One of the most underrated film festivals out there is the Los Angeles Film Festival. Always boasting a unique mix of indie films and bigger pictures, the festival, put on by Film Independent, has a really fun spirit. This year’s festival sees the group pushing further into the realm of digital space, while also making sure the films are of high quality and intrigue. The Los Angeles Film Festival also has an amazingly diverse set of filmmakers, with nearly half of the films being directed by women. I’m excited to attend again this year and decided to highlight the 10 films I’m most excited about seeing (in alphabetical order):

Abbatoir
Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Jessica Lowndes, Joe Anderson, Lin Shaye, Dayton Callie
Julia, an investigative reporter with the style and confidence of a young Bacall, happens upon a series of gruesome murders tied to real estate mysteries, where entire rooms have been dismantled and pulled from their foundations. The fact that those rooms were the exact settings for heinous tragedies sets Julia and hardboiled cop Grady on a search for the unimaginable. The stakes go up when it suddenly becomes very personal in this stylized and increasingly horrifying modern-noir.
Why: Jessica Lowndes is game in every role she tackles + modern noir + intruiging premise

The Conjuring 2
Dir. James Wan
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Franka Potente, David Thewlis
Renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children in a house plagued by a malicious spirit known as the Enfield Poltergeist. They quickly discover that the demonic presence is now also targeting them.
Why: James Wan is a master of horror + I heart Farmiga and Wilson + what will our next “Sheet” moment?

Destined
Dir. Qasim Basir
Starring: Cory Hardrict, Jesse Metcalfe, Hill Harper, Margot Bingham, Zulay Henao, Mo McCrae, Robert Christopher Riley, Jason Dohring, Lala Anthony, Paula Devicq, James McCaffrey, Curtiss Cook
In one world, Rasheed Smith is a hardened criminal who has spent years building his drug empire. In another, he is an ambitious architect who has been working his way up the corporate ladder. Illustrated through parallel lives, Rasheed faces everything from street violence to corporate corruption, demonstrating that regardless of which path his life takes, there is no simple journey toward fulfilling one’s destiny.
Why: That cast is very deep + I love a good interescting lives film

Don’t Hang Up
Dir. Alexis Wajsbrot , Damien Macé
Starring: Gregg Sulkin, Sienna Guillory, Garrett Clayton, Bella Dayne
Following a long tradition of cocky teenage boys with too much time on their hands, Brady, Sam and Mosley like to amuse themselves by making prank calls. However, their cellular diversions are intensified by the extreme nature of the pranks they put their unsuspecting victims through, and the delight and encouragement they receive when they post videos of their hijinks online for maximum humiliation. Having pushed the wrong person too far, they find themselves on the other side of a call, and an evening intended for normal high school revelry turns increasingly bloody as their unknown assailant ramps up a prank of his own.
Why: Phone call scares bring back great memories (Scream, The Strangers, When a Stranger Calls) + two rising actors (Clayon and Sulkin) + the directors worked on Gravity and Game of Thrones!

Lights Out
Dir. David F. Sandberg
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello
Rebecca spent her entire life never quite sure of what was real when the lights went out at night, tormented by childhood fears and unexplained memories. Now grown, she finds herself overcome with dread when her little brother reports the same terrifying visions that threatened her own safety and sanity: a creature with a mysterious attachment to their mother that appears only when the lights go out.
Why: Based on an amazing and creepy short film + Maria Bello is a great actress + it had a great WonderCon showing

Lowriders
Dir. Ricardo de Montreuil
Starring: Melissa Benoist, Demián Bichir, Eva Longoria, Gabriel Chavarria, Theo Rossi
Where teenaged Danny is from, lowrider culture is about more than just spectacular cars—it’s about ethnic heritage, community expression and family traditions. When an annual lowrider event forces him to choose between his traditional father (Demian Bichir, in a nuanced portrayal of grief and disconnect) and his estranged criminal brother (Theo Rossi), Danny’s loyalties are severely tested.
Why: I got to visit the set while interning at Universal and want to know how the movie turns out + this cast is aces + LA story

Namour
Dir. Heidi Saman
Starring: Karim Saleh, Waleed Zuaiter, Mona Hala, Nicole Haddad
Steven Bassem spends his evenings at an upscale restaurant among the nouveau riche elite. But he’s not there to dine; he’s there to park cars. An all-but-invisible valet, Steven is acutely aware of his dead-end situation and begins to act out erratically. As the bonds of his once tightly knit Arab-American family erode, Steven acts out in increasingly erratic ways, and struggles to figure out who he is and what he ought to be doing.
Why: LA Muse section always has some gems + the non-standard recession story + first time filmmaker!

Opening Night
Dir. Isaac Rentz
Starring: Topher Grace, Lauren Lapkus, Alona Tal, Taye Diggs, Anne Heche, JC Chasez, Rob Riggle, Paul Scheer, Brian Husky, Lesli Margherita
Backstage at a new Broadway show featuring the best one-hit wonders you ever forgot the band name for, production manager Nick circles non-stop like a shark, putting out countless fires involving feuding actors, flirtatious dancers and a gonzo band member with a jones for a buzz. Vibrant onstage musical numbers with legitimately impressive singing and staging are cut together with snarky exchanges, sexual bets, inside jokes, broken hearts and a glorious multi-layered NSYNC riff to brighten the darkest of spirits.
Why: backstage stories are fun + insane talent involved + the words “multi-layered NSYNC riff”

Play the Devil
Dir. Maria Govan
Starring: Petrice Jones, Gareth Jenkins, Akil Nicholas, Penelope Spencer
Gregory, a gifted student from a working class family, is favorably positioned to win a coveted medical scholarship, and yet is secretly cultivating a desire to become a photographer. James, an established businessman, uses his wealth and access to pique the young man’s latent artistic inclinations. When James cannot accept Gregory’s boundaries, the relationship spirals into a fateful, carnal dance during the “Jab” (devil) play, on Carnival’s Monday night.
Why: Carnal dance during a devil play? yes please! + world story with a cool premise

They Call Us Monsters
Dir. Ben Lear
In California, juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17 can be tried as adults for violent crimes. Behind the walls of The Compound, they await their trials—and the accompanying adult sentencing. Juan, Jarad and Antonio are three such inmates. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters. Who are they to you? With unprecedented access to the juvenile facility, Ben Lear’s evocative and daring debut documentary allows audiences to get to know these young men through a screenwriting workshop in which they collectively fictionalize their lives and dreams. Lear delves into the lives of the victims of violent crimes committed by juveniles and follows legislative debates around bill SB260, which gives children a so-called second chance by allowing them parole eligibility after 35 years.
Why: rough but fascinating subject matter + sure to be compelling protagonists

Best of the Rest of the Fest
There’s a trio of special chats that I am dying to see, and they all involve Black filmmakers. On June 2, Nate Parker is coming, along with actres Aja Naomi King, to talk about The Birth of a Nation. On June 4, Ava Duvernay is getting an award and Ryan Coogler and his music supervisor will talk about how they did their work on Creed.

Finally, the Diversity Speaks panels will be happening on June 4 and there’s going to be a special surprise announcement from me after this (although if you follow me on Twitter you know what the announcement will be about).
Read more at http://lenoirauteur.com/2016/05/30/los-angeles-film-festival-preview-anticipated-films/#IGRb6zJyjqmhkiKK.99