man
Azazel Jacobs crafts this funny and subtly touching look at adult men who can't grow up, as well as a tribute to the waning bohemian wonderland fast disappearing from lower Manhattan.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Azazel Jacobs PRODUCERS Hunter Gray, Alex Orlovsky CAST Matt Boren, Flo Jacobs, Ken Jacobs, Richard Edson, Dana Varon, Nan Arcilesi, Eleanor Hutchins, Piero Arcilesi
The Order of Myths
Margaret Brown's superb documentary illuminates Mobile, Alabama's Mardi Gras celebrations as a pageant of racial division, separating townspeople at the same time as it brings them together.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Margaret Brown PRODUCERS Margaret Brown, Sara Alize Cross
Cargo 200 (Gruz 200) - Russia
Alexei Balabanov's sardonic, grittily realistic take on a true story of rape, murder, and kidnapping is a stinging, unforgettable indictment of 1984 Soviet Russia's corruption and inhumanity.
DIRECTOR/WRITER Alexei Balabanov PRODUCERS Sergey Selyanov, Maxim Ukhanov CAST Alexey Serebryakov, Leonid Gromov, Yuri Stepanov, Agniya Kuznetsova, Alexei Poluyan, Natalya Akimova, Valentina Andryukova, Leonid Bicevin
Let the Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In) - Sweden
A prepubescent vampire and a lonely weakling discover they are soulmates, only to have their loyalty to one another tested as each of them goes through their darkest hour.
DIRECTOR Tomas Alfredson WRITER John Ajvide Lindqvist PRODUCERS Carl Molinder, John Nordling CAST Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
X-Cross (Ekusu-Kurosu) - Japan
From the screenwriter of Death Note and the director of Battle Royale II and Yo-Yo Girl Cop comes this fabulously fractured film about two friends running for their lives — just not from the same things.
DIRECTOR Kenta Fukasaku WRITERS Oishi Tetsuya, Joko Nobuyuki PRODUCERS Koike Kentaro, Matsuhashi Shinzo, Kondo Masatake CAST Mizuno Shiyori, Hiuke Aiko, Asamiya Keiichi
Coyote
Best friends J and Steve get the opportunity to help a Mexican friend cross the border. Finding it surprisingly easy, the guys take a chance to corner the market as the “kindler, gentler” people smugglers.
DIRECTOR Brian Petersen WRITERS Brian Petersen, Brett Spackman PRODUCERS Chris Wyatt, Devin Colvin CAST Brian Petersen, Brett Spackman, Marina Valle, Carley Adams, David C. Thompson
Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal
With their signature humor and sympathy, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato document infamous madam Heidi Fleiss' long, strange trip through the Nevada desert and brothel politics to open Heidi's Stud Farm.
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato FEATURING Heidi Fleiss, Monique La Barr, Katelyn Pacitto
Mirage Man - Chile
This wickedly funny, fight-filled Chilean superhero flick follows a strip-club bouncer who decides one night to don a costume and fight crime. Unfortunately, in real life, crime fights back.
DIRECTOR Ernesto Díaz Espinoza WRITER Ernesto Díaz Espinoza PRODUCER Derek Rundell CAST Marko Zaror