Despite a historic movie-going tradition, Westwood Village has
rarely taken advantage of the world-renowned UCLA film department.
But that’s about to change.
For 12 years, the Los Angeles Film Festival has attracted
thousands of filmmakers and film fans to Los Angeles in a
celebration of independent film. This year, the traditionally
Hollywood-bound event has moved to a new home: Westwood.
With the change in locale, the festival is expected to bring
100,000 directors, producers and moviegoers across 11 Westwood
locations, both on and off the UCLA campus.
But not only does the festival use UCLA-owned venues, such as
the Hammer Museum, the Geffen Playhouse and the James Bridges
Theater in Melnitz Hall, the event will also spotlight UCLA and its
prestigious film program.
“I’m looking forward to everyone seeing our campus
and understanding the value of UCLA,” said Barbara Boyle,
chair of the UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media.
“The festival will be associated with one of the best film
schools in the world.”
The festival, which opened June 22 with a premiere screening of
David Frenkel’s “The Devil Wears Prada” at the
Mann Village Theater, will run through July 2 with a variety of
collaborative efforts with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and
Television and its Archive.
“There’s a broad range of offerings and all of the
films have been selected for quality,” said Robert Rosen,
dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television. “The
school’s guiding philosophy is the independent spirit, and to
see films in Westwood that support that is validating.”
The School of Theater, Film and Television sponsored a screening
of “Unshown Cinema: Inside the World of The Films That Got
Away” on Sunday in order to examine the vast world of
international films that are missed, said Rosen.
But the festival, with its 250 features, shorts and music
videos, many of them world premieres, attempts to reveal a wide
array of cinema embodying the “independent spirit.”
For Manaf Mansure, a third-year theater student, it is not the
stars or big-name directors, but the lesser names that draw him to
the cinematic celebration.
“A lot of festivals in general don’t show student
work, but at least through the LA Film Festival, they acknowledge
student work,” he said. “I’m excited that
they’re screening student films because it shows a real step
in bridging the gap for young, new talent.”
Selected shorts from six student directors who received the 2006
UCLA Spotlight Award will be showcased July 2.
Past recipients of this award include Oscar winner Alexander
Payne, director of “Sideways,” and Gil Kenan, director
of the upcoming animated film “Monster House,” which
will also be screened during the festival.
UCLA alumni hold a strong presence in this year’s edition.
Alumni directing team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris will screen
their feature film “Little Miss Sunshine,” starring
Greg Kinnear and Steve Carrell, to celebrate the festival’s
closing night.
“The festival showcases the best independent films ““
both local and international ““ that reward risk-taking and
innovation,” Rosen said. “It’s not a coincidence
that it includes many of our graduates and many of our
students.”
The School of Theater, Film and Television also collaborated
with the festival on several educational programs, including
day-long seminars and conferences involving UCLA faculty.
“Many of the films you’ll be able to see
elsewhere,” Boyle said. “But the conferences are a once
in a lifetime opportunity.”
The Financing Conference, which featured Boyle in one of the
many panel discussions, showed aspiring filmmakers how to pitch
their stories, fund their projects and find money. Oscar-winning
producer Kathy Schulman (“Crash”), a professor in the
UCLA Producers Program, delivered the keynote address while six of
her students pitched projects during the conference as a
demonstration.
The Revolution Will Be Digitized investigated technology’s
impact on the film industry and featured UCLA professor Nancy
Richardson, editor of “Thirteen” and “Lords of
Dogtown,” as a discussion panelist.
Presentations throughout the festival will provide an
informative experience for the avid filmmaker and the average
moviegoer alike.
“It may not necessarily be a point of view that you like
or the one that you wanted to see, but at least it will give you an
understanding of the art of filmmaking,” Mansure said.
While UCLA Theater, Film and Television students are admitted to
screenings for free (subject to availability), all UCLA students
will receive a $1 discount on the $10 screenings with a valid Bruin
Card, according to Ulrich Schwarz, the LA Film Festival liaison to
UCLA. The discount will hopefully encourage students to take
advantage of the eclectic screenings that have ventured to Westwood
this year.
“The nature of the festival is to discover things,”
Rosen said. “Each (film) can open up your eyes to the
possibility of great independent filmmaking.”