The Los Angeles Film Festival is moving from the summer to late September, Film Independent announced on Wednesday.
The move will place the festival in the thick of awards season, and will also put it in direct competition with the AFI Fest, which takes place in Hollywood in November, and the New York Film Festival, which runs from late September to mid-October in New York City.
“Film Independent is so proud of the work we’ve done in showcasing new American and international cinema that embraces diversity, innovation and unique perspectives, but the fact is that summer is a challenging time for artist driven films, and fall is where we clearly belong,” said LA Film Festival Director Jennifer Cochis in a statement.
LAFF struggled to attract high-profile films and attract an audience in June, where it was sandwiched between the Cannes Film Festival in May and the fall festivals like Venice, Telluride and Toronto in late August and September. The move to late September will place it immediately after that trio of fests and around the same time as the New York Film Festival.
That places it in a hugely competitive time of the year for film festivals that are looking to premiere new films, but also a time when studios want to showcase their awards contenders in front of industry audiences.
The move will begin in 2018, with the festival entering a multi-year partnership with ArcLight Cinemas.
Submissions for the festival will be accepted beginning in January on Withoutabox.