LA Film Festival
About
The LA Film Festival was a premier platform for new works from emerging and established independent storytellers with unique voices and innovative visions.
"We are very proud of what we accomplished with the LA Film Festival over the past eighteen years...and the time has come for us to try something new."
– Josh Welsh (President, Film Independent)
As of October 2018, the LA Film Festival has been discontinued and Film Independent is no longer soliciting or accepting Festival submissions, or taking part in a traditional programming process. However, a number of Festival elements and programs have been restructured into standalone events taking place throughout the calendar year, including The New Wave, The Portal and Future Filmmakers.
We appreciate your interest and invite you to become a Member to remain involved with our many other programs and events. Information about new and refreshed initiatives designed to showcase the work of independent filmmakers can always be found here at filmindependent.org.
For nearly two decades, the LA Film Festival showcased compelling independent films, series and episodic work from emerging storytellers, alongside filmmaker-driven studio titles, fostering valuable alliances and working relationships between independent artists and the film industry.
Signature elements of the LA Film Festival included Coffee Talks, the Spirit of Independence Award, the Fast Track film financing market and Diversity Speaks (later known as We the People), a two-day summit committed to advancing inclusion within the entertainment industry by serving as a solution-oriented call to action.
Selection for the LA Film Festival qualified films for prestigious awards, including Film Independent Spirit Awards (feature films), Cinema Eye Honors for Non-Fiction Filmmaking (documentary features) and Academy Awards® in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Short Film categories.
LA Film Festival Jury Awards were given in the following competition categories: US Fiction, Documentary, World Fiction, Nightfall (horror/genre features), LA Muse (Los Angeles-inspired fiction and documentary) and Shorts (fiction and documentary). Balloted Audience Awards were given for Narrative Feature, Documentary, Short Film and Web Series.
These are the 2018 LA Film Festival Jury and Audience Award Winners.