The independent-focused Los Angeles Festival of Movies is preparing for its second edition, unveiling the first wave of its coming line-up for April 3 to 6. The fest, co-presented by Mubi and Mezzanine, will kick-off with an opening night screening of Amalia Ulman‘s south-of-the-border satire “Magic Farm,” starring Chloë Sevigny, Simon Rex and Alex Wolff as an inept documentary crew that ends up in the wrong country after embarking to profile an Argentinian musician. The feature premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January; this LAFM selection will mark its West Coast premiere.
Other feature inclusions are the world premiere of Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley’s “Room Temperature,” about an annual family-operated haunted house that dramatically ups the stakes; the U.S. premiere of Alexandra Simpson’s “No Sleep Till,” a hurricane-set drama from ROC Films and Omnes Films (“Eephus,” “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point”); and Grace Glowicki’s “Dead Lover,” a horror-comedy coming off a Sundance premiere and SXSW screenings. A new program, Animation Today, will also launch. More selections, like the closing night screening, are to be announced.
“After a devastating start to the year for Los Angeles, we feel more inspired than ever about bringing our community together to watch, discuss and celebrate great movies,” said LAFM founders Micah Gottlieb and Sarah Winshall in a statement unveiling the lineup. “We’re thrilled to host a variety of incredibly stirring and original films from some of the finest emerging international filmmakers, multidisciplinary artists and top talents. It’s our pleasure to provide a holistic view of independent cinema today.”
As with last year’s edition, screenings will be held at Vidiots, 2220 Arts + Archives and Now Instant Image Hall. A conversation series, which includes a talk between Dennis Cooper and Tony Tulathimutte, will be held at the Philosophical Research Society, a new venue for the festival. Passes are currently on sale, while single tickets will be available March 10.
The inaugural edition of LAFM opened with the West Coast premiere of A24’s “I Saw the TV Glow” and included indie titles such as “Good One” and “Gasoline Rainbow,” as well as the first episode of the HBO docuseries “Ren Faire.”
See the full wave of initial announcements below.
Official Selection
“Cent Mille Milliards” (dir. Virgil Vernier)“Dead Lover” (dir. Grace Glowicki)“Debut or Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued” (dir. Julian Castronovo) “Invention” (dir. Courtney Stephens) “Magic Farm” (dir. Amalia Ulman)“No Sleep Till” (dir. Alexandra Simpson)“Room Temperature” (dir. Dennis Cooper, Zac Farley)“Zodiac Killer Project” (dir. Charlie Shackleton)
Short Films
“Baby Blue Benzo” (dir. Sara Cwynar)“Man Number 4” (dir. Miranda Pennell)“Manal Issa, 2024” (dir. Elisabeth Subrin)“Oceania” (dir. Valentin Noujaïm)
Animated Films
“An Ordinary Life” (dir. Yoriko Mizushiri)“Hurikán” (dir. Jan Saska)“Margarethe ’89” (dir. Lucas Malbrun)“Mont Noir” (dir. Jean-Baptiste Peltier, Erika Haglund)“Retirement Plan” (dir. John Kelly)“Sans Voix” (dir. Samuel Patthey)
