Sep 12, 2007

Beverly Hills, CA, August 20, 2007…The LA Femme Film Festival’s Founder and President Leslie LaPage announced today that the 2007 festival will kick off on October 11th.  The festival, which is in its third year, will run from October 11th -14th and will include new independent features, shorts, student films, animated films, special screenings and seminars.  The four day event will be held at two theatres: the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. and the Wilshire Screening Room at 8670 Wilshire Blvd.  

LA Femme is solely dedicated to creating and inspiring talented female artists who desire to create entertainment for the masses. The festival exhibits the diverse talents of emerging artists to wider audiences by showcasing new work to industry professionals, up and coming filmmakers and film fans. The festival includes film screenings of submitted works, seminars with industry experts, networking events, an awards ceremony and a benefit gala. The full schedule is available at: www.lafemme.org.

In May 2005, the festival premiered in downtown Los Angeles and this year we will be closing down 7th Street to celebrate the growth of the downtown area with the filming of a film featuring an all-star female rock band line up and party sponsored by The Roosevelt. [The Dedication, Bad Apple, Pretty in Stereo]. On Friday Oct 12, LA Femme will be hosting a fundraiser for the non-profit breast cancer organization, “What a Pair” at the Westwood Brewing Co.

LA Femme Film Festival accepts submissions of films produced, directed or written by women. Each film, video, short and screenplay challenges other films in its category and is eligible for awards such as: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, Best Commercial, Best Music Video, Best PSA (Public Service Announcement), Best Short,  Best Indie Feature, Best Indie Writer, Best Director and Honorable Mention for Outstanding Achievement.

The festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 will be a highlight of the weekend.  In addition to the filmmakers receiving awards, many deserving members of the entertainment community will also be honored.

Those being recognized at the Festival’s Closing Ceremony are:

·         Martha Coolidge – Maverick Award (Former President DGA ‘02-03, Rambling Rose, Material Girls, Out to Sea, Shark, CSI)

·         Rosanna Arquette- Pioneer Award (Desperately Seeking Susan, Big Bad Love, What About Brian, The L Word, The Whole Nine Yards)

·         Lea Thompson- Humanitarian Award (Caroline and the City, Back to the Future, A Life Interrupted, Jane Doe:Ties that Bind)

·         Sarah Risher (ChickFlicks) – Executive Achievement Award (The Politician’s wife, Broken Bridges, Raise You Voice, Deep  Blue)

Winners at the LA Femme Film Festival will receive prizes including merchandise valued at over $1,500.  Most importantly, the winners gain priceless exposure for their films. For example, the 2005 Best Feature winner “Green Street Hooligans” went on to open in over 2,000 theaters nationwide. Yelena Lanskaya, winner of the 2005 Best Director award, saw her film “The Colt” air on The Hallmark Channel. In 2006 the filmmaker of “City of Gold” , Jeanne signed a production agreement with Sandman Studios; “The recognition and association with La Femme Film Festival has proven to be an invaluable step forward for the City of Gold animated feature project” quoted Jeanne. Beautiful Dreamer has gone on to win in festivals including: Central Florida Film Festival (CENFLO) Best Picture Award & Audience Award; Temecula Valley International Film Festival (TVIFF) Best Picture Award & Audience Award; La Femme Film Festival  (Beverly Hills) Best Picture Award; Cackalack Film Festival (Charlotte, NC) Best Picture Award; Australian International Film Festival (AIFF) Best International Picture; International Family Film Festival (IFFF) Directors Gold Award for Best Picture.

Festival founder Ms. LaPage said, “After more than a decade of working as a producer in the industry, I have seen women filmmakers rise to the top and I wanted to create a specific forum in which our stars of tomorrow could be championed. Our festival’s winners receive distribution deals and we hope that this year’s cadre of extraordinary filmmakers will enjoy the same success.”

Unique to other festivals, LA Femme not only exhibits films, it also distributes selected works through the festival’s own Foundation Films Distribution (FFD) and acts as Producer’s Representatives.  

The seminar line-up includes a prestigious array of film business professionals. The Writers Guild America West will sponsor a writers’ panel featuring women screenwriters who have written screenplays on genre specific films. The Screen Actors Guild will sponsor a panel featuring women actors, directors, and producers on “Ageism in Hollywood”.

LA Femme Film Festival is open to the general public and tickets are available on the website www.lafemme.org or by calling (310) 441-1645. Tickets for individual films are $10.00 and seminars are each $20.00 at the door, while a VIP pass for all events is $150.00. A union member pass (SAG, WGA, AFTRA, DGA, PGA, IATSC) for all events is available for $59.99.  High school students may attend screenings and seminars for free. Full Festival VIP passes include all screenings, after parties, seminars, the Benefit Party and the Closing Night Awards Ceremony.  Students with a current ID from film school are welcome to attend the seminars for FREE and the screenings for $10.  Single tickets are also available for industry cocktail parties ($25) the benefit gala ($60) and the awards ceremony ($30).

LA Femme Film Festival is strongly committed to changing how women are viewed in the industry. The Festival benefits “What a Pair”, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting breast cancer.  

Ms. LaPage is an accomplished director and producer. For five years, Ms. LaPage was a Slamdance Film Festival Programmer and was the creator and Executive Producer of the Slamdance Filmmaker's Bootcamp.  For the past 15 years, she has produced, directed and line-produced for film, television, music videos, commercials and theatrical productions. She also serves as a consultant to independent filmmakers offering assistance with script analysis, budgets, marketing and helping to submit projects to other film festivals around the globe. She also hosts a Radio Talk Show “Feature Film Bootcamp” for BigMediaUSA.com interviewing experts in Film and TV. This internet based radio station is the brain child of Tony DeMaio, Chairman and CEO, who is turning what is thought of just another radio station into an international craze; www.BigMediaUSA.com.

Writers Guild America West, Screen Actor’s Guild, Screen Actors Guild Foundation, The Roosevelt, Milbank Real Estate, Wells Fargo, Aqua Restaurant & Lounge, Showbiz  Software, The Governor’s Office Of Film and Entertainment for the State of Florida, Time Warner Cable, BigMediaUSA.com, , JackFM, Secrets to Distribution, Longevityherbs.com and  It’s in the Bag, The DR Group, KABC, Rehab, Fuze