By RaeAnne Marsh
(August 2009)

The second Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles kicks off 11 days of movies, music and more with a West Coast premiere of Spike Lee's "Passing Strange the Movie" on August 12 (fest runs Aug.12-22). Chad Goodridge and De'Adre Aziza, stars of both the film and the original, Obie Award-winning Broadway production on which the film is based, will attend the screening, which will be held at the AT&T Center Theater.

The fest's Centerpiece Gala, on Friday night, August 14, will be "Reach for Me," about a bitter, old man whose younger roommate in a hospice, and the younger man's girlfriend, infect him with their spirit to live life to the fullest. Lead Seymour Cassel, who co-stars with award-winning actresses Alfre Woodard and Adrienne Barbeau, will be presented with DFFLA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the festivities will be capped with a gala party on the penthouse floor of the AT&T Center.

For its Closing Night Gala on August 22, DFFLA will present the West Coast premiere of "Jackson 5 in Africa," which documents the group's 1974 Senegal tour. Narrated by renowned actor Robert Hooks, the film opens with the Jackson 5 being greeted by a group of dancers and drummers at the airport. The camera follows Michael Jackson and the family cinéma vérité-style on their first-ever visit to Africa, capturing live their visit to an African market and offering classic live footage of the group spontaneously performing "Hum Along and Dance" along with extraordinary footage of the Jackson 5 performing on stage before a packed SRO audience at the height of their career in the mid-Seventies.

The two-year-old festival was founded to celebrate the renaissance in the historic core of Los Angeles as well as the area's rich cultural diversity. In addition to special programs on ecology and African cinema, DFFLA spotlights music, multi-media art, and the architecturally significant "movie palaces" of the early 20th century.

Highlights this year include a media exhibit at the Rowan Lofts Gallery, which the festival is co-sponsoring with Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and which will showcase, among other works, the video installation "Last Riot" by the Russian collective "AES+F" that was featured at the Venice Biennale (August 13-15). DFFLA and LACDA have also arranged an exhibit of artworks by DEVO founder Mark Mothersbaugh at the Grammy Museum, as well as a retrospective screening of the group's videos (August 16). DEVO bass and keyboardist Gerald Casale, who directed most of their videos, will be making an appearance and will discuss how his work as a visual artist influenced his video creations.

With a special guest appearance by acclaimed director Euzhan Palcy and screening of her award-winning film "Aimé Césaire: A Voice of History," DFFLA continues its African cinema program.  The festival series, to be presented Monday night, August 17,  is hosted by Afrique 360 and sponsored by The Africa Channel and Sistahs' Production. This year's program includes the world premiere of Soul of Ashanti, an original documentary presented by The Africa Channel.

Also celebrating the musical arts, DFFLA has coordinated with the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live to present the first-ever music film festival at the museum (Aug. 15-21). Each night will present a different film, and many of the screenings will include artist and filmmaker Q&As, live musical performances and after-screening parties. "This film series perfectly reflects The GRAMMY Museum's mission to celebrate the enduring legacies of all forms of music. From classic rock to rap, Latin jazz to new wave, the series has a film for virtually every musical taste," said Bob Santelli, the museum's executive director.

DFFLA will put the spotlight on green with an all-day "Sustainable L.A." event August 20. This special event will be located at Ernst and Young Plaza (7th Street and Figueroa) in downtown L.A., with a farmer's market and product expo, screenings of notable films and presentations by  celebrated speaker/authors spanning a wide range of sustainable topics, from sustainable gardening and cooking to going green with spirit and style. An evening reception will follow, at the AT&T Center's Festival Lounge.

The eclectic mix of narrative and documentary films that comprise the core of DFFLA programming range from a dark comedy about a junkie nurse who works the night shift at a convalescent hospital ("Boppin' at the Glue Factory") to the first documentary about the looming disaster of ocean acidification ("A Sea Change"). "The year's feature film line-up reflects themes of personal discovery and societal angst - perhaps a sign of the times. How the individual films tackle these broad themes is wildly divergent, from illuminating nonfiction to dark comedies and unconventional dramas," noted festival programming director Roger M. Mayer. All of these will be shown as L.A., West Coast or world premieres. -MP

For information on times and venues for all events and screenings, visit http://www.dffla.com/.

Photos courtesy of Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles