Monthly Film Festival

March 19, 2022 03:00pm PDT - 11:45pm PDT
Industry Delegates
Elizabeth Sheldon
Juno Films
Ali Brown
PRETTYBIRD/Ventureland
Courtney Saladino
FilmNation
Andrew Tsoules
CAA
Tyler Erb
Sugar23
Peryn Reeves-Darby
Endeavor Content
Nicole Romano
Anonymous Content
Stephanie Rae Capizzo
NBCUniversal

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) hosts its March Monthly Film Festival and celebrates up-and-coming female talent behind the camera with this month’s InFocus: Female Cinema. The program will include two eclectic shorts programs, along with award-winning documentary Pieces of Us, by director Cheryl Allison. This day of programming is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The day begins with Pieces of Us, an insightful and tender documentary exploring the lives of LGBTQ+ hate crime survivors who have chosen to tell their stories publicly, directed by Cheryl Allison, who is a two-time Emmy nominated and three-time Telly award-winning actress and director.

Next, InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts I – Self-Determination presents a line-up of films featuring women who take a stand, seek their freedom and fight for the future they envision for themselves. Their stories are global and their determination universal – from a stand-up stage in Los Angeles to a witch’s circle in Mexico to a forlorn basement bedroom in Colombia to the desert of South Sudan to a small village in Kygystan, they battle discrimination, false imprisonment, assault, involuntary servitude, forced marriage and the darkest corners of their own minds to find and hear their own voices. This block includes 2022 Oscar Shortlisted Best Narrative Short Ala Kachuu – Take and Run.

The night concludes with InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts II – Togetherness, a collection of stories that encompass the range of what can emerge when we come together with others: community, solidarity, misunderstandings, frustration and sometimes harm. We explore families uniting behind a purpose amidst shared grief, the desire for inclusion, a couple with divergent plans, an intergenerational search for love, [dating miscommunication], [influencer vs activist], three generations of women living the effects one’s incarceration, a fraught discussion about consent, the persistence of a friendship between two homeless veterans, a child’s empathy for a refugee family playing out in his dreams, and the pivotal points of a love story between two queer Muslim women.

NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year, across both our general and InFocus programming. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects for consideration for upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the schedule for InFocus programming, which celebrates diversity, inclusion and region by spotlighting communities of filmmakers within our filmmaking community as part of our monthly program.

Schedule Details

Program #1 – Pieces of Us
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM – Pre-Reception
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM – Program
5:00 PM – 5:15 PM – Audience Q&A

Program #2 – InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts I – Self-Determination
5:15 PM – 5:45 PM – Pre-Reception
5:45 PM – 7:45 PM – Program
7:45 PM – 8:00 PM – Audience Q&A

Program #3 – InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts II – Togetherness
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM – Pre-Reception
8:30 PM – 10:30 PM – Program
10:30 PM – 10:45 PM – Audience Q&A

Event Location

Event Entrance
1139 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles 90015
Directions


Parking (fee)
1133 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Directions

Feature
Pieces of Us
Dir. Cheryl Allison, Writ. Cheryl Allison & Prod. Mark Von der Heide, Carina Rush, Cheryl Allison, Mykel Dicus
92 Mins | USA
InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts I – Self-Determination
Stand Out
Dir. Vicki Syal, Writ. Vicki Syal, Trina Dong & Prod. Trina Dong , Vicki Syal, Sydney Miller
15 Mins | USA
I Am Normal
Dir. Olia Oparina, Writ. Anya Bay & Prod. Anya Bay, Olia Oparina, Jimmy Gadd, Aida Lembo
20 Mins | USA
You Up?
Dir. Flaminia Mereu, Writ. Lindi Cecile & Prod. Virginia Blatter
12 Mins | USA
Diabla Thumbnail
Diabla
Dir. Ashley George, Writ. Alonso Diaz-Rickards & Prod. Maya Korn, Diana Mata, Enfant & Poulet
15 Mins | USA
Los Patines
Dir. Loren Escandon, Writ. Loren Escandon & Prod. Loren Escandon, Michelle Silver
8 Mins | USA
Etana
Dir. Marian de Pontes, Writ. & Prod.
15 Mins | USA
Ala Kachuu (Take and Run) Thumbnail
Ala Kachuu (Take and Run)
Dir. Maria Brendle, Writ. Maria Brendle & Prod. Nadine Lüchinger, Flavio Gerber
38 Mins | Switzerland
InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts II – Togetherness
Saving Salvador
Dir. Luisa Maria González, Writ. Luisa Maria González & Prod. André Fernandez
12 Mins | USA
Fruitless
Dir. Robyn Paris, Writ. Robyn Paris & Prod. Raeann Giles, Robyn Paris, Sierra Huitt, Maria Byron Trent
13 Mins | USA
Chores Thumbnail
Chores
Dir. Christina Tucker, Writ. Christina Tucker & Prod. Nicola Rose
6 Mins | USA
Women, Wanting Thumbnail
Women, Wanting
Dir. Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock, Writ. Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock & Prod. Jill Karrenbrock, Rebekah Pahl, Kristi Karrenbrock
18 Mins | USA
Beach Body Thumbnail
Beach Body
Dir. Kelly Diaz, Writ. Kelly Diaz & Prod. Jacobo Aparicio
9 Mins | USA
Grammable Thumbnail
Grammable
Dir. Naiyah Ambros, Writ. Naiyah Ambros & Prod. Stephanie Jones
6 Mins | USA
The Home I Never Had Thumbnail
The Home I Never Had
Dir. Jourdan Amen, Yuliana Franco, Writ. & Prod. Jourdan Amen, Yuliana Franco
7 Mins | USA
Jen, 28
Dir. Iyin Landre, Writ. Jessica Sharples & Prod. Jasmine Fontes, Jessica Sharples
13 Mins | USA
Blood and Glory
Dir. Satinder Kaur, Writ. Satinder Kaur & Prod. Women In Media, Yvonne Jimenez
12 Mins | USA
Our Hearts Beat Like War
Dir. Elinor Nechemya, Writ. Elinor Nechemya & Prod. Elinor Nechemya
15 Mins | Israel
Noor & Layla Thumbnail
Noor & Layla
Dir. Fawzia Mirza, Writ. Fawzia Mirza & Prod. Andria Wilson
13 Mins | Canada