HIGHLAND PARK INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL October 4-6, 2018
Mary Jane: The Women of Weed – doc – Dir. Windy Borman (90 mins)
Women are changing the face of today’s fastest growing industry – cannabis. Join filmmaker Windy Borman as she explores the movement to end marijuana prohibition, her own relationship to the plant, and the stereotypes surrounding it. Through a series of empowering and educational interviews with a broad diversity of women leading the industry today, Windy’s own assumptions are transformed as she discovers cannabis liberation intersects with the most urgent social justice issues of our time. She learns how this green revolution has big effects on environmental sustainability, ending the War on Drugs and the Prison-Industrial Complex, and the destructive domination of Big Pharma.
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Disappearance (Iran) – foreign feature – Dir. Ali Asgari (90 mins)
On a cold winter’s night in modern Tehran, a couple of young lovers run into a serious problem, and they have just a few hours to come up with a solution. They go from hospital to hospital in search for help, but none of the hospitals will admit the young woman and provide her with the medical attention she desperately requires. While they try hard to find a way to solve the problem, they have to hide what is happening from their parents. Moreover, their relationship is facing a crisis and will suffer dire consequences. Caught between conservative traditions and modern day desires, the couple must face their uncertain future.
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Awkward Silence – feature – Dir. Manny Montanez (45mins) – HLP Local Director Aaron and Eva have been dating for almost a year and believe their relationship is headed on the right track. It isn’t until a night out, that a misunderstanding comes between their love. Now they must reevaluate their relationship, while reliving the first time they met and the night in question. Can love speak in more than one language?
Bullitt County – Dir. David McCracken (90mins)
Bullitt County is an action/thriller about four friends who reunite for a bachelor party in the Fall of 1977 to hunt for buried Prohibition money on the Bluegrass Bourbon Trail, only to become ripped apart by greed, corruption, and murder. The film is an exciting mix between ‘No Country For Old Men,’ ‘Deliverance,’ and ‘The Shining.’
Blissful at Zero – doc – Dir. Emma Fazzuoli & Joe Gasparik (60mins)
Through a shift in perspective, Nicole Tupper, a young woman living with a rare form of terminal cancer, shocks her doctors when she outlives her prognosis beyond everyone’s expectations. With the support of her family and friends, Nicole finds the beauty and meaning behind her pain, and discovers what makes life worth living. Blissful at Zero follows Nicole, doctors of Eastern and Western medicine, and a Jungian psychologist as they offer an inspiring and thought provoking examination of what it truly means to be alive.
Tales of the American (feature doc) – Dir. Stephen Seemayer (110mins)
For some, it was a fresh start. For others, a last resort. It was also the home of Al’s Bar, the seminal punk-rock dive. The American Hotel in downtown Los Angeles was built in 1905 as the city’s first hotel for African-Americans. Since that time, it has been a haven for society’s outsiders, whether Japanese immigrants or artists seeking cheap space and an off-the-grid existence in an abandoned and neglected urban landscape. Over the past four decades, a thriving and free-spirited arts scene has grown up in and around the American Hotel. But development and gentrification are pushing out the artists that made the area desirable. At the heart of this struggle stands the American Hotel, with its history of tolerance and renewal.
SHORTS
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Gridlock (Ireland) – Dir. Ian Hunt Duffy A thriller set during a traffic jam on a country road. When a little girl goes missing from one of the cars, her father forms a desperate search party to find her, and soon everyone is a suspect.
Kill Al – Dir. Walter Brandes, Renée Stork In an environment where androids are met with hostility and outrage by human beings, “Kill Al” tells the story of Femtel 216 and Femtel 303, two female synthetic beings confined to work in a sub-basement of an auditing firm.
Maelstrøm (Spain) – Dir. Carlos Gómez-Trigo Karl spins the spoon from his coffee. Something spins even faster inside Tony’s head.
Disposition – Dir. Eric Thirteen A woman stalked by depression makes some extreme decisions.
How to Build a Cloud (Spain) – Dir. Carlos Barquin Juan, while looking for his father´s watch, finds inside a box a set of instructions on how to build a cloud out of thin air.
The Rursus – Dir. Caitlin Sheridan In the distant future, things quickly go wrong when 24 year old Zoe Bellwood arrives at her appointment to enter the Rursus – a new technology that allows those who are dying to relive the best memories of their life.
Wonderful People (Spain) – Dir. David Tembleque, Luc Knowles Choose your player. Project your egocentricity and need for attention. Share it on social media.
Broken Sunflower Hearts – Dir. Miguel Angel Caballero When his ex-boyfriend Sam shows up on his doorstep a year after separating, Anthony weighs the impact it will have on his life and young daughter Luna.
El Espiritu – Dir. Michael Centeno Rafa, a young boy fascinated with a 1950’s Mexican luchador named El Espiritu, finds himself wrestling with challenges on his journey to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The People’s Cookie – Dir. Ko Massiah After using Frida Kahlo’s image to create a viral culinary sensation, a Los Angeles hipster is haunted by the deceased artist and her estranged husband, Diego Rivera.
Tempestad – Dir. Daniel E. García Few would ever guess that Alex, a light-skinned, light-eyed 18-year old is the son of Chui, a caring, undocumented landscape worker. It is the opening day of The Tempest, the annual play of Alex’s prestigious high school theater company.
Mi Amor – Dir. Yeniffer Behrens A romantic dramedy set in Los Angeles. JONATHAN, a fifteen-year-old intelligent young man meets the new girl in school sixteen-year-old RAQUEL, a beautiful young lady.
The Angeleno – Dir. John Palacio Angeleno, Tommie Martinez is a colorful and charming local who reminisces moving from New York City to Los Angeles over 50 years ago.
Undocumented – Dir. Bishal Dutta An undocumented filmmaker in Los Angeles traverses his surroundings – his neighborhood, the mall at which he works, a film set – in order to come to terms with the ugliness and beauty of his world.
The Opportunity – Dir. Susana Dueñas When her seventeen year-old daughter starts applying to college against her wishes, Fatima, a Mexican mail carrier, must choose between standing by her daughter’s side, or missing out on what could be the biggest opportunity of their lives yet.
Work – Dir. Sam Griffith A young mom questions her choices and identity while raising her daughter on a farm.
Schooled – Dir. Kayden Phoenix, Charlie Phoenix In the not too distant future, a teacher goes against the government and teaches the truth, regardless of the consequences.
Conquering a Granite Goliath – Dir. Christopher R. Abbey Three friends set off on a bucket list adventure to summit the highest point in the contiguous United States.
Downward Hiro – Dir. Kelly Perine A troubled man, on a downward spiral after a tragic family loss, gets a call in the middle of the night asking if he’ll come back to work.
Process– Dir. Thomas Grimes Observe the intimate and quiet stages of film photography, as the photographer shoots in the field, and develops her film in the lab.
Desert – Dir. Gerry Maravilla A long distance couple meet at an isolated desert motel to give their relationship one last shot.Hike – Dir. Jessie Sanchez Just a short film about the health benefits of hiking.
Handy – ep#1 – Dir. Samuel Miron A handywoman’s mission to build a sex dungeon.
Carpe Diem – Dir. Jake Gigliotti, Kevin Shiramizu An Urban Fishing Odyssey.
Reply – Dir. Michael Svoboda When a childhood friend shows up on his doorstep with a burning question, a man must face the repercussions of his online interactions.
Highland Café – Dir. Yuehan Zhang A 70 year old bubbly widow, Diana, who is bored with retirement decides to get a job at a coffee shop as a barista.
L.A. Fadeaway – Dir. Meg Sutton Drew’s a young female musician working at a local music venue in 1970s Los Angeles.
Heimlich – Dir. Lisanne Sartor Nina and Alex are married with their toddler Elsie. Nina’s had enough.
The Date Lesson – Dir. Michael Buono , Bayne Gibby Ruth, a bit of an odd bird, battles a mild case of anxiety walking to Joe’s apartment. Is this a real date?
Second Assault – Dir. Jillian Corsie, Amy Rosner When Jillian was 18 years old, she was raped in her college dorm room. Twelve years later Second Assault follows her on the journey to confront this incident and in particular, her anger toward the police officer who deemed the assault consensual.
The Performance – Dir. Tatyana Yassukovich Three sisters: Summer, Sarah and Sasha have grown up together with a theatre father and it is hard to see the world outside of that.
Je Suis (I Am) – Dir. Faith Strongheart Disappointing everyone around her with her inability to meet mounting expectations, a working mother struggles to find balance.Spanko – Dir. Melanie Zoey Weinstein A misfit second grade teacher finally explores her taboo fetish.
Our Man in Tokyo (The Ballad of Shin Miyata) – Dir. Akira Boch Our Man in Tokyo is a short documentary about the struggles and obsessions of Shin Miyata, a Tokyo-based record label owner, music promoter, and cultural ambassador who has been distributing Chicano music and bringing East Los Angeles bands to Japan for nearly 20 years.
Pure – Dir. Mantas Valantiejus A mixed race , business – executive , rejected by his fiancee’s parents, realizes his own bias after a random encounter in Los Angeles.
Perfect Breakfast – Dir. David Bornstein A young professional strives to cook the perfect pair of eggs and goes completely mad in the process.
Storyteller – Dir. Jacopo Campaiola Broken down, defeated, and desperate, we open to find our main character (unnamed) at the end of his rope.
7:47 to Union – Dir. Matthew Oquendo After a chance encounter, two strangers spend a night together wandering downtown Los Angeles.
The Loud Spirit of the South – Dir. Arian Soheili A journey through the New Orleans underground music scene happening as we speak.Moretti – Dir. Albert Salaz Jr. Moretti is a drama about a man reacting to a terrible tragedy. He is shaken to his core and now questions everything that he has ever know.
Fallas De Valencia – Dir. Jeff Dolen Three artists behind the making of the Fallas Festival in Valencia Spain share first hand their experience during the five day fireworks festival.
HISTORIC HIGHLAND THEATRE 5604 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042
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