"I can't think of a better way to kick off this year's festival than with the
original independent filmmaker himself,
Woody
Allen. It's a true honor for
Los Angeles
to host the North American premiere of
To Rome With Love," said Festival
Director
Stephanie Allain.
"We are thrilled to bring
Woody Allen and the US
premiere of his new film
To Rome With Love at the LA Film Fest," said
SPC's Co-President
Tom Bernard. "The Festival is a
premiere showcase for films and we couldn't be more excited that Stephanie and
her team have chosen us to open the Festival."
"I've always wanted to make a film in
Rome.
It's obviously one of the great cities of the world, and when you make a film in
a foreign city you get a chance to spend several months there, so shooting in
Rome gave me and my family an opportunity to
really enjoy a city I love in a way that I don't usually get to. I wrote the
film especially for
Rome because over the years
and my many visits there little ideas occurred to me, and I was able to utilize
those ideas to comic advantage, romantic advantage, combined with the visual
beauty of
Rome," said
Woody
Allen.
Returning to downtown
Los Angeles, with its
central hub at L.A. LIVE, the Festival will run from
Thursday, June 14 to
Sunday, June
24. Now in its eighteenth year, the Festival provides the movie-loving
public with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry
professionals, and emerging talent from around the world.
Passes are currently on sale to past Festival attendees and Film Independent
members will be available to the general public on
April
22. In addition to screenings and events, Festival passes provide access
to a series of networking receptions and entry to the Filmmaker Lounge, where
Festival pass holders can interact with Festival filmmakers and professionals in
the film community.
General admission tickets to individual films go on sale
beginning May 29. Contact the Ticket Office for passes, tickets and event
information by calling 866.FILM.FEST (866-345-6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com. The
Official Film Guide, the comprehensive source for all movie info, screenings,
locations, and related events is produced by the Los Angeles Times. It will top
The
Los Angeles Times on
Sunday,
June 10 in
Los Angeles and
Orange County and be made available throughout downtown
during the ten-day event.
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES FILM
FESTIVAL
Now in its eighteenth year, the
Los
Angeles Film Festival, supported by L.A. LIVE and The
Los Angeles Times, is widely recognized as a world-class
event, showcasing the best in new American and international cinema and
providing the movie-loving public with access to some of the most critically
acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from
around the world.
The Festival features unique signature programs including the Filmmaker
Retreat, Ford Amphitheater Outdoor Screenings, Poolside Chats, Coffee Talks,
Music Events and more. Additionally, the Festival screens short films created
by high school students and has a special section devoted to music videos.
Over 200 features, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30
countries, make up the main body of the Festival.
The Festival hosts juried cash awards for best narrative and documentary
features, best narrative, documentary and animated short film, and a jury award
for best performance in the narrative competition. Audience awards are also
presented to best documentary, narrative and international feature, short film
and music video.
The
Los Angeles Film Festival is presented in
conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the
Los Angeles
Times and Host Partner L.A. LIVE, Principal and Opening Night Sponsor
Virgin America and Platinum sponsors Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14, Deluxe
Entertainment Services Group and EFILM and Nokia. Special support is provided by
FOCUS FORWARD - a partnership between GE and Cinelan, the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Official
Screening Venue is Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. The Los Angeles Athletic
Club is the Official Host Hotel and Virgin America is the Official Airline
Partner. WireImage is the Official Photography Agency and PR Newswire is the
Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent.
More information can be found at
www.LAFilmFest.com .
ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is a non-profit arts
organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists
who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent
helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and
works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent's Board of Directors,
filmmakers, staff, and constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of
individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual
orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a
filmmaker, industry professional, or a film lover.
Film Independent produces the Spirit Awards, the annual celebration honoring
artist-driven films and recognizing the finest achievements of American
independent filmmakers. Film Independent also produces the
Los Angeles Film Festival, showcasing the best of
American and international cinema and the Film Independent at LACMA Film Series,
a year-round, weekly program that offers unique cinematic experiences for the
Los Angeles creative community and the general
public.
With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access
to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film
industry. Film Independent's Artist Development program offers free Labs for
selected writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents
year-round networking opportunities. Project:Involve is Film Independent's
signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers from
communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry.
ABOUT L.A. LIVE
Developed by AEG,
L.A. LIVE is a 5.9
million square foot /
$2.5 billion downtown
Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment
district adjacent to STAPLES Center and the
Los
Angeles Convention Center featuring the recently opened
Club
Nokia, a 2,300 capacity live music venue,
Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, a
7,100-seat live theatre, a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters"
destination (featuring
The Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels and 224
luxury condominiums -
The Ritz Carlton Residences at L.A. LIVE -
all in a single tower) , the state-of-the-art
Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium
14 theatres, "broadcast" facilities for ESPN, a 100,000 square foot special
events deck, the one-of-a-kind
GRAMMY Museum® , saluting the
history of music and the genre's best know awards show all headquartered around
Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE, a 40,000 square foot
outdoor event space, twelve signature restaurants along with entertainment,
residential and office space.
Visit L.A. LIVE today at
www.lalive.com .
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
The
Los Angeles Times is the
largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of
1.9 million and 2.9 million on Sunday, more than 17 million unique latimes.com
visitors monthly and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4.4
million
. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Times has been covering
Southern California for more than 130 years.
The
Los
Angeles Times Media Group (LATMG) businesses and affiliates also include
The Envelope,
Times Community News,
LA, Los Angeles Times Magazine and
Hoy Los
Angeles which, combined with the flagship
Los Angeles
Times, reach approximately 5.1 million or 38% of all adults in the
Southern California marketplace. LATMG also owns and
operates
California Community News as well as
Tribune Direct's west
coast division and is part of
Tribune Company, one of the country's leading media companies
with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional
information is available at
http://latimes.com/aboutus.
SOURCE Film Independent
