For the third year in a row ArcLight Cinemas hosts the “ArcLight Cinemas Documentary Film Festival” Oct. 9 – 13, 2013, at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood. The annual event has rapidly grown to become one of the most recognized festivals of its kind in Southern California, receiving more than 400 film submissions in 2013, the highest number in the festival’s history to date. Created to give independent filmmakers a platform to showcase their ability to weave together the compelling true stories that range from headline-making events to that of unsung heroes, this year’s festival entries are among some of the industry’s most highly anticipated films.
Opening night will begin with a screening of Tribeca Film Festival winner, “Let the Fire Burn,” a shocking account of the events surrounding the 1985 clash between Philadelphia authorities and the radical black organization MOVE. A masterpiece of editing and documentary storytelling, the film vividly brings to life the consequences of the authorities’ fateful decision to drop incendiary devices on the residential home of the MOVE organization, and, to “let the fire burn,” a decision that ultimately destroyed 61 homes, the lives of 5 adults and 6 children, and caused a community to ask itself some very hard questions.
Other notable films include Sundance and Toronto Film Festival award winner “The Square,” a look inside the recent events in Egypt from the heart of Tahrir Square; the moving film, “The Other Shore,” a tale of the true power of human resilience, this raw and inspiring film gives audiences a ringside seat for Diana Nyad’s emotional and physical battle to achieve her life-long goal of swimming from Cuba to Florida; “A World Not Ours” director Mahdi Fleifel looks at what it means to be a refugee with the intensely intimate and personal story of his family and friends who are Palestinian refugees in the Lebanese refugee camp Ain El-Heweh.
“ArcLight Cinemas is about the celebration of film and we are ecstatic that the festival continues to grow and thrive in a city that has long been the epicenter for incredible storytelling,” said Gretchen McCourt, executive vice president, cinema programming. “The submissions showcased at this year’s festival are outstanding contributions to the ever-growing world of documentary films. We couldn’t be more pleased to support such a talented group of filmmakers.”
ArcLight Cinemas founded the annual Documentary Film Festival in 2011 to fill the industry gap of recognizing independent filmmakers in Los Angeles. The top documentaries will be recognized at the festival reception at ArcLight Hollywood on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. ArcLight moviegoers will pick an Audience Favorite and a jury winner will receive a $10,000 prize. Past winners have been recognized with top industry honors including “Open Heart,” which received a nomination for “Best Documentary Short” by the 2012 Academy Awards.
“Winning the inaugural Documentary Film Festival in 2011 helped advance the distribution of ‘Holy Rollers’, resulting in 10 Best Documentary awards and digital distribution by Warner Bros Pictures,” said Bryan Storkel, director and 2011 Documentary Film Festival Winner. “I’ve since been able to continue furthering my career, most recently co-directing ‘Fight Church’ with Oscar-winning director Daniel Junge.”
For more information and to purchase tickets for the 2013 Documentary Film Festival, please visit www.ArcLightCinemas.com/news/docfest-2013.
