The Los Angeles Film Festival opens on June 1, showcasing some of the most promising up-and-coming filmmakers and movies of the year. The lineup has a focus on frequently overlooked stories—a valet at an expensive restaurant in L.A.; teenage inmates awaiting adult sentences—as well as a hugely diverse range of voices and narratives. There are a slew of films to choose from over the course of eight days, but that’s why we’re here. These are the six that you must see:
Jean of the Joneses
This film centers on Jean Jones, a hugely promising New York writer, who must grapple with her dysfunctional-yet-loving Jamaican-American family after tragedy strikes.
Equity
When a high-ranking Wall Street executive is faced with deceit and betrayal, she must face herself, her limits, and the consequences of her decisions.
Tracktown
Photograph courtesy tracktownmovie.com
Written, directed by, and starring real-life Olympic runner Alexi Pappas, Tracktown tells the story of a young woman on the brink of realizing that life is about more than the sport to which she has committed her days. The film was recently written up in the New York Times.
Namour
Recent college grad Steven Bassem works as a valet at an upscale L.A. restaurant. As he becomes more and more frustrated with the direction his life is taking, he begins to act out.
They Call Us Monsters
A documentary that goes behind the walls of The Compound, a prison housing teenagers who are waiting to be tried as adults. The film tells the story of three young men awaiting their fates.
Lupe Under the Sun
Migrant worker Lupe, who lives in California’s Central Valley and is estranged from his family in Michoacán, escapes his own mind through his work harvesting peaches. This feature length narrative explores longing, regret, and acceptance through his eyes.
