FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Alia Quart Khan, Film Independent
Tel: 310.432.1287 or aqkhan@filmindependent.org

Gina Lang, Ginsberg/Libby
Tel: 323.645.6800 or gina.lang@ginsberglibby.com

FILM INDEPENDENT ANNOUNCES EXCITING LINE-UP OF FREE
COMMUNITY SCREENINGS AT 2014 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL

PRE-FESTIVAL SCREENING OF CLUELESS
MAY 6 IN NOKIA PLAZA L.A. LIVE

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS INCLUDE LA BAMBA, I AM BIG BIRD,
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP AND BUSTER KEATON’S COPS & SHERLOCK JR.

LOS ANGELES (April 22, 2014) – Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Film Independent, in conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor Los Angeles Times and Host Partner L.A. LIVE, announced several free community screenings to take place in conjunction with the 20^th anniversary of the Festival including Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, Luis Valdez’s La Bamba, Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker’s I Am Big Bird, Buster Keaton’s Cops and Sherlock Jr. and Thomas Miller‘s Limited Partnership.

Stephanie Allain, Director of the Festival says, “At Film Independent, we create events for LA communities to come together. This year’s Festival line up of free screenings invites you to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of Clueless in Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE, dance along to La Bamba, at the newly restored Union Station, meet the man behind Big Bird and experience the genius of Buster Keaton with a live band at Grand Performances and retrace the steps of original gay marriage pioneers at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. Come on out, Angelenos!”

“This year we have two wonderful, family friendly evenings under the stars at California Plaza in collaboration with Grand Performances—in the first Buster Keaton’s mind-boggling silent classic Sherlock Jr and his hilarious short Cops will be shown with a live accompaniment by the French garage rock band Magnetix, and the next night Sesame Street’s beloved puppeteer Carrol Spinney will be on hand for a screening of I Am Big Bird. Our Project Involve screening is an emotional knockout: the true life love story between two pioneers in the battle for gay marriage, the L.A. based couple Richard Adams and Tony Sullivan,” says David Ansen, Artistic Director.

The full Los Angeles Film Festival line up will be announced on May 6 and to celebrate Film Independent is hosting a pre-Festival outdoor screening of Clueless (1995) directed by Amy Heckerling, starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Elisa Donovan, Breckin Meyer and Jeremy Sisto at Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE. Director Amy Heckerling and actors Stacey Dash, Elisa Donovan and Donald Faison will introduce the film.  The event starts at 7:00 p.m on May 6.

This year marks the Los Angeles Film Festival’s third annual Dance-A-Long screening in cooperation with Dance Camera West. Union Station will host the Dance-A-Long screening of Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987) starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto and Elizabeth Peña produced in cooperation with Metro. Director Luis Valdez, actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Elizabeth Peña will be in attendance for a special Q+A before the film. La Bamba recalls the life of Ritchie Valens, 1950’s teen heartthrob whose meteoric rise ended abruptly when he died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

The Los Angeles Film Festival in partnership with Grand Performances will screen the documentary I Am Big Bird directed by Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker at California Plaza. I Am Big Bird profiles Caroll Spinney, the 80-year-old puppeteer who has been behind Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since the show’s first season. Relying heavily on Caroll’s incredible archive of home videos dating back to the 1950s, I Am Big Bird captures how the love radiating from Caroll has created a worldwide cultural icon and answers why he can’t say goodbye to the characters he cherishes.

A special treat awaits Festival-goers with the back to back screening of two Buster Keaton classics Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Cops (1922). The films will be shown with an original score performed by the French garage rock band Magnetix from Bordeaux, as part of the yearlong 50th anniversary celebration of the Los Angeles-Bordeaux Sister Cities program (http://www.sistercitiesofla.com/#upcomingevents). The event is on Friday, June 13 at California Plaza and is co-produced with Grand Performances.

Closing off the free screenings will be the World Premiere of the documentary Limited Partnership by director Thomas Miller. Limited Partnership is a love story about two pioneers in the struggle for same-sex marriage, Filipino-American Richard Adams and Australian Tony Sullivan, who were married in Colorado in 1975 and have been fighting the government ever since for the right to live together in the same country.

Passes and ticket packages go on sale to the general public today, April 22. The full line-up will be announced on Tuesday, May 6. In addition to access to screenings and events (even after advanced tickets sell out), Festival passes provide access to a series of networking receptions and entry to the Festival Lounge, where Festival passholders (21 and older) can interact with Festival filmmakers and professionals in the film community and enjoy a hosted bar.  Individual tickets to screenings and events go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, May 20, with a Film Independent Member pre-sale beginning May 15. Contact the Festival Ticket Office for passes, tickets and event information by calling 866.FILM.FEST (866.345.6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com. The Festival 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 8 in Los Angeles and Orange County and be made available throughout downtown during the nine-day event.

The Los Angeles Film Festival programming team is comprised of Festival Director Stephanie Allain, Artistic Director David Ansen, Associate Director of Programming Doug Jones, Senior Programmer Maggie Mackay, Programmers Jenn Wilson, Hebe Tabachnik and Jenn Murphy, Short Film and Music Video Programmer Drea Clark as well as Guest Curators of the LA Muse section Elvis Mitchell and Roya Rastegar.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL
Now in its twentieth year, the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Film Independent, showcases diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision in new American and international cinema, and provides the movie-loving public with one-of-a-kind events featuring critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world. The Festival’s signature programs include the Filmmaker Retreat, Music in Film Nights at The GRAMMY Museum ®, Celebrating Women Filmmakers, Master Classes, Spirit of Independence Award, Poolside Chats, LA Muse and more. Over 200 features, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries, make up the main body of the Festival.  The Festival also screens short films created by high school students and a special section devoted to music videos. 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 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. The Official Host Venue is Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. Subaru is the Official Automotive Sponsor. Platinum Sponsors include HBO, Stella Artois, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. and EFILM. The University Sponsor is Loyola Marymount University. Renwood Winery is the Official Wine Provider. Tanqueray is the Official Gin Provider. The Los Angeles Athletic Club is the Official Host Hotel. WireImage is the Official Photography Agency and PR Newswire is the Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent. More information can be found at 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. For more information or to become a member, visit filmindependent.org.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 1.5 million and 2.6 million on Sunday, more than 22 million unique latimes.com visitors monthly and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4 million. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Times has been covering Southern California for more than 132 years.

The Los Angeles Times Media Group (LATMG) businesses and affiliates also include The Envelope, Times Community News, and Hoy Los Angeles which, combined with the flagship Los Angeles Times, reach approximately 5.2 million or 38% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace. LATMG also owns California Community News, LLC , operates Tribune Direct LA, 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.

ABOUT L.A. LIVE
L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $3 billion downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment district adjacent to STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center featuring 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, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE hotels and 224 luxury condominiums – The Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. LIVE – all in a single tower), The GRAMMY Museum ®, the 14-screen Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 theatre, broadcast facilities for ESPN along with entertainment, residential, restaurant and office space. Developed by Los Angeles-based AEG, L.A. LIVE, considered to be the nation’s most active ‘live content and event campus,’ also features 260,480 sf of conference center and ballroom facilities, a 100,000 sf special events deck, the famous Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge, the celebrity owned Conga Room, a one-of-a-kind GRAMMY Museum ®, saluting the history of music and the genre’s best known awards show all centered around Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE, a 40,000 sf outdoor event space. L.A. LIVE showcases more events, award shows, sporting competitions, concerts and hospitality options than any other destination in the world. Visit L.A. LIVE today at http://www.lalive.com.

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