The 13th annual Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival will open on Thursday, March 23 at 8pm at the Regal Cinemas at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles with a Gala and Benefit Screening. The four-day festival continues through Sunday, February 26 with features, documentaries and shorts, as well as a series of panel discussions.
The Opening Night Gala features a screening of The Drowning, directed by Bette Gordon and starring Julia Stiles, Josh Charles and Avan Jogia. The film, based on the novel Border Crossing by Booker Prize-winner Pat Barker, is a psychological thriller that explores shifting identities as a psychiatrist faces the past, present and future—while treating a young man convicted of a murder when he was just 11 years old. The screening is followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and a gala reception.
The full festival program details are available at Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival web site: www.lawomensfest.com, and the 2017 schedule is included below.
The festival is produced by Diana Means, the Director of Programming at Alliance of Women Filmmakers. The Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival was founded in 2004 by the Alliance of Women Filmmakers (AWF) and serves as a platform for women filmmakers worldwide to share their unique stories and cultural experiences with Los Angeles’ diverse audience. The festival’s programming reflects AWF’s goal to educate and inform audiences of social, political, and health issues impacting women globally.
Each year, the Festival partners with an organization that serves women to help generate awareness and raises money in support of women’s causes. For 2017 AWF has partnered with WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based creative writing and mentoring organization that spotlights the power of a girl and her pen.
• • •
2017 Festival Schedule
THURSDAY, MARCH 23
OPENING NIGHT
8:00pm – The Drowning, directed by Bette Gordon
FRIDAY, MARCH 24
12:00pm – Shorts Program One
2:00pm – Shorts Program Two
4:15pm – Shorts Program Three
6:30pm – Shorts Program Four
9:00pm – Shorts Program Five
SATURDAY, MARCH 25
IN THEATER 14
Morning Panel Series
10:00am – Digital Platforms, Panelists TBA
12:00pm – Film Financing, Panelists TBA
2:00pm – Documentary Distribution, Panelists TBA
Screenings
4:00pm – Raising Ms. President, directed by Kiley Lane Parker
7:00pm – Jackson, directed by Maisie Crow
9:00pm – Same Difference, directed by Nneka Onuorah
IN THEATER 3
10:00am – The Valley, directed by Saila Kariat
12:15pm – The Tribe, directed by Roxy Shih
2:30pm – After Auschwitz, directed by Jon Kean
4:30pm – Women Like Us, directed by Sally Colon-Petree
6:30pm – Reflections Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights, directed by Nevline Nnaji
8:30pm – Scout, directed by Laurie Weltz
SUNDAY, MARCH 26
IN THEATER 3
10:00am – Boundaries of the Heart, directed by Zhang Feng
12:15pm – 10 Days in a Madhouse, directed by Timothy Hines
3:00pm – It’s Criminal, directed by Signe Taylor
5:30pm – Saanja, directed by Ajay Saklani
8:00pm – Endless Night, directed by Isabel Coixet
• • •
ABOUT Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival
The festival is produced by Alliance of Women Filmmakers, an organization established to empower women filmmakers to create diverse roles for women as well as increase exposure for women causes. Each year in March, the festival showcases narratives, documentaries, animation and student short films made by women. In addition to providing women a platform to share their unique stories, the festival serves as a fundraiser for women causes.
ABOUT Diana Means
Diana Means is Director of Programming at AWF and an Arts Commissioner for the City of Burbank. She began her entertainment career in 2000 at ABC Television Network, and is currently working for Warner Bros. Time Warner recently honored Diana for her work on the Festival, selecting her as a winner of the 2016 Richard D. Parsons Community Impact Award—Time Warner’s highest tribute to employees for exceptional contributions to public service. Diana has also spent the past decade volunteering with organizations serving women and girls and she currently sits on the boards of StepUp and WriteGirl.
ABOUT WriteGirl
WriteGirl is a Los Angeles-based creative writing and mentoring organization that spotlights the power of a girl and her pen. Through one-on-one mentoring and monthly creative writing workshops, girls are given techniques, insights and hot topics for great writing in all genres from professional women writers. Workshops and mentoring sessions explore poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, songwriting, journalism, screenwriting, playwriting, persuasive writing, journal writing, editing and more.
