Sundance Next Fest returns to the Theatre at Ace Hotel Aug. 12-14

The Sundance Next Fest will return again to the Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles from Aug. 12-14. This is the fourth year for the festival in LA and its third year at the Ace, with a planned program of six new independent films each paired with a music act, live performance or conversation with a figure from independent cinema.

This year’s lineup lineup will be announced this summer. This year will also include Next Door, a free outdoor entertainment venue for attendees, and a short film program. An event known as Night Before Next on Aug. 11 will benefit the Sundance Institute and honor an upcoming filmmaker. Previous honorees include Marielle Heller, Damien Chazelle, Ryan Coogler and Benh Zeitlin.

Next Fest is an outgrowth of the Next section at January’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Films that have played Next at Sundance include “Tangerine,” “Computer Chess,” “James White,” “Nasty Baby” and “Obvious Child.”

“Sundance Next Fest is a heat wave of new independent film, music and more,” John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival, said in a statement. “For our fourth year we’re mixing things up with more films and an outdoor entertainment venue, offering bigger and better opportunities for audiences to celebrate the summer energy and spirit of film and music in L.A.”

Previous Next Fest events have included Jeff Baena’s “Life After Beth” followed by a solo acoustic performance by Father John Misty; Noah Baumbach’s “Mistress America” followed by a performance by Sky Ferreira; Rick Alverson’s “Entertainment” followed by Sharon Van Etten; Malik Vitthal’s “Imperial Dreams” followed by a performance by Tinashe; Ana Lily Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” followed by a performance by Warpaint; and the world premiere of Kendrick Lamar’s short film “m.A.A.d.”

Conversations have included the filmmakers of “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter” with Werner Herzog, the filmmakers of “Cronies” with Robert Townsend, the filmmakers of “The Guest” with Nicolas Winding Refn and the filmmakers of “Listen Up Philip” with Bret Easton Ellis.

For more information, visit Sundance.org/next

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