L.A. Short Film Festival to screen 280 movies from around the world
Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy on location in Manhattan for the filming Ned Benson’s “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.”
(Aby Baker/Getty Images)James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain are filming “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” on the streets of Manhattan on July 12.
(Aby Baker/Getty Images)Dakota Fanning on location in New York City for “Very Good Girls.”
(Aby Baker/Getty Images)The 2013 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, which arrives Sept. 5 at Laemmle’s NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, will feature 280 short films from 17 countries.
The 17th annual festival, which runs for one week and ends Sept. 12, features shorts starring Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett (“A Cautionary Tail”) and Jim Broadbent (“The Phone Call”); Oscar nominees Ian McKellen (“The Egg Trick”) and Gerard Depardieu (“Frank-Etienne”); as well as Elijah Wood (“Tome of the Unknown”), Michael Richards (“Walk the Light”) and Rumer Willis (“Six Letter Word”).
“I’m incredibly proud to showcase the short films selected this year,” said Domenic Yovina, director of operations/programming, in a statement Monday. “There is a lot of great talent on display here, and I hope this festival serves as a platform for filmmakers to solidify their place in independent film.”
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The short films will be organized into programs covering the genres of adventure, animation, comedy, documentary, drama, horror and sci-fi, and themes such as love, family, friendship, conflict, suspense, religion and art.
Winners in six categories will be automatically eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar nomination. The festival recently gained accreditation from the academy in the short subject documentary category. Over the last 17 years, 44 films featured in the festival have gone on to receive Oscar nominations, with 13 winning the Academy Award.
The festival award winners will be announced on the closing night.
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Susan King is a former entertainment writer at the Los Angeles Times who specialized in Classic Hollywood stories. She also wrote about independent, foreign and studio movies and occasionally TV and theater stories. Born in East Orange, N.J., she received her master’s degree in film history and criticism at USC. She worked for 10 years at the L.A. Herald Examiner and came to work at The Times in January 1990. She left in 2016.