A.D.D. MUSIC FESTIVAL
Saturday, July 12th.
The first annual Arts District Downtown Music Fest (A.D.D. Fest) launches Saturday, July 12th, 2-8 pm at the Barker Block complex.
Enjoy free live music from Downtown and Silver Lake bands, including Death to Anders, Radars to the Sky and The Changos; food and arts & crafts vendors, and a beer garden featuring $2 Karl Strauss.
501 S. Hewitt, L.A. 90013 (corner of 5th and S. Hewitt).
Presented by Downtown Film Festival. More info.
FREE "SUMMER SCREENING MIXERS" At BARKER BLOCK
Friday Evenings, July 11th, 18th, 25th
Join us for free movies and refreshments under the stars at the central courtyard of the fabulous Barker Block live-work lofts in downtown L.A.'s Arts District. Bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn or we'll provide a chair for your private outdoor sneak preview of 3 feature films being screened during the Downtown Film Festival (Aug. 13-17). See schedule below.
Complimentary beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be served. All screenings begin at 8:30 pm. Pre-screening mixer begins at 7:30 pm. Seating for these special screenings is limited, so reservations are highly recommended. RSVP to summer@dffla.com.
Summer Screening Mixers - Schedule
July 11th – A Walk On The Wild Side*
“The End” (2008, USA, 68 mins.)
Category: Documentary
Writer/Director: Nicola Collins
* recommended for mature audiences only
"Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” -Aristotle
If you grow up in a rough neighborhood, you learn how to survive quickly. In the East End of London after World War II, survival for some kids led to violent lives. Pretty Boy Roy Shaw got into “unlicensed” boxing when he learned he was blessed with the power of punch. Danny Woollard beat up a man who owed him money—he became a professional enforcer. Victor Dark became a bank robber. And the filmmaker’s father, Les Falco, describes his own life without recommendation or criticism.
First-time filmmaker Nicola Collins explores the gritty complexity of these men's lives; infamous criminals that shaped their war-torn environment into a violent underworld. In fitting black-and-white portraits, the men do not leave anything grey—they talk about their extraordinary lives and their code of honor without shame or apologies. Film noir is too cute of a movie description. THE END is bare-knuckle reality.
July 18th – Family Fare With A Silver Lake Twist
“Your Name Here” (2008. USA, 83 mins.)
Category: Mockumentary/Rock Musical
Writer/Director: Tamar Halpern
An improvised, coming-of-age film about two teens who want to start a band and all the crazy adults who get involved. Jordan and Mike love to play music. In their search for band mates, they end up with a take no prisoners female bass player, a drummer with an impossibly thick British accent, a narcissistic egg player and two bumbling managers-- all grown ups. As the boys juggle summer school, meddling parents, and the search for the perfect band name, they learn to dodge the ins and outs of an adult world while staying true to their dreams. Original music written and performed by the teens, this film is a 'Once' for kids.
July 25th – Pop Culture Redux
“Mock Up On Mu” (2008, USA, 114 mins.)
Writer/Director: Craig Baldwin
Notorious Bay Area kino-renegade Craig Baldwin tops his earlier found-footage operas “Spectres of the Spectrum” and “Sonic Outlaws” with this much-anticipated work, a rapid-fire pulp serial–cum–political tract on California’s major military, entertainment and religious industries. Hitting upon everything from Satanism to Scientology, the Beats to the jets (propulsion, that is), Baldwin revs up his characteristic stock footage re-appropriations with some live-action scenes, adding an over-the-top pulp flair to the proceedings.
The film focuses on three seemingly disparate characters to fuel this secret history of California: Jack Parsons, inventor of solid rocket fuel, founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Aleister Crowley acolyte; Marjorie Cameron, artist, beatnik and occultist; and L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer turned Scientology founder. Rather than straightforward profiles, Baldwin mashes up their histories with archival footage drawn from his vast collection of educational and governmental films, subverting their original narratives (and intent) to his own purposes.
