Our Saturday, March 13th matinee begins at high noon (12pm PST) featuring, for the eighth year, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA). The LA Harbor International Film Festival (LAHIFF) will partner with NFMLA to showcase a selection of short films made right here in LA, co-presented by City of Los Angeles councilmember Bob Blumenfield, Film Liaisons in California Statewide, the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and the National Arts and Disability Center (NADC). This diverse lineup of LA based filmmakers includes Carly Usdin, Cory Reeder, Dara Safvatnia, Joan Joan Paüls, Kevan Tucker, Lenore Thomas Douglas, Matt Kenchington, Max Roux, Ryan Graff and Talia Osteen.
Founded in 2007 NFMLA, under the leadership of Co-Founder and Executive Director Larry Laboe, has established itself as a strong advocate and gathering place for independent cinema with over 100,000 constituents in the Los Angeles community, annually screening over 3500 films from 83+ countries. In addition to fostering the advancement of new filmmakers and its members in the County of Los Angeles, NFMLA is a vital organization with on-going screenings and events programmed throughout the year fulfilling their objective to promote the economic, educational, social, and cultural advancement of filmmaking, arts and culture in the community.
NFMLA is supported by Venue Sponsor LBA Realty and the South Park Center, Executive Circle Sponsors FilmLA and WarnerMedia OneFifty, Producers Circle Sponsors BBH LA and HBO, Directors Circles Sponsors Sony Pictures Entertainment and Blackmagic Design, Foundation Supporters Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Sundance Institute, LA City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), CA Arts Council, Banc of California and LA County Department of Arts and Culture and Debut Sponsors Creative Artists Agency (CAA), American Documentary’s POV, Los Feliz Neighborhood Council, UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and City National Bank.
This is the 9th year NFMLA has been showcased in the LAHIFF.
Selections:
Misdirection
Directed by Carly Usdin
14 minutes | USA
Camila is your average college freshman with obsessive-compulsive disorder and a big, gay crush on her roommate. After both situations come to a head in a near car crash, Cam is stuck trying to find a distraction. A chance encounter with a street magician teaches her to channel her misguided energy into a new hobby, and to open her heart to new possibilities.
Hyper Active
Directed by Cory Reeder
6 minutes | USA
All his life Cory knew he was different, it just took him a little longer to figure out why. As he faces his recent adult ADHD diagnosis, he embarks on a quest to learn how several friends with disabilities continue to cope and how their journeys might impact his own.
The Disease
Directed by Dara Safvatnia & Joan Joan Paüls
9 minutes | USA
A couple of siblings meet in front of the Hollywood sign after he has had a terrible audition.
A Burial
Directed by Kevan Tucker
11 minutes | USA
A young boy confronts his fears and ventures into the mysterious woods at night to find his lost dog.
Weep Not
Directed by Lenore Thomas Douglas
13 minutes | USA
A tale of one woman's will to heal from an early childhood trauma after the passing of her best friend and confidant, her grandmother. In her attempt to rise above, Journey must make one critical life-altering choice, but can she decide before it's to late?
Turtle
Directed by Matt Kenchington
10 minutes | USA
It was a blistering hot day, and, as a chubby kid on summer break, Bruno's only goals were to avoid his chores and stay cool while awaiting the sweet jingle of the ice cream truck. After emerging victorious in his quest for frozen delights, things didn't go as planned, and the sugar high only lasted so long. Whether it was the heat, the sugar crash or serendipity, he won't ever know, but what happened next turned that day into one he could never forget.
Auxiliary Man
Directed by Max Roux
16 minutes | USA
An inept hitman has a chance to prove himself on the night of his first big hit, but nothing goes as planned.
Black Moon
Directed by Ryan Graff
8 minutes | USA
On her walk home, a young mother is lured into a tunnel, unaware of what has been awoken inside on the night of a black moon.
The Shabbos Goy
Directed by Talia Osteen
7 minutes | USA
God literally forbids she turn off a vibrator gone rogue, so an Orthodox Jew sets out on a quest to find someone who can.
Total program runtime: 95 minutes
