Monday, October 3, 2016

...And That's a Wrap on VFF16!

We proudly close the curtain on another great lineup of cinema so independent it can be found only in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. This year, VFF screened over 50 thought provoking and entertaining films from 9 countries. Thanks to our volunteers, filmmakers, supporters, fans, and the Laemmle NoHo7 staff for making VFF16 rock!

Please take a moment to congratulate our 2016 award winners with us: 

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
BECOMING A MAN, directed by Jared Lara
CHIPPY, directed by R.D. Womack II
FRIEDA'S TURN, directed by Jay J. Levy
SLOW FADE TO AUTUMN, directed by Marie Tang Urquidi

"10 DEGREES HOTTER" JURIED AWARDS:
Narrative Feature: CHANGEOVER, directed by Estes Tarver
Documentary Feature: IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE STORY: Conversations with Alan Ladd, Jr., directed by Stanley Isaacs
Narrative Short: BLACK COMEDY, directed by Luigi Pane
Documentary Short: WEST EMPIRE, directed by Mathieu Le Lay

BEST OF (JURIED AWARDS):
Music Video: STORIES UPON YOUR LIPS, directed by Bastien BronTrailer: SYNAPSE, directed by David Bertran


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

The Sixteenth Annual Valley Film Festival (VFF) Announces Complete Line-Up



North Hollywood, California - The sixteenth annual Valley Film Festival (VFF) announces its feature selections and complete line-up.  

VFF returns in full force with a five-day festival showcasing over 50 of the best independent films, from the (818) and from around the world, September 28-October 2 at Laemmle NoHo7 in the NoHo Arts District. Tickets are $12 and available at ValleyFilmFest.com.

The Festival kicks off Opening Night, Wednesday, September 28, with the dramatic feature, A LIFE LIVED, the story of a single dollar and the many lives it passes along the way. Directed by Riley Wood and produced by Chris Cashman (VFF07, Carts) A Life Lived features Denise Richards (Wild Things, Love, Actually), Jennifer Taylor (Two and a Half Men), Brendan McCarthy (True Blood), Lili Bordan (Battle Star Galactica: Blood and Chrome) and Marshall Manesh (How I Met Your Mother, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End).

Currently nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category, HER STORY, Directed by Sydney Freeland, lights up the NoHo7 screen with the friendship of two trans women in Los Angeles who have given up on love, when chance encounters give them hope. Executive produced by Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monologues”) and Katherine Fisher, the cast includes Jen Richards and Laura Zak.

VFF16’s Centerpiece Screenings include the World Premiere of BADSVILLE, Directed by April Mullen, about a violent greaser gang ripped apart when their leader finds love and is determined to leave BADSVILLE - a town where love doesn't exist. Cast: Robert Knepper (Prison Break, Heroes) Emilio Rivera (Sons of Anarchy) and Tamara Duarte (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and ELECTRIC SLIDE, a chronicle of the life of furniture salesman turned bank robber Eddie Dodson, Directed by Tristan Patterson and featuring Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas, 21) ChloĆ« Sevigny (Bloodline, Big Love, American Horror Story) Isabel Lucas (Red Dawn, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Kate Micucci (Garfunkle and Oates, The Big Bang Theory) and Academy Award Winner, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood, Medium, True Romance).

The World Premiere of DRUGS & OTHER LOVE, Directed by Noah Applebaum, closes out The 2016 Valley Film Festival. In this comedy, a charming, terrible older sibling keeps his stoner brother high on drugs so he can win the heart of a lady dope dealer who happens to owe money to a gangster. Cast: Noah Applebaum (VFF12, Route 30, Too, VFF14, Route 30 Three!), John Weselcouch (The Purge), Angelina Spicer (Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live), Whitney Moore (Birdemic: Shock and Terror, Birdemic 2: The Resurrection) and Teri Fruichantie (Hollywood is Hard).

The Documentary selections launch with an intimate oral history of the trials, tribulations, heartbreak and joy of bringing some of the most iconic and memorable motion pictures to the screen in IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE STORY: CONVERSATIONS WITH ALAN LADD, JR., Directed by Stanley Isaacs, featuring interviews with Alan Ladd, Jr., Jay Kanter, Michael Gruskoff and Mel Brooks. “The Creative Life” documentary program also includes FOSSE: RECREATED, Directed by Wolfgang Glattes (All That Jazz, Star 80, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) and #NONAHENDRYX: TRANSORMATION from VFF alumni and two time Emmy Award winners, Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges (VFF06, Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars).

The Festival remains fully committed to supporting local independent production by showcasing twenty-six films made by Angelenos, Vals, and shot in or about the glamorous San Fernando Valley, while continuing to promote diverse films from around the world, with shorts from Canada (Chaos Management, Flush, The Silence), France (West Empire), Germany (Chamber Music), Italy (Black Comedy), Kazakhstan (The Sky Over Berlin of my Childhood), Korea (I Am Grace), Serbia (Play!), Switzerland (Stories Upon Your Lips) and the United Kingdom (Dead Fred, I Used to be Famous).

Other features include:

BAD PEOPLE/U.S.A./World Premiere (Director: Alex Petrovitch) - Bad People is a dark comedy feature film that begs us to laugh at the absurdity that is all around us: crack smoking politicians, prostitutes turned reality stars, religious charlatans, sex obsessed online dating, elitist parents, infidelity, and political correctness. Told through the lens of several short stories, the film examines the hysterical dark side that permeates our society today. Cast: Ben Gleib (Showtime's Neurotic Gangster), Leah McKendrick (Bad Moms) Andy Mackenzie (HBO's True Detective Season 2), Christopher Goodman (Showtime's Ray Donovan), Jason Faunt (Power Rangers Time Force) and Jordan Wall (A&E's The Glades).

CHANGEOVER/U.S.A./Los Angeles Premiere (Director Estes Tarver) - After Haley suffers the loss of her parents in a fatal car wreck, she moves in with her almost estranged single uncle and his young son. Together the trio must attempt to move on and make a life as a new family. Cast: Madeline Taylor (John Adams, The Girl Next Door), Estes Tarver (Under the Dome, Finding Carter) and Carter Godwin (Solace).

THE RICH WOMAN/Vietnam/World Premiere (Director: Le-Van Kiet) – When an international business owner informs authorities that her partner has criminal ties, she is forced to face her enemy to save her daughter. Cast: Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, Truong Quynh Anh and Quang Su.

VIRTUAL REVOLUTION/U.S.A./France (Director: Guy-Roger Duvert) – The year is 2047 and most of the population spends their time online, connected into virtual worlds where they can fulfill all of their fantasies, losing all interest for reality and leaving it to a small minority. A shadow Agent is tracking and eliminating terrorists who want to destroy this system. Cast: Mike Dopud (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, 300) and Jane Badler (V).

THE BUSINESS OF NOSTALGIA/U.S.A./Los Angeles Premiere (Directed by Mark DiNatale) – This documentary offers a glimpse into eleven business owners who own, operate, or create something that harkens back to a previous era.

The Valley Film Festival 2016 will open on Wednesday, September 28 and continue through Sunday, October 2 with daily screenings at the Laemmle NoHo 7, located at 5240 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Tickets are $12. For more information and tickets, visit ValleyFilmFest.com.




THE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL 
2016 SCREENING SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY – 9/28
8:00 pm - Opening Night Feature: A Live Lived with I Used to Be Famous and Hands Up (music video)

THURSDAY – 9/29
7:30 pm - Dramatic Shorts Program: Becoming a Man, Frieda’s Turn, Protocol: New Orleans, Rain, The Serene Heartache, Shackled, The Sky Over Berlin of my Childhood, Three-Legged Stool and West Empire.
10:00pm - Feature Program: Bad People with The Unconventional Gourmet and Dead Fred (Trailer)

FRIDAY – 9/30
7:30pm - Feature Program: Electric Slide with Welcome to the Party and Stories Upon Your Lips (music video)
10:00pm - Feature Program: Virtual Revolution with 2BR02B and Synapse (trailer)

SATURDAY – 10/1
12:00 pm/noon – “The Creative Life” Documentary Program: It’s Always About the Story: Conversations with Alan Ladd, Jr. with Fosse: Recreated and #NonaHendryx Transformation
2:00pm – Feature Program: Changeover with I Am Grace
4:30pm – “The Past is Present, and for Sale” Documentary Program: The Business of Nostalgia with Dockery & Son
6:30pm – Feature Program: The Rich Woman with Boxer and Chaos Management
9:00pm – Centerpiece Screening: Badsville with Black Comedy and Caihong City (trailer)

SUNDAY - 10/2
12:00 pm/noon – “Voices of Troubled Youth” Documentary Program: Be More with The Silence and Play!
2:00pm – Celebrating the LGBTQ Community: Her Story with The Prisoner
3:45pm – Girls on Film Shorts Program: Chamber Music, Chippy, Doble 9, Fanny Pack, Flush, Jordan Almonds, The Last Course, Slow Fade to Autumn and Tea & Therapy
6:00pm – Closing Night Program: Drugs & Other Love with The Invitation to Armageddon and $5