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Community Corner

13th Annual Valley Film Festival

The Valley Film Festival (VFF) announces its thirteenth annual lineup of cinema so independent it can be found only in LA’s San Fernando Valley, from Wednesday, November 13 to Sunday, November 17, 2013.

VFF13 is “an exceptionally diverse program, with a blend of local and international flavor.” With forty films in its lineup, including many premieres and eleven foreign films, the festival continues to showcase contemporary independent cinema from around the Valley and the world. The selections include entertaining and provocative documentaries, fiction films, animation, experimental works, and music videos.

The VFF continues to promote local independent production, with over fifteen films made by San Fernando Valley residents, in the Valley, or about it. The opening night feature is THE ACTIVIST, a thriller directed, written, and produced by LA resident Cyril Morin. Thursday night’s feature is VIRGINITY, a drama about women suffering abuse from men within patriarchal cultures in LA. As part of the “Spotlight on Islamic Cultures” program, VIRGINITY is accompanied by the Moroccan short film AL LAYLA AL AKHEERA (When They Slept), a drama about religion, gender, and family relations. On Sunday afternoon, the “Spotlight on Korean-American Cultures” has the Valley premiere of the short film MANDEVILLA and the LA premiere of the crime drama INNOCENT BLOOD, from award-winning directors Sun Kim and D.J. Holloway.

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Friday evening’s “Girls on Film” program of shorts has several LA premieres as well as the world premiere of the music video THE VIBRATOR SONG. OPERHATOR is a thriller written and directed by fourteen-year-old Tara-Nicole Azarian. Later in the evening, the “The Valley After Dark” program includes the documentary short TARAFIED, about professional wrestler Lisa Marie Varon (aka Tara). The feature documentary SATAN'S ANGEL: QUEEN OF THE FIRE TASSELS profiles a burlesque dancer with many colorful and riveting stories from her travels around the globe.

Saturday afternoon’s “Family Shorts Program” includes the LA premiere of POSEY, starring Sally Kirkland and Ray Wise, and directed by Billy DaMota. Following this is a double-feature documentary program, including BEAST WISHES, about a Burbank couple who are the goodwill ambassadors of science fiction film fandom. The dramatic shorts program boasts three world premieres: DESOLATE ROAD, LUNA, and MURK LIGHT. The evening’s centerpiece screenings are GUMSHOE and THE GOLDEN SCALLOP, a competitive-cooking comedy.

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Sunday afternoon’s “Comedy Shorts” program includes MAN UP LITTLE BOY, starring Bradley Whitford and directed by VFF alum Jeffrey Williams. The closing night feature is CINEMABILITY, a star-studded, thought-provoking, and humorous documentary exploring the evolution of disability portrayals in film and television.

Screenings typically are followed by informal Q&A sessions with the filmmakers.

Founded in 2000, The Valley Film Festival, a project of Community Partners®, is the first and longest continually running film festival in the San Fernando Valley. With a mission to join established and emerging talent with adventurous audiences in Los Angeles, the VFF has screened over 500 shorts, features, documentaries, animated films, experimental works, and music videos from around the world. While emphasizing independent film, the festival also has shown some studio productions, including BOOGIE NIGHTS, CHINATOWN, ENCINO MAN, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, MAGNOLIA, TERMINATOR 2, VALLEY GIRL, and WORLD TRADE CENTER.

TICKETS $12

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