Indie filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko (“The Kids Are All Right”) has been named Guest Director of the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival, which is presented by Film Independent in conjunction with media sponsor the Los Angeles Times and host partner L.A. Live.
“It’s an honor to name Lisa Cholodenko as Guest Director of the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles Film Festival,” said festival director Stephanie Allain. “Lisa’s work exemplifies our mission of supporting artists who are diverse, innovative, and have a unique point of view. We’re lucky to have her share her insights and process with us at our annual retreat.”
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The Los Angeles Film Festival takes place June 11-19 in downtown Los Angeles. Past Guest Directors include David O.Russell, Kathryn Bigelow, William Friedkin, Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón.
Cholodenko will attend the 13th annual Filmmaker Retreat in Palm Springs. The retreat is a gathering of festival filmmakers as well as honored artists to build community amongst the festival’s feature filmmakers. It is made possible with support from Dolby Laboratories and EFILM.
Cholodenko is currently in post-production on “Olive Kitteridge,” the four-part miniseries she recently directed for HBO and Playtone, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The series stars Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Bill Murray, John Gallagher Jr. and Zoe Kazan, among others.
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The Spirit of Independence Award will be given to Tom Bernard and Michael Barker for their over 20-year tenure as co-heads of Sony Pictures Classics. Over the past two decades, Tom and Michael have brought over 350 independent films to the public, garnering a combined 36 Film Independent Spirit Award and 32 Oscar wins (28 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and 140 Oscar nominations (114 at SPC), establishing themselves as one of the longest running and most successful partnerships in independent film. They will discuss their work with Festival Artistic Director David Ansen and choose a film to screen from their extensive catalogue.
The Festival will present a series of Master Classes inviting acclaimed film artists to take part in moderated conversations that delve deeply into the creative process. Launching the series is Oscar-winning musician/producer/composer Atticus Ross (“The Social Network”), who will perform an original electronic soundscape created just for the festival and discuss his creative process of scoring films with Elvis Mitchell. Special support is provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Master Classes.
The Festival’s annual celebration of women’s achievements in film will focus on Women Who Call the Shots: Women Directors and Showrunners. The event consists of a panel of esteemed directors and showrunners including Nicole Holofcener (“Enough Said”), Marta Kauffman (“Friends”) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love & Basketball”), who will share with festival audiences their process and progress as women at the helm.
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Programmed as part of LA Muse is a special comedic journey with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the stars of “Key & Peele,” who will engage in a free-wheeling conversation moderated by Mitchell. The evening will include the duo sharing clips of the films that have influenced their irreverent comedic style.
Film Independent Members enjoy pre-sale benefits beginning April 9 and passes will be available to the general public on April 22. The full line-up will be announced on Tuesday, May 6.