Running film festivals is a scary business so perhaps it’s fitting that Film Independent announced the end of the Los Angeles Film Festival (also known as LA Film Festival) on Halloween.   In a release, Film Independent, the organization that has run both LAFF and the Independent Spirit Awards, announced last month’s festival would be its last and they will fill in the gap moving forward with “year-round events aimed at building community and broadening its support of visual storytellers.”  Which, frankly, sounds like what it was already doing in the first place.  

Continue reading Los Angeles Film Festival Shockingly Says Goodbye at The Playlist.

Following up her debut success of 2013’s “Concussion,” filmmaker Stacie Passon finally returns with a new feature-length film that brings the horror and gloom of writer Shirley Jackson’s final novel “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” to life. Centered on a peculiar family, shrouded in an air of gothic mystery, Passon’s adaptation of ‘Live In The Castle’ is as equally foreboding and bewildering.

Merricat (Taissa Farmiga), Constance (Alexandra Daddario) and their Uncle Julian (Crispin Glover) live in isolation, banished by the neighboring townspeople after experiencing a family tragedy six years earlier.

Continue reading ‘We Have Always Lived In The Castle’ With Alexandra Daddario & Crispin Glover Is Obscure & Disturbing [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

It’s the sensation that’s sweeping the globe, or erm, plane. Yes, the flat-earth theory is burgeoning and clamoring for attention now more than ever before. This goes without saying the flat-earth theory is nothing groundbreaking, in fact, it’s quite archaic. Disregarding how ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia conceived the planet’s cosmography eons ago, the modern turn of this theory dates back to the mid-1800s. Naturally, science has prevailed over such nonsense.

Nevertheless, flat-earth theory is at the beginning stages of a renaissance.

Continue reading Round Or Flat, ‘Behind The Curve’ Prevails As One Of The Most Fun & Intriguing Documentaries Of The Year [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

Ever since their integration into pop culture during the ‘70s, America’s morbid obsession with the deranged inner-demons and manifested violence of serial killers has only grown over the decades. Directors like David Fincher have obsessively carried the torch of this fascination for years (“Zodiac” and more recently, “Mindhunter”) and independent entities and filmmakers alike have followed suit. This texture brings us to director Duncan Skiles’ latest project, the seemingly Fincher-inspired “The Clovehitch Killer.” A concept which emerged from Skiles’ brief but intense obsession with serial killers a few years back, “The Clovehitch Killer” is a chilling and conflicting portrait of a mid-America tragedy enhanced by familial dramatics.

Continue reading ‘The Clovehitch Killer’ Imbues The Serial Killer Storyline With Irony And Family Confrontation [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

Thanksgiving is not just a time for friends and family to come together and enjoy a feast. No, it’s a confined space threatened by friendly facades, repressed disdain, and farcical attempts to remain civil at the dinner table. With the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America two years ago, these tensions have yet to ease. In fact, his rise to power has stretched this general unease into unfathomed lengths, resulting in torn families, and thus, altering dinner tables across the country for good.

Continue reading Ike Barinholtz’s ‘The Oath’ Is A Hilarious Look At A Tumultuous, Politically-Charged Family Dinner [LAFF Review] at The Playlist.

While the likes of Cannes, TIFF, and Venice continue to play catch up in the conversation of inclusivity, Film Independent’s annual LA Film Festival continues to press the issue. With this year’s slate including 40 feature films, 41 short films, and 10 short episodic works, 26 different countries are represented across several categories of competition. In addition, 42% of the features are directed by women and 39% are directed by people of color.

Continue reading LA Film Festival Boasts Inclusivity With This Year’s Diverse Festival Lineup at The Playlist.

If you live in Los Angeles the slow death of the LA Film Festival has been sad to see. Ever since the event moved from downtown in 2010 to a hub around Culver City two years ago the annual June event has had a difficult time getting the industry and public’s attention. That’s a big deal when your festival is literally in the city “Hollywood” calls home.

Today, Film Independent, which runs both the festival and the Independent Spirit Awards, announced the 2018 festival will move from its traditional June time frame to a more awards-friendly September 20-28.

Continue reading LA Film Festival Throws Industry A Curve Ball Moving To September at The Playlist.