nullThe Los Angeles Film Festival, produced by Film Independent, has announced its official U.S. Fiction, Documentary and World Competition selections for its 2015 event, which runs from June 10 through June 18, with a diverse slate of 74 feature films, 60 short films, and over 50 new media works representing 35 countries. New sections this year are the U.S. Fiction and World Fiction Competitions and Launch, as well as the previously announced Buzz, Nightfall and Zeitgeist programs.

Of specific interest to this blog, given its stated mission, are (and these are the titles that I immediately recognize, given that we’ve previously profiled them on this blog; so there might be others I’m not yet familiar with, which you’ll discover in future posts):

– "Incorruptible" from director: E. Chai Vasarhelyi, a feature documentary on Senegal’s crisis-heavy 2011 presidential elections.
– "Treasure; From Tragedy to Trans Justice, Mapping a Detroit Story," from dream hampton, on the murder of 19-year-old trans woman Shelly ‘Treasure’ Hilliard.
– "Ayanda and the Mechanic," from Sara Blecher, a South African coming of age story of a 21-year-old woman who embarks on a journey of self discovery amid gender stereotypes.
– "Sin alas," from Ben Chace, a Cuban love story as recollected by a retired journalist, about his relationship with a celebrated ballerina, who has now died.
–  "A Girl Like Grace," from Ty Hodges, about a bullied High School girl who seeks guidance from her deceased best friends older sister.

And as a refresher, previously announced titles (about 2 weeks ago) include:

– "The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce," a documentary from co-directors Baron Davis (yes, the NBA player) and Chad Gordon.
– "Can You Dig This," directed by Delila Vallot.
– "French Dirty," from co-directors Wade Allain-Marcus & Jesse Allain-Marcus.
– "Sweet Micky for President," from Ben Patterson
– And "Crumbs," from Miguel Llansó.

The rest of the lineup follows below via press release (I’ll be digging through all of these for individual profiles of those titles that haven’t been previously profiled on S&A):

Original voices with distinct visions from emerging and established American independent filmmakers.

  • 3rd Street Blackout, dir. Negin Farsad, Jeremy Redleaf, USA, World Premiere
  • A Country Called Home, dir. Anna Axster, USA, World Premiere
  • Bastards Y Diablos, dir. A.D. Freese, USA/Colombia, World Premiere
  • The Girl in the Book, dir. Marya Cohn, USA, World Premiere
  • How He Fell in Love, dir. Marc Meyers, USA, World Premiere
  • It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong, dir. Emily Ting, USA, World Premiere
  • Mekko, dir. Sterlin Harjo, USA, World Premiere
  • Out of My Hand, dir. Takeshi Fukunaga, USA/Liberia, N. American Premiere
  • Puerto Ricans in Paris, dir. Ian Edelman, USA/France/Czech Republic, World Premiere
  • Too Late, dir. Dennis Hauck, USA, World Premiere

Documentary Competition (12) Sponsored by Netflix and Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television.

Compelling, character-driven non-fiction films from the U.S. and around the world.

  • A New High, dir. Samuel Miron, Stephen Scarpulla, USA, World Premiere
  • The Babuskhas of Chernobyl, dir. Holly Morris, USA/Ukraine, World Premiere
  • Be Here Now (The Andy Whitfield Story), dir. Lilibet Foster, USA/Australia, World Premiere
  • Catching the Sun, dir. Shalini Kantayya, USA, World Premiere
  • In a Perfect World, dir. Daphne McWilliams, USA, World Premiere
  • Incorruptible, dir. Chai Vasarhelyi, Senegal/USA, International Premiere
  • Love Between the Covers, dir. Laurie Kahn, USA, U.S. Premiere
  • Maiko: Dancing Child, dir. Åse Svenheim Drivenes, Japan/Norway, World Premiere
  • Missing People, dir. David Shapiro, USA, U.S. Premiere
  • My Love, Don’t Cross That River, dir. Mo-Young Jin, South Korea, U.S. Premiere
  • Oriented, dir. Jake Winternitz, UK/Palestine/Israel, International Premiere
  • Treasure; From Tragedy to Trans Justice, Mapping a Detroit Story, dir. dream hampton, USA, World Premiere

World Fiction Competition (8)

Unique fiction films from around the world from emerging and established filmmakers, especially curated for LA audiences.

  • Atomic Heart, dir. Ali Ahmadzadeh, Iran, North American Premiere
  • Ayanda and the Mechanic, dir. Sara Blecher, South Africa, World Premiere
  • Elvira, Te Daria Mi Vida Pero La Estoy Usando (Elvira, I’d Give You My Life But I’m Using It), dir. Manolo Caro, Mexico, International Premiere
  • Flocking (Flocken), dir. Baeta Gardeler, Sweden, North American Premiere
  • Las Malas Lenguas (Sweet and Vicious), dir. Juan Paolo Arias, Colombia, World Premiere
  • A Midsummer’s Fantasia, dir. Jang Kun-Jae, South Korea/Japan, U.S. Premiere
  • Sin Alas (Without Wings), dir. Ben Chace, Cuba, International Premiere
  • White Moss (Belyy Yagel), dir. Vladimir Tumaev, Russian Federation, International Premiere

Previously announced Festival sections include Buzz, LA Muse, Nightfall and Zeitgeist. Three new titles have been added to Buzz and are listed below.

Buzz (13)

Los Angeles premieres of celebrated favorites from around the world.

  • JUST ANNOUNCED: Brand: A Second Coming, dir. Ondi Timoner, UK/USA
  • Chuck Norris vs Communism, dir. Illinca Calugareanu, UK/Romania/Germany
  • The Dark Horse, dir. James Napier Robertson, New Zealand
  • Diary of a Teenage Girl, dir. Marielle Heller, USA
  • In Football We Trust, dir. Tony Vainuku, co-dir. Erika Cohn, USA
  • Infinitely Polar Bear, dir. Maya Forbes, USA
  • JUST ANNOUNCED: Jimmy’s Hall, dir. Ken Loach, UK/Ireland/France
  • Manson Family Vacation, dir. J. Davis, USA
  • The Overnight, dir. Patrick Brice, USA
  • People, Places, Things, dir. James C. Strouse, USA
  • JUST ANNOUNCED: The Vanished Elephant, dir. Javier Fuentes León, Peru/Colombia/Spain
  • Victoria, dir. Sebastian Schipper, Germany
  • Sweet Micky for President, dir. Ben Patterson, Haiti/USA

LA Muse (10)

A competitive section of world premieres of fiction and documentary films that are quintessentially L.A.

  • A Beautiful Now, dir. Daniela Amavia, USA, World Premiere
  • Aram, Aram, dir. Christopher Chambers, USA, World Premiere
  • Can You Dig This, dir. Delila Vallot, USA, World Premiere
  • Day Out of Days, dir. Zoe R. Cassavetes, USA, World Premiere
  • The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce, dir. Baron Davis, Chad Gordon, USA, World Premiere
  • The Escort, dir. Will Slocombe, USA, World Premiere
  • Flock of Dudes, dir. Bob Castrone, USA, World Premiere
  • French Dirty, dir. Wade Allain-Marcus & Jesse Allain-Marcus, USA, World Premiere
  • No Más Bebés (No More Babies), dir. Renee Tajima-Peña, USA, World Premiere
  • Weepah Way for Now, dir. Stephen Ringer, USA, World Premiere

Nightfall (8)

From the bizarre to the horrifying, these are films to watch after dark. Films premiering for the first time in the U.S. are nominated for the Nightfall Award.

  • Caught, dir. Maggie Kiley, USA, World Premiere
  • The Confines, dir. Eytan Rockaway, USA, World Premiere
  • Crumbs, dir. Miguel Llansó, Spain/Ethiopia/Finland, North American Premiere
  • Crush the Skull, dir. Viet Nguyen, USA, World Premiere
  • Dude Bro Party Massacre III, dir. Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, Jon Salmon, USA, World Premiere
  • Plan Sexenal (Six Year Plan), dir. Santiago Cendejas, Mexico, North American Premiere
  • Ratter, dir. Branden Kramer, USA, LA Premiere
  • Shut In, dir. Adam Schindler, USA, World Premiere

Zeitgeist (6)

A competitive section of curated, World Premiere films that embody key trends in American independent filmmaking. 2015 captures hard knock, coming of age stories.

  • A Girl Like Grace, dir. Ty Hodges, USA, World Premiere
  • Band of Robbers, dir. Aaron Nee & Adam Nee, USA, World Premiere
  • In the Treetops, dir. Matthew Brown, USA, World Premiere
  • Manifest Destiny, dir. Michael Dwyer, Kaitlin McLaughlin, USA, World Premiere
  • Stealing Cars, dir. Bradley Kaplan, USA, World Premiere
  • What Lola Wants, dir. Rupert Glasson, USA, World Premiere