The Los Angeles Film Festival, also known as the LA Film Fest (LAFF), is one of the most renowned film festivals of all times, which showcases the very best of diverse, imaginative and unique American and international independent cinema that is. It offers movie-loving people idiosyncratic events featuring critically esteemed filmmakers, film industry professionals and emerging talents from all over the globe. Held in mid-June every year in downtown Los Angeles, the tourists and movie-lovers can enjoy the festival with great ease, as the weather is warm, with no rain and with lots of sunshine hours.
A Paradise for Movie Lovers
The LA Film Fest first commenced as the Los Angeles Film Festival in 1955. In 1966, the first festival took place in the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, CA, over the course of 5 days. The LAFF went on for 7 years, till the Film Independent incorporated it, in 2001. At its peak, LAFF enticed around 19,000 visitors, now attracting an audience of as many as 92,000 every year.
With each year, the Los Angeles Film Festival is growing rapidly, both in film presentations and attendance and also in the quality of the films that are screened during the festival. The number of films submitted has escalated from 350 submissions in 1995 to more than 5,000 in 2012. The number of premieres is not lagging behind either. In 2012, 31 premieres were held in the LA Film Fest, making it one of the must-see fiestas of all times, subsequently attracting attendees from different corners of the world.
And The Award Goes To…
Nearly 200 features, shorts, documentaries and music videos, representing 40 countries, make up the major structure of the festival. The Los Angeles Film Fest also offers high school students to screen their short films and music videos, helping them embrace and enhance their cinematographic and directing talents. The 8-day festival includes seminars, panels, after-parties, gala premieres and special events. At the end of the festival, the awards are given out in the following categories:
- Best Documentary Short Films
- Best Narrative Short Films
- Best Animated Short Film
- LA Muse
- Best Performance in the Narrative Competition
- Best Narrative Feature
- Best Documentary Feature
- Best Music Video
The LAFF has always been a festival that is hard to pin down, that continued the tradition of organizing a pre-festival event for the filmmakers, helping the fellow filmmakers to bond and support one another. Along with providing the viewers with a series of narrative and documentary films, the festival does a good job of making the organizers proud, with the help of excellent screenings and premieres. So, if you happen to be in Los Angeles during spring, don’t forget to pay a visit to the Los Angeles Film Festival, unless you want to risk missing out on all the entertainment.
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