The Los Angeles Film Festival, in conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the Los Angeles Times and Host Partner L.A. LIVE, announced the Closing Night film and official US and international selections for the 2012 Festival.  

The Festival will end its festivities with the World Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Magic Mike, directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Reid Carolin and starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn, Matt Bomer, Riley Keough, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias. Set in the world of male strippers, the dramatic comedy follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film nationwide on June 29, 2012.

Dreamworks Pictures’ People Like Us will have its World Premiere amongst the Summer Showcase screenings. The film is directed by Alex Kurtzman, written by Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and Jody Lambert, and stars Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall D’Addario, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Duplass and Michelle Pfeiffer. In a story inspired by true events, Sam (Pine), a twenty-something, fast-talking salesman, is tasked with fulfilling his estranged father’s last wishes—delivering an inheritance to a sister he never knew he had. Dreamworks Pictures will release the film on June 29, 2012.

Narrative Competition (10): The Narrative Competition is comprised of films made by talented emerging filmmakers that compete for the Filmmaker Award. The winner is determined by a panel of jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature or Best International Feature.

• All Is Well, Pocas Pascoal – Portugal – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
• Breakfast with Curtis, Laura Colella – WORLD PREMIERE
  • The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man, Arturo Pons – Mexico – NORTH AMERICAN    PREMIERE
  • Crazy and Thief, Cory McAbee – NORTH PREMIERE
  • Dead Man’s Burden, Jared Moshé – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Four, Joshua Sanchez – WORLD PREMIERE
  • A Night Too Young, Olmo Omerzu – Czech Republic – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
  • Pincus, David Fenster – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Red Flag, Alex Karpovsky – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Thursday till Sunday, Dominga Sotomayor – Chile – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Documentary Competition (9): The Documentary Competition is comprised of films made by talented emerging filmmakers that compete for the Documentary Award. The winner is determined by a panel of jurors, and films in this section are also eligible for the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature or Best International Feature.

• 25 to Life, Mike Brown – WORLD PREMIERE
• A Band Called Death, Jeff Howlett, Mark Covino – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives, Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore –  WORLD PREMIERE
  • Call Me Kuchu, Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall – US PREMIERE
  • Drought, Everado González – Mexico – US PREMIERE
  • The Iran Job, Till Schauder – USA/Germany/Iran – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Sun Kissed, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Vampira and Me, R. H. Greene – WORLD PREMIERE
  • Words of Witness, Mai Iskander – Egypt/USA – US PREMIERE

International Showcase (15): The International Showcase highlights innovative independent narrative and documentary features from outside of the United States. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

• Bestiaire, Denis Côté – Canada
• Bunohan: Return to Murder, Dain Said – Malaysia (Oscilloscope Pictures)
• Canícula, José Álvarez – Mexico
• The First Man, Gianni Amelio – France – US PREMIERE
• The Last Elvis, Armando Bo – Argentina
• Neighboring Sounds, Kleber Mendonça Filho – Brazil (The Cinema Guild)
• On the Edge, Leila Kilani – France/Morocco/Germany
• P-047, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee – Thailand
• Return to Burma, Midi Z. – Taiwan/Myanmar
• Sister, Ursula Meier – Switzerland (Adopt Films) – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
• The Strawberry Tree, Simone Rapisarda Casanova – Canada/Cuba/Italy
• Summer Games, Rolando Colla – Switzerland
• Teddy Bear, Mads Matthiesen – Denmark (Film Movement)
• Unforgivable, André Téchiné – France (Strand Releasing)
• Without Gorky, Cosima Spender – UK

Summer Showcase (16): The Summer Showcase section offers an advance look at this summer’s most talked about independent film releases from the festival circuit. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.

• About Face, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (HBO Films)
• Beauty Is Embarrassing, Neil Berkeley
• Big Easy Express, Emmett Malloy
• Celeste and Jesse Forever, Lee Toland Krieger (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Gayby, Jonathan Lisecki (Wolfe Releasing)
• Gimme the Loot, Adam Leon (Sundance Selects)
• The House I Live In, Eugene Jarecki
• It’s a Disaster, Todd Berger – WORLD PREMIERE
  • La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus, Mark Kendall –                   USA/Guatemala
  • Neil Young Journeys, Jonathan Demme (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • An Oversimplification of her Beauty, Terence Nance – USA/France
  • People Like Us, Alex Kurtzman (Dreamworks Pictures) – WORLD PREMIERE
  • The Queen of Versailles, Lauren Greenfield (Magnolia Pictures)
  • Reportero, Bernardo Ruiz
  • Robot & Frank, Jake Schreier (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
  • Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendjelloul (Sony Pictures Classics)

Community Screenings (6): These films will be presented free to the public. New films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature or Best Documentary Feature.

• Dirty Dancing (1987), Emile Ardolino – Grand Performances Screening
• E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Steven Spielberg – FIGat7th Screening
  • G-Dog, Freida Mock – WORLD PREMIERE
  • The Invisible War, Kirby Dick (Cinedigm)
  • LUV, Sheldon Candis – Project Involve Screening (Indomina)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Nicholas Meyer – FIGat7th Screening

The Beyond (3): The Beyond offers films that dare to be different. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature or Best Narrative Feature.

• The History of Future Folk, J. Anderson Mitchell, Jeremy Kipp Walker – WORLD PREMIERE
• Juan of the Dead, Alejandro Brugués – Cuba
• Saturday Morning Massacre, Spencer Parsons – WORLD PREMIERE

Retro (3):

• Ballads, Blues and Bluegrass (1961), Alan Lomax – WORLD PREMIERE
• Banishment (2007), Andrey Zvyagintsev – Russia – LAFCA’s The Film That Got Away
• The Breaking Point (1950), Michael Curtiz – Film Foundation Screening

Short Films (48): Shorts are shown before features and as part of four short film programs. With their diverse and complex content, these films shine brilliantly. Most short films, domestic and international, will compete for prizes in Narrative, Documentary, and Animation/Experimental categories. The winner is determined by a panel of jurors. An Audience Award for Best Short Film is also presented.

• Shorts Program 1-4

Future Filmmakers Showcase: High School Shorts (31): These two programs of shorts are made by high school students from around the country, featuring work by the next generation of filmmakers.

• Programs 1-2

Music Videos (40): The Music Video Showcase consists of two programs. Eclectic Mix is a visual mix tape of this year’s best independent music videos with a few innovative major label artists thrown in for good measure. As a Special Focus, DANIELS and Walter Robot go head to head in an event peppered with music videos, shorts, production secrets, feats of strength, audience challenges and possible mime. Music videos will compete for an Audience Award.

• Eclectic Mix 1
• Thunderdome: DANIELS vs Walter Robot

For more information on the Los Angeles Film Festival visit the festival webpage.

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