Independent filmmakers were given a moment to shine at Long Beach’s inaugural film festival, which featured a kickoff at the Queen Mary and a festival that ran from August 29-30 with industry panels, Q&As, networking and film screenings at the Art Theatre on Fourth Street.
Long Beach has a long, storied history with the film industry dating back to the 1910s, and the Long Beach Film Festival aims to bring some of that focus back to Long Beach and its filmmakers.
“It’s important for just bringing cinema culture into the community,” Benjamin Sampson, an LBCC associate professor in the film department, said. “Having an established event draws eyeballs to movies and makes them think of Long Beach at the same time.”
The festival rotated between the Art Theatre, and an event space dubbed the “FilmLounge” which hosted activities between screenings.
The early afternoon “Making Money Tomorrow” panel featured Hunter Stibel, an actor, filmmaker and the Long Beach Film Festival’s director of programming; Kate Fogarty, a filmmaker, writer, director and producer who co-founded Vertical Sunsets; actor, writer and producer Clayton Farris; and Ryan Turner, chief creative officer of production company Echobend.
The first feature film of the day, “Ugly Cry,” starred Emily Robinson, who also wrote and directed the film about an actress chasing perfect beauty after her cry is criticized in an audition.
After the screening, Robinson was joined on stage by the film’s editor Patrick Lawrence for a Q&A session with the audience.
“This is really exciting, it’s already a great festival on day one, and to be the first feature to play here is really exciting,” Lawrence said.
Following the Q&A the crowd headed back towards the FilmLounge for refreshments, food and an opportunity for creatives and sponsors to network and socialize.
Justin Harris, vice president of culture and engagement at Pedal Movement, a sponsor for the event, said the festival helps strengthen Long Beach’s place within the broader Los Angeles arts community while also acknowledging the city’s existing creative history.
“For those outside of Long Beach, I believe the film festival adds a sense of legitimacy and infrastructural progress for Long Beach in the L.A. art scene,” Harris said. “ For those within the community of Long Beach, it is a great way to honor the film and art legacy that has always been here.”
Harris also said support from local businesses and organizations can benefit the city economically while reinforcing its creative community.
“Events like this are the perfect way to show your commitment to film and the arts that we all love, as well as showing your commitment to your city’s efforts to place the arts and creativity on the forefront of sustainable economic and cultural development,” Harris said.
The second film, “Again Again,” also featured its writer and director in the starring role, this time with Mia Moore making her directorial debut.
“Again Again,” is a romance science fiction film, about a couple trapped in a time loop that suddenly ends one morning, and the uncertainty of a now unpredictable day.
The film was followed with a Q&A from the audience, with Moore fielding questions including personal identity in filmmaking.
“If local filmmakers know that there’s something that they can actually work towards to exhibit their work, I think it will encourage local production and encourage local talent to take that risk,” Sampson said. “Make that film. Put it in the festival. See where it goes.”
The theatre closed out the night with “Nightmares on 4th Street,” a 90-minute block of horror and dark comedy shorts, including Emmy winning “Room Tone,” and “A Man Apart” starring Saturday Night Live alumnus Will Forte. Though horror-themed, most shorts drew laughs and lively reactions from the audience.
For its first year, the Long Beach Film Festival gave audiences a chance to see films outside of traditional studio releases while giving independent filmmakers a place to share their work with the community.
“You’re going to see things you’ve never seen before, and it’s going to open your eyes up to what cinema can be,” said Sampson.
