Los Angeles Film Festival

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The Los Angeles Film Festival is an annual event that showcases North American independent, feature, documentary and short films, as well as music videos.

Held annually in June in Westwood Village, California, the Los Angeles Film Festival showcases the best of American and international cinema over the course of ten days. Drawing a diverse audience of more than 80,000 people, more than 100 feature films are screened at the Festival, alongside star-studded premieres, panels and seminars, outdoor screenings, and Family Day. The Festival also features unique signature programs including the exclusive Filmmaker Retreat - hosted by the Festival's annual Guest Director - and the Spirit of Independence Award ceremony and gala. The Festival also screens short films created by high school students and has a special section devoted to music videos.

The Los Angeles Film Festival is widely recognized as a world-class event, providing the movie-loving public with access to some of the most critically-acclaimed filmmakers, critics, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world. Approximately 100 features, 100 shorts, and 50 music videos representing more than 40 countries make up the main body of the Festival. Films submitted to the Festival are reviewed by Film Independent's programming department, which evaluates each film, looking for the best in new American and international cinema.

Awards are given out in the following categories at the conclusion of the Festival: Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature (award carries an unrestricted cash prize of $50,000); Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary Feature (award carries an unrestricted cash prize of $50,000); Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature; Audience Award for Best International Feature; Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition; Best Narrative Short Film; Best Documentary Short Film; Best Animated/Experimental Short Film; and the Audience Award for Best Short Film.

The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles International Film Festival [LAIFF] in 1995. The LAIFF took place over the course of five days in one location at the DGA in Hollywood, California. The LAIFF ran for 7 years, until it was absorbed by Film Independent (formerly IFP/Los Angeles) in 2001. At it's height the LAIFF attracted 19,000 attendees. Today the Los Angeles Film Festival attracts over 80,000 visitors.

The Los Angeles Film Festival is a qualifying festival in all categories for Film Independent's Spirit Awards. The Festival is also a qualifying festival for the short films categories of the [1]Academy Awards. ®

The Los Angeles Flm Festival is produced by Film Independent, a non-profit membership organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent also produces the annual Spirit Awards.

For more information about the Los Angeles Film Festival, visit LAFilmFest.com

For more information about Film Independent, visit FilmIndependent.org