Film Independent [FIND] announced the winners for the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. With the prestigious Target Filmmaker Award of $50,000 going to Mark Banning for Best Narrative Feature, Jellysmoke. The Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature was won by Beth Bird for Everyone Their Grain of Sand. Both these talented independent filmmakers received a $50,000 unrestrictive check with hope that this will assist in continuing their creative talents of filmmaking for the future.

The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was won by Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know and David Zeiger’s Sir! No Sir! won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. French filmmaker, Luc Jacquet’s March of the Penguins won the Audience Award for Best International Feature. This documentary was a well received at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for release later this month. Honorary Chairs were Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow, and Elijah Wood who presided over the Festival at various Galas and events.

For the second year acting has been noted with an award for Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition. Catherine Kellner and Ebon Moss-Bachrach of Leslie McCleave’s Road won this year and highlighting the excellent directing and casting to draw out these gifted performances.

More than 30 countries were represented in this years Festival and a submission of 3,700 films made its way to Los Angeles to be considered for LAFF. From those entries, 266 films, which 77 were features screened during this highly regarded independent Film Festival. Of the submissions many were World and North American Premiere along with top picks from Cannes and Sundance Film Festival.

Next year with the growth and expansion towards the future LAFF will be moving to Westwood for the 2006 Film Festival. Partners in this move to the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television, Mann Theatres, Landmark Theatres, the Crest Theatre, and the Hammer Museum. The Festival had over 60,000 filmgoers this year and with the move to West Los Angeles it will be feasible to visualize 75,000 attendees for 2006.

Film Independent [FIND] is a progressive non-profit organization focused on supporting independent filmmakers, expanding the audience for independent film, and increasing diversity in the industry. FIND works to cultivate the careers of its diverse body of members and to help filmmakers across the spectrum find their audiences. With workshops, feature program, seminars and classes. FIND provides its 6,300 members access to resources and onsite facilities to assist filmmakers in making films. More than 100 free screenings each year, 150 educational events, and Project: Involve, diversity/mentoring program for under-represented filmmakers are just a few of the opportunities FIND has to offer its members. In addition to producing the Los Angeles Film Festival, FIND also produces the Independent Spirit Awards, the premier awards event of the independent film community.

During the Festival facilities were offered all across the City of Los Angeles. The festival center (including box office, free outdoor screenings, Porch Parties, and the Target Red Room/ Filmmaker Lounge) was located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. The festival utilized screening facilities including the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres, Directors Guild of America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Mann’s National Theatre, and the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome. Other venues for events included the Four Seasons Hotel, the Hollywood Palladium, the Laugh Factory, the Orpheum Theatre, the Pacific Design Center, and the Zephyr Theatre.

Here are the Winners of the Los Angeles Film Festival 2005:

Mark Banning’s Jellysmoke Winner of the Target Filmmaker Award (for Best Narrative Feature)

Beth Bird’s Everyone Their Grain Of Sand Winner of the Target Documentary Award

Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know Winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature

David Zeiger’s Sir! No Sir! Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Luc Jacquet’s March of the Penguins Winner of the Audience Award for the Best International Feature

Chris Landreth Ryan Audience Award for Best Short Film

John Harden La Vie d’un Chien Best Documentary Short Film

(TIE) Best Animated Short Film

Montieth McCollum Lawn

Ken Wardrop Undressing My Mother

Gaëlle Denis City Paradise

The Los Angeles Film Festival will take place in June 2006 in Westwood near the UCLA Campus. For more information please go the web site at www.lafilmfest.org

By Keiko Beatie

Pictures:
1.Target Documentary Award winner Beth Bird, with Festival Director Rich Raddon and Film Independent Executive Director Dawn Hudson

2.Happy Endings with Lisa Kudrow, Don Roos and Tom Arnold on Closing Night of LAFF

3. LAFF will move to Westwood in 2006