This Saturday, LACMA Muse presents its tenth annual Young Directors Night. Centered around short films by local emerging filmmakers, the showcase includes screenings, conversation between the directors and our host panel—filmmaker Elgin James; LA Film Festival associate director Jennifer Wilson; and USC professor Paul Wolff—plus a reception where the Art of Film Award winner will be announced. If you don't already have tickets to this event, scroll down to the end of the post for a special offer.
Congratulations to this year’s participants as we received more than a hundred submissions with just six films making the cut. Here’s a sneak preview of the selected shorts:
Jordan Bloch: Underdogs
Guy, on the run with someone's blood on his skin, takes refuge in the bathroom of a roadside diner. When a bounty hunter appears, Guy must decide how many people will suffer before he faces his hunter.
Thouly Dosios: House of the Olive Trees
Anna has constructed a world for herself in which her feelings lay suppressed under her tight grip. Her safety net unravels when Markos floats into her life—but their relationship is put to the test during a trip to the seaside.
Fady Hadid: Where We Live
Within one day and night, everything changed for the Hamad family. Once living peacefully alongside relatives in Baghdad, they fell victim to kidnappings and the violence tearing their homeland apart. Forced to flee and seek asylum in America, the Hamads now find themselves far from home, largely friendless, and facing the struggles of the immigrant experience.
Alex O’Flinn: Shoot the Moon
Sixteen-year-old Tommy Pendecrest lives on the wrong side of a hopeless desert town with his drunken father. When his brother Victor returns from the Marines, Tommy becomes increasingly worried about Victor's elusive and eccentric behavior. When Victor commits a violent act that shatters the delicate balance in Tommy's life, Tommy is forced to decide between his wayward brother or salvaging his town standing.
Attempting to get through another mediocre day as a single, unsatisfied, and broke bank teller, Emma is pushed to her limit and compelled to re-chart the course of her life.
Cat Youell: The Mischievous Case of Cordelia Botkin
In the midst of a disapproving Victorian San Francisco, Cordelia Botkin, a charmingly passionate woman, finds the love of her life in Mr. John C. Dunning. After being given an ultimatum by his controlling wife, however, John breaks it off with an unsuspecting Cordelia, plunging them both into lonely and agonizing depression. Cordelia, cornered and desperate, sees only one way to win John back.
Special offer: tickets for the general public to Young Directors Night are $30 each. But for the first twenty-five people to call 323 857-6151 and become a LACMA Muse member ($50), you’ll get two FREE tickets to YDN! Not only does your membership pay for itself right off the bat, you also get a year’s worth of Muse benefits, which include invitations to curator-led tours and other events around town all year long, plus discounted tickets on the upcoming ArtWalk and this fall’s Tim Burton-themed Costume Ball. Mention promo code "YDN UNFRAMED" when you call. The offer only works over the phone and is only available to the first twenty-five people who take us up on it.
Jason Gaulton, Muse Coordinator