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“KIDS” OPENS L.A. FILM FEST; LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids are All Right will open the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, which announced its line-up today. The Focus Features release, due out in July, stars Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska in a story of a lesbian couple and their children, who search for their sperm donor father. The closing night film will be Despicable Me, a 3D comedy-fantasy directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin. The festival, organized by Film Independent, will be the first held in downtown L.A.’s L.A. Live complex. Rebecca Yeldham is the Director of the festival and David Ansen the Artistic Director. The complete schedule is below.

    Opening Night Film:

“The Kids Are All Right,” Lisa Cholodenko (Focus Features)

    Closing Night Film:

“Despicable Me,” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin (Universal Pictures) – World Premiere

    Narrative Competition:

The Narrative Competition winner is determined by a panel of jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

“Dog Sweat,” Hossein Keshavarz – Iran – World Premiere
“A Family,” Pernille Fischer Christensen – Denmark – North American Premiere
“Hello Lonesome,” Adam Reid – World Premiere
“The New Year,” Brett Haley
“Of Love and Other Demons,” Hilda Hidalgo – Costa Rica/Colombia – North American Premiere
“Orly,” Angela Schanelec – Germany/France – North American Premiere
“Parade,” Isao Yukisada – Japan – North American Premiere
“Upstate,” Katherine Nolfi, Andrew Luis – World Premiere
“The Wolf Knife,” Laurel Nakadate – World Premiere

    Documentary Competition:

The Documentary Competition winner is determined by a panel of jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

“Camera, Camera,” Malcolm Murray – World Premiere
“Circo,” Aaron Schock – USA/Mexico – World Premeire
“One Lucky Elephant,” Lisa Leeman – World Premiere
“Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone,” Lev Anderson, Chris Metzler – World Premiere
“Farewell,” Ditteke Mensink – Netherlands – US Premiere
“Life with Murder,” John Kastner – Canada – US Premiere
“Make Believe,” J. Clay Tweel – World Premiere
“Vlast,” Cathryn Collins
“Where Are You Taking Me?,” Kimi Takesue – North American Premiere

    Bonus By Invitation Screening:

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” David Slade (Summit Entertainment) – World Premiere

    Gala Screenings:

“Animal Kingdom,” David Michod – Australia (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Cyrus,” Jay & Mark Duplass (Fox Searchlight)
“Mahler on the Couch,” Percy & Felix Adlon – World Premiere
“Revolucion,” Mariana Chenillo, Fernando Eimbcke, Amat Escalante, Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo Garcia, Diego Luna, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Pia, Carlos Reygadas & Patricia Riggen – Mexico – North American Premiere
“Waiting for Superman,” Davis Guggenheim (Paramount Vantage)

    International Showcase:

The International Showcase highlights independent narrative and documentary features from outside of the United States. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

“1428,” Du Hai-bin – China
“Army of Crime,” Robert Guediguian – France (Kino)
“Bibliotheque Pascal,” Szabolcs Hajdu – Germany/Hungary/England – North American Premiere
“Cafe Noir,” Jung Sung-il – South Korea – North American Premiere
“Disco & Atomic War,” Jaak Kilmi, Kiur Aarma – Estonia/Finland
“Down Terrace,” Ben Wheatley – England (Magnolia Pictures)
“Eastern Plays,” Kamen Kalev – Bulgaria
“Eyes Wide Open,” Haim Tabakman – Israel/Germany/France (New American Vision)
“Family Tree,” Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau – France
“Golden Slumber,” Yoshihiro Nakamura – Japan – North American Premiere
“Judge,” Liu Jie – China
“La Pivellina,” Rainer Frimmel, Tizza Covi – Austria/Italy
“Lebanon,” Samuel Maoz – Israel (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Peddler,” Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovich – Argentina
R, Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer – Denmark
The Red Chapel, Mads Brugger – Denmark
Secrets of the Tribe, Jose Padilha – England/Brazil
Space Tourists, Christian Frei – Switzerland
Street Days, Levan Koguashvili – Georgia
Woman on Fire Looks For Water, Woo Ming Jin – Malaysia/South Korea

    Summer Screenings:

The Summer Screenings section offers an advance look at this summer’s independent film releases from the festival circuit. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

“Ain’t In It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm,” Jacob Hatley
“Cane Toads: The Conquest,” Mark Lewis – Australia/US
“Cold Weather,” Aaron Katz
“Four Lions,” Christopher Morris – England
“Kings of Pastry,” D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus (First Run Features)
“Marwencol,” Jeff Malmberg
“Monsters,” Gareth Edwards (Magnolia Pictures)
“Night Catches Us,” Tanya Hamilton (Magnolia Pictures)
“The Tillman Story,” Amir Bar-Lev (The Weinstein Company)
“Tiny Furniture,” Lena Dunham (IFC Films)
“Welcome to the Rileys,” Jake Scott (Apparition, Destination Films)
“White Material,” Claire Denis – France (IFC Films)

    Outdoor Screenings at the Ford Amphitheatre:

Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

“Centurion,” Neil Marshall – England (Magnolia Pictures)
“The Last Exorcism,” Daniel Stamm (Lionsgate) – World Premiere
“The People vs. George Lucas,” Alexandre O. Philippe
“Thunder Soul,” Mark Landsman

    International Spotlight:

A tribute to a forgotten giant of South American cinema, Argentina’s Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, sponsored by Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“The Fall” (1959)
“The Hand in the Trap” (1961)
“The House of the Angel” (1957)
“The Seven Madmen” (1973)

    Selections from the Ambulante Film Festival:

Sponsored by Hoy, and returning for a second year, Ambulante is a traveling documentary film festival produced by the non-profit organization Documental Ambulante A.C., in collaboration with Canana, Cinepolis, and the Morelia International Film Festival. It was created in 2005 by Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Pablo Cruz to promote documentary culture across Mexico. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature or Best Documentary Feature.

“One Day Less, Dariela Ludlow” – Mexico – US Premiere
“Presumed Guilty,” Roberto Hernandez, Geoffrey Smith – Mexico
“The Toledo Report,” Albino Alvarez Gomez – Mexico

    Community Screenings:

These films will be presented free to the public. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature or Best Documentary Feature.

“Climate Refugees,” Michael P. Nash – Grand Performances Screening
“Gasland,” Josh Fox
“Lost Angels,” Thomas Napper – World Premiere
“A Small Act,” Jennifer Arnold – Project:Involve Screening

    The Beyond:

The Beyond offers films that “dare to be different.” Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

“All About Evil,” Joshua Grannell
“Bitter Feast,” Joe Maggio – World Premiere
“Mandrill,” Ernesto Diaz Espinoza – Chile
“Separado!,” Gruff Rhys, Dylan Goch – Wales – US Premiere

    Special Screenings:

“The Life of Richard Wagner” (1913), Carl Froelich
“The Wheeler Boys,” Philip G. Flores – World Premiere – Netflix FIND Your Voice Winner
“Utopia in Four Movements,” David Cerf, Sam Green

UCLA Film & T.V. Archive Collaborations


    L.A. Film Critics: The Films That Got Away (2): Co-presented by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

“The Happiest Girl in the World” (2009), Radu Jude – Romania
“Katalin Varga” (2009), Peter Strickland – Romania/England

    Downtown Confidential: Co-presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive

“Hickey and Boggs” (1972), Robert Culp
“The Driver” (1978), Walter Hill

    The Film Foundation Screening Program

“The Leopard” (1963), Luchino Visconti
“The Music Room” (1958), Satyajit Ray

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