Can you believe we’re only one day away from the start of the 2017 LA Film Festival? Nervous energy has worn our canary-yellow fidget spinners down to their overtaxed brass nubs, as we sit in our offices at the Culver Studios HQ in giddy anticipation of tomorrow’s Opening Night festivities. But! We can only surmise that our excitement is but an infinitesimal fraction of the excitement currently swelling inside the hearts of our filmmakers—many of whom are first-timers and/or film festival novices. So to you, dear filmmaker, we say welcome!

But even if they’re strangers to the greater indie film world and film festival ecosystem, many of this year’s filmmakers are not, in fact, strangers to Film Independent. This year’s LA Film Festival lineup features a total of 60 individual Film Independent Members, representing 38 different projects as writers, directors, producers and panelists—what better testament to the creativity and industrious of the Film Independent community?

So c’mon, let’s raise a glass (even if it’s a day earlier) and toast this year’s crop of Festival-minted Film Independent Members.

U.S. FICTION COMPETITION

• Jane Kelly Kosek, Producer, 20 Weeks
• Mariyam Mahbub, Associate Producer, 20 Weeks
• David Hopper, Editor, 20 Weeks
• Rebecca Green, Producer, And Then I Go
• Laura D Smith, Producer, And Then I Go
• Penny Edmiston, Producer, Beauty Mark
• Gill Holland, Executive Producer, Beauty Mark
• Pete Ohs, Writer/Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor, Everything Beautiful is Far Away
• Melissa Panzer, Producer, Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town
• John Solomon, Producer, Moss
• Radium Cheung, Producer, Never Here
• Camille Thoman, Writer/Director/Producer/Editor, Never Here
• Neal Dodson, Executive Producer, Never Here

Learn more about this year’s U.S. Fiction competition by clicking here.

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

• Julia Meltzer, Director/Producer, Dalya’s Other Country
• Anne Etheridge, Cinematographer, Dalya’s Other Country
• Sara Lamm, Director/Producer, Thank You for Coming

Click here to find out what else is playing in this year’s LA Film Festival Documentary competition.

WORLD FICTION COMPETITION 

• Lauro Rocha, Executive Producer, Butterfly Kisses
• Maite Artieda, Producer, Moko Jumbie

Want to find out what else is playing in this year’s World Fiction competition? Click here.

LA MUSE

• Jhennifer Webberley, Producer, And Then There Was Eve
• Jennifer Arnold, Director, Fat Camp
• Jim Young, Producer, Fat Camp
• Mark Hayes, Director/Writer, Skid Row Marathon
• Gabriele Hayes, Producer, Skid Row Marathon
• Brandon Buczek, Writer/Director/Producer, Your Own Road

Learn more about this year’s LA Muse section by clicking here and click here to watch exclusive video interviews with this year’s LA Muse filmmakers.

NIGHTFALL

• Sam Patton, Director/Producer, Desolation
• Michael Bowes, Co-Producer, Midnighters
• Brian Cox, Executive Producer, Serpent
• Jerome Leroy, Music, The Housemaid

Want to see what else is playing in this year’s Nightfall section? Click here (if you dare).

SHORTS PROGRAM

• Roberta Marie Munroe, Consulting Producer, Night Shift
• Mel Eslyn, Producer, Little Potato
• Anna Kerrigan, Writer/Director/Producer, Hot Seat
• Molly Christie Benson, Co-Producer, Hot Seat

Find Shorts and Episodic Series screening info here.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS & ADDITIONAL EVENTS

• Jonathan King, Producer, Shot Caller
• Gary Michael Walters, Producer, Shot Caller
• Elisa Lleras, Producer, Two Sentence Horror Stories: Guilt Trip
• Pin-Chun Liu, Producer, Two Sentence Horror Stories: Guilt Trip
• Anna Jones, Director, My America
• Rowena Mackay, Producer, My America
• Ellie Wen, Producer, BKPI
• Liz Destro, Producer, The Little Hours
• Matthew Perniciaro, Executive Producer, The Little Hours

Want more info about additional 2017 LA Film Festival events? Click here.

BUZZ

• Barry Mendel, Producer, The Big Sick
• Ryan Cunningham, Co-Producer, Keep the Change
• Amy Hobby, Executive Producer, Keep the Change
• Todd Remis, Producer, Keep the Change
• Summer Shelton, Producer, Keep the Change
• Danila Taplin Lundberg, Producer, Patti Cake$
• Rodrigo Teixeira, Producer, Patti Cake$

Find out what else is playing in the 2017 Buzz section by clicking here.

PREMIERES

• Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Executive Producer, Humor Me
• Karen Moncrieff, Director, The Keeping Hours
• Rebecca Sonnenshine, Writer, The Keeping Hours
• Lenny Mesina, Editor, Living on Soul
• Richard Levine, Director, Submission
• Andrew Carlberg, Producer, Sun Dogs

See what else is playing in the Premieres section here.

FREE SCREENINGS

• Connor Schell, Executive Producer, Morningside 5
• Libby Geist, Executive Producer, Morningside 5
• Xan Aranda, Panelist, The Other: Documenting Marginalized Stories

Learn more about our 2017 Free Screening series here.

CONVERSATIONS & PANELS

• Ava DuVernay, Panelist, Yes, We Exist: Ava DuVernay and the Female Directors of Queen Sugar
• Amanda Marsalis, Panelist, Yes, We Exist: Ava DuVernay and the Female Directors of Queen Sugar
• Cheryl Dune, Panelist, Yes, We Exist: Ava DuVernay and the Female Directors of Queen Sugar

Learn what other conversations and panels are happening this year here.

The 2017 LA Film Festival takes place June 14-22, headquartered at the ArcLight Cinemas Culver City, with additional screenings at ArcLight Hollywood, ArcLight Santa Monica, LACMA and The Theatre at Ace Hotel. Check out the Festival Guide here.

Stay tuned to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest new additions and updates. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exciting announcements. Tickets and passes are on sale now. Sold out screenings? Get in with a Festival pass.

In addition to screenings and special events (even when sold out) Festival passes provide entry to our super-fun Festival Lounge, featuring a 21+ hosted bar and the opportunity to rub shoulders with Festival filmmakers and other film industry professionals. Buy yours. Film Independent Members save up to 25%.