After hours upon hours and day after day of watching films, talking films, thinking films, eating, sleeping, dreaming films—our bleary-eyed Los Angeles Film Festival programming team is about to come up for air and share with the world the lineup of films for the 2015 Festival.

This year’s Festival takes place from June 10-18 in downtown LA at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. LIVE.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we unveil the big news about the great features, documentaries, shorts, videos, live performances and panels—as well as everything you ever wanted to know about buying tickets and passes but were afraid to ask.

Today we get the proverbial ball rolling with one of our biggest announcements of all: Our opening night film will be the Los Angeles premiere of Grandma!

In the film, directed by Paul Weitz, Lily Tomlin stars as Elle Reid, whose granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing $600 before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash as their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets.

One of America’s foremost comediennes, Tomlin also will be awarded the Spirit of Independence Award at the Opening Night screening.

“The film speaks to our mission on so many levels,” says Festival Director Stephanie Allain, who shared the top three reasons she’s so excited to screen Grandma on opening night:

• When is that last time you saw a film starring a middle-aged lesbian who plays a middle-aged lesbian?

• Grandma treats abortion as it really is—a last resort medical procedure for an unwanted pregnancy. “No woman is thrilled to have an abortion,” says Allain, “but every woman who chooses to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is thrilled to have the choice.”

• The number one reason to see Grandma: Lily Tomlin. Allain calls her performance “unapologetic, hysterical, moving—it’s the kind of performance that stays with you, gets inside you, makes you feel compelled to love harder.”

Pamela Miller / Website & Grants Manager

 Festival pass pre-sale for Film Independent Members begins Tuesday, April 14. Passes will be available to the general public on Tuesday, April 21.