The School of Film and Television has partnered with the LA Film Festival on a specially curated portion of the festival focusing on virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, to be hosted at LMU’s new Playa Vista Campus in the heart of Silicon Beach.
The Immersive Storytelling section of the festival is curated by Jacqueline Lyanga (former director of the AFI Fest) and will showcase exemplary, daring new work in a variety of new media platforms. The two-day experience takes place Sept. 22-23 and is free to the public.
This year’s festival includes We the People, a two-day summit committed to advancing inclusion within the entertainment industry; a partnership with the International Documentary Association’s biannual conference, Getting Real ’18; and a benefit dinner celebrating 25 years of Project Involve, honoring LMU alumna Effie T. Brown, among others.
“The evolution of the LA Film Festival continues!” said Jennifer Cochis, Festival Director. “The new partnerships formed with kindred and beloved organizations like LMU’s School of Film and Television and the International Documentary Association are radical, connecting creators in brand new ways.”
We the People is a two-day summit that is a participatory, solution-oriented call to action. Over the course of two days at the Writers Guild Theatre, September 22 and 23, We the People will feature free panel discussions and keynote conversations addressing issues of representation and inclusion in the industry. Panelists include Tre’vell Anderson (LA Times), Russell Boast (president, CSA), Kate Hagan (The Black List), Teresa Huang (SEAL Team), Our Lady J (Pose), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Nic Novicki (Founder Easterseals Disability Film Challenge), Natasha Rottweil (Insecure), Krista Suh (Co-Founder of Pussyhat movement), Steven James Tingus (board member, RespectAbility), Gail Williamson (talent agent, KMR & Associates) and more to be announced.
On the evening of Saturday, September 22, a benefit dinner will be held to celebrate 25 years of Project Involve, the organization’s mentorship initiative for underrepresented voices in the industry. The benefit dinner will honor Project Involve Fellows Effie T. Brown (Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People), Jon M. Chu (GI Joe: Retaliation, Crazy Rich Asians), Cherien Dabis (Amreeka, Empire) and MACRO’s Founder & CEO Charles D. King (Mudbound, Fences).
The Festival is also adding a partnership with the International Documentary Association to expand Film Independent and the Festival’s support of the documentary community. The Festival is introducing a Documentary Pass and centering its documentary programming at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood to make it easily accessible to attendees of the IDA’s conference, Getting Real.
