Downtown Film Festival – Los Angeles
Announces Call For Entries and Event Dates
Inaugural Edition of DowntownDowntown Los Angeles’ First Dedicated Film Festival Unspools August 13-17, 2008
5-Day Event Celebrates the ‘Renaissance’ of L.A.’s Historic Business Core with Movie Screenings, Panels, Exhibits and Parties at the Ffestival’s Downtown Cinema Village and at Additional Venues Throughout Downtown’s Culturally Rich and Diverse Neighborhoods
APRIL 1st FINAL DEADLINE FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS
February 26, 2008 (LOS ANGELES) –The first annual Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles (DTFF-LA), the first dedicated film festival in the historic core of the Entertainment Capital of the World, will be held August, 13-17, 2008. The five-day event will celebrate Downtown L.A.'s renaissance with a series of film screenings of Hollywood, independent and classic historic films, lectures, panel discussions, and exhibits, and parties and receptions.
Filmmakers may submit films for screening consideration beginning today through the final deadline of April 1st. Feature narrative and documentary films, as well as short films are eligible. Additional information about submissions can be found on the festival's website: http://www.downtownfilmfestla.com.
Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles is being produced by the organizers of Silver Lake Film Festival, Los Angeles' leading showcase for independent film, established in 1999. Future plans for the Silver Lake Film Festival will be announced at a later date.
The new festival will be headquartered in the Downtown's "Arts District" with additional programming held throughout the various neighborhoods of Downtown L.A., including Bunker Hill, the historic Broadway movie palaces corridor, Little Tokyo, Civic Center and South Park, Barker Block, a creative residential loft development, in the Downtown's Arts District, will serve as the location of the festival's Cinema Village, which will incorporate a screening venue, the festival Cinema Lounge and the festival's production office and headquarters. Programming details will be provided in future announcements.
"Our vision is to provide attendees with a complete film festival experience - in the heart of the excitement of Downtown Los Angeles - without having to drive from venue to venue. Through the generous sponsorship of our friends at the Kor Group, their Barker Block loft complex will allow us to achieve this goal," said Greg Ptacek, who together with Kate Marciniak and Henry K. Priest serve as the festival's co-directors.
In addition to the festival Cinema Village at Barker Block, special programming will be held at satellite venues throughout the various neighborhoods of downtown Los Angeles. Details will be provided in future announcements.
The festival will premiere a variety of Hollywood and independently produced feature films, documentaries and shorts. Roger M. Mayer will serve as programming director.
Special programming during the festival will include a film series spotlighting Latino-American filmmakers, a historic film series showcasing the role of Downtown Los Angeles in the development of American cinema, and a multi-faceted environmental program about greening the city urban environmentalism called "Sustainable L.A.," which will include screenings of documentary films, lectures, panel discussions, and exhibits and family-themed events.
The Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles is presented by Barker Block Block/the Kor Group (http://www.barkerblock.com/gallery/), and is sponsored by L.A. Modern Living (www.lamodernliving.com), CBS Outdoor (http://www.cbsoutdoor.com), Smart Works Collective (http://www.smartworkscollective.com) the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles.
For more information, visit the festival’s website: http://www.downtownfilmfestla.com
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About DowntownDowntown Film Festival – Los Angeles
The Downtown Film Festival was established to celebrate the resurgence of Downtown L.A. in all its facets - its historic movie palaces core, its legendary cultural and ethnic institutions, and its thriving business and residential communities. In 2008, its inaugural year, the Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles will showcase why Downtown has become L.A.'s most exciting "new" community.
Press Contact
David Andrusia
Downtown Film Festival – Los Angeles
(213) 388-1653
(415) 283-7375
david@downtownowntownfilmfestla.com
