One of the missions of our nonprofit film festival is to reflect the rich ethnic-cultural diversity and creative free spirit of DTLA and its surrounding environs. We believe our audiences will agree that this yearâs line-up wholeheartedly embraces that mandate.â – Greg Ptacek, festival director.
The 9th annual DTLA Film Festival is coming to LA LIVE Sept. 21st – 30th with a festival lineup not to be missed with more than 100 Films of all Genres to screen at Regal L.A. LIVE and venues throughout DTLA.
Showcasing motion pictures from almost every genre, representing countries from around the world. This yearâs theme is âMovies. Not wallsâ, hosting the first Enemy Nations Film Series presenting films from the countries labeled by immigration initiatives and Presidential tweets as âhomes to enemies of the stateâ.
âThis yearâs feature film line-up offers an extraordinary selection of some of the best in todayâs indie cinema. Film fans of every predilection will find something to love in this selection of 30 narrative and documentary features,â said Karolyne Sosa, the festivalâs 2017 programming director. âOur programming team searched far and wide to arrive at the final list, and weâre thrilled to offer these Los Angeles premiere screenings to the worldâs most discerning films fans â Angelenos!â
In addition, more than 100 other films most sourced from leading film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, Rotterdam, Santa Barbara and Slamdance, as well leading indie theatrical distributors like The Orchard, Samuel Goldwyn and Indie Rights will be showing during the festival as well.
Opening the festival on Thursday, Sept. 21st is the Los Angeles premiere of âA Thousand Junkiesâ, the feature film directorial debut from multi-hyphenate Tommy Swerdlow (Cool Runnings, Little Giants, and Snow Dogs), who directed and co-wrote the film and co-stars with Blake Heron and TJ Bowen, who shares a writing credit featuring three junkies who crisscross Los Angeles in search of relief.
Also from The Orchard is The Work by directors Jairus Mcleary and Gethin Aldous, a powerful documentary set inside a single room in Folsom State Prison (California), which follows three level-four convicts as they participate in a four-day, innovative group therapy retreat. Rounding out the trio from The Orchard is Super Dark Times, Kevin Phillipsâ harrowing, meticulously observed look at teenage age lives.
Continuing with the dark side, this yearâs SXSW Film Festivalâs Grand Jury Prize, Most Beautiful Island, exploring the unforgettable and decidedly sinister day in the life of a young woman immigrant struggling to leave behind a mysterious past as she copes with life New York City. Ana Asensio directs and stars in this psychological thriller, which will be released later this year by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Also in the lineup, Kasra Farahaniâs, Tilt, about a filmmaker named Joe making a definitive documentary about the dark side of Americaâs post WW2 âgolden age.â who soon finds himself falling down the rabbit hole of self-doubt and paranoia. In a similar vein, Erik Nelson with A Gray State has created a chilling portrait of real-life alt right personality David Crowley as he struggles to complete his opus film project.
The list of intriguing projects goes on including Adam Cushmanâs, Jorge Xolalpa, Christopher J. Hansenâand Jade Jenise Dixon and many others.
The festivalâs signature curated film series this year is entitled, Enemy Nations, which refers to how whole nations of people suddenly became identified by the highest levels of the U.S. government as anti-American. The series presents a selection from each of these seven countries in an opportunity for you, the audience, to decide for yourself if the enemy is from beyond the borders, or within.
The 2017 DTLA Film Festival is sponsored by Maven, Cloud —19 digital media,101 Keys website design, Level DTLA furnished living, Atelier apartments, Regal L.A. Live cinemas, Los Angeles City Council District 9, Fort Point Beer, Social Media Elephant, Share Grid, L.A. Weekly and DTLA News. #dtlaff
