DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL - LOS ANGELES ANNOUNCES 2008 FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING

Inaugural Edition of Downtown Los Angeles' First Dedicated
Film Festival Unspools August 13-17, 2008

200+ Films to Screen During 5-Day Event,
Celebrating the 'Renaissance' of L.A.'s Historic Core, at Venues Throughout Downtown's Culturally Rich Neighborhoods

IFC's "In Search Of A Midnight Kiss" Set For Opening Night Gala
To Benefit Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation

July 23, 2008 (LOS ANGELES). The first annual Downtown Film Festival, Los Angeles (DFFLA), the first dedicated film festival in the historic core of the Entertainment Capital of the World, announced today its 2008 programming. The five-day event, August, 13-17, will present 23 feature and 180 short films at venues throughout Downtown L.A., from the historic movie palaces on Broadway Avenue to Barker Block and SCI-Arc in Downtown's Arts District.

The festival is presented by Barker Block live/work lofts (www.barkerblock.com).

IFC's "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," by director Alex Holdridge, will be presented as the Opening Night Film on Wednesday, August 13th, in a special Gala program at the historic Orpheum Theater to benefit the nonprofit Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation (www.lahtf.org). Variety said the film "recalls Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' in its celebration of a cityscape�" Filmmaker Magazine proclaimed "It is so well- written, charming and beautifully photographed that it is inconceivable to think audiences not falling in love" with it. An after-screening Gala party will be held at the penthouse space of the Pacific Electric Lofts building.

The Los Angeles premiere of "Flow," a documentary feature from director Irena Salina that was a hit earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival, has been selected as the Closing Night film. The film takes an unflinching look at the world's diminishing supply of fresh water as the intersection of politics, pollution and human rights.

In the beginning of a new tradition, the Festival's Centerpiece Gala presentation is devoted to celebrating Downtown L.A.'s unique starring role in the early development of the city's movie industry and American cinema. Downtown's Historic Theater District contains more architecturally significant movie theaters than anywhere else in the world. This year's Centerpiece film is the 1929 classic silent film "Piccadilly," starring silver screen siren Anna May Wong � the Silent Era's most significant female Asian-American actress. (Wong was born in Downtown's Chinatown neighborhood.) The film will be presented at the historic Los Angeles Theatre.

Other highlights include the Los Angeles premiere screenings of Overture's "Traitor" by writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of 2004's blockbuster hit "The Day After Tomorrow") and starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Jeff Daniels; "Guest of Cindy Sherman," a documentary about the reclusive superstar artist-photographer; "Remembering Phil," starring Nicholas Turturro and Dan Castellaneta (best known as the voice of Homer Simpson); and "Faubourg Trem�: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans," a documentary feature exploring the roots of a historic African-American community that became the birthplace of jazz and a progenitor of the civil rights movement.

In addition to film screenings, the festival will present a digital arts festival, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (www.lacda.com), and Sustainable L.A. � a full-day of "green" programming for the urban citizen that includes panel discussions, a farmer's market and family-friendly activities.

The festival will present several curatorial film series:

• Afrique 360� -- A selection of feature and short films from Africa and the Diaspora, including the Los Angeles premiere of the critically-acclaimed "Confessions of a Gambler" (South Africa, 2008);

• American Latino Film Series � An exploration of the American experience through the lens of Latino-American filmmakers;

• Downtown Cinema. A program of short films from Downtown L.A. denizens;

• Best of Siggraph � The "best of show" computer animation shorts from the annual computer graphics convention, taking place in Los Angeles simultaneously with the festival;

• "Drive-In At SCI-Arc" -- An authentic in-your-car drive-in movie screening at the parking lot of SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in Downtown's Arts District, featuring a special preview screening of "Mock Up on Mu," the latest film by avant-garde director Craig Baldwin;

• "Shorts & Sweets" � A program of short film previews presented during the work day lunch hour and designed for the Downtown's commuters. (The program will be presented at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on three Wednesdays leading up to the festival.); "The festival offers the opportunity to encounter all the fun and excitement of L.A.'s Downtown through a structured but creative entertainment experience. For cinephiles, there's something for everyone � new Hollywood and independent narrative and documentary features, foreign films, an incredible selection of shorts and special series. For those curious about what the buzz is about in the 'new Downtown,' here's a chance to explore historic movie palaces, world-class lounges and L.A.'s hippest lofts," said Greg Ptacek, one of the festival's organizers.

The festival's complete programming line-up and ticket information is available at www.dffla.com.

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The Downtown Film Festival, Los Angeles is presented by Barker Block live/work lofts (http://www.barkerblock.com).

The festival is sponsored by CRA/L.A., Department of Cultural Affairs - City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, FotoKem, Fox Entertainment Group, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Laemmle Theatres, L.A. Modern Living, Liberty Building Maintenance & Services, Patina Restaurant Group, SmartWorks Collective, Stephen Doniger Law Offices, and Los Angeles City Councilmembers Jose Huizar, Jan Perry and Ed Reyes.

Event sponsors include Blue Dahlia Cafe & Wine Bar, California Pizza Kitchen, The Edison, Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund, Hennessy, Hilton Checkers Los Angeles, Los Angeles Center Studios, Los Angeles Theatre, Milestone Films, Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, Orpheum Theater, Pacific Electric Lofts, The Roosevelt, Smart Water, Thousand Cranes, Tommy Bahama Rum and Urth Cafe

Media Sponsors include CBS/Decaux, Citizen L.A., KPFK, the Hollywood Reporter, Latin Heat, L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Downtown News and Time Warner Cable.

Community Partners include African Marketplace, Art Walk, Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, FilmAid International, Global Cinema, Grand Performances, Los Angeles Downtown Arts District Space, Los Angeles Historical Theatre Foundation, SCI-Arc, Siggraph and the UCLA Extension Writer's Program.

Sustainable L.A. is supported by the City Hall Farmers Market, Department of Water and Power, Hollywood Green Team, Live Earth and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

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About the Downtown Film Festival � Los Angeles

The Downtown Film Festival was established to celebrate the resurgence of Downtown L.A. in all its facets, its historic movie palaces core, its legendary cultural and ethnic institutions, and its thriving business and residential communities. In 2008, its inaugural year, the Downtown Film Festival, Los Angeles will showcase why Downtown has become L.A.'s most exciting "new" community.

Press Contact

Kelly Hargraves
Downtown Film Festival , Los Angeles
(213) 221-7685