The 22nd Los Angeles Film Festival, beginning a week earlier than last year, launches tomorrow, Wednesday, June 1. More than 70 features will screen at the event before it wraps up on Thursday, June 9, including 17 documentaries, a number of which are highlighted below:
A dozen nonfiction films receive spotlight world premieres as part of the fest’s Documentary Competition. Among these are: Damani Baker’s THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD (pictured), a personal recounting of the filmmaker’s experience of life in Grenada before and after the US invasion; Eve Marson’s DR FEELGOOD, about a pain specialist convicted of opiate trafficking; Natalie Kottke-Masocco and Erica Sardarian’s COMPANY TOWN, which follows the efforts of a small Arkansas community to demand accountability from a Koch brothers’ owned polluting factory; Ben Lear’s THEY CALL US MONSTERS, an inside-look at the experiences of California prison juvenile offenders; Alexandre Peralta’s LOOKING AT THE STARS, about a Brazilian ballet school for the visually impaired; and Deborah Riley Draper’s OLYMPIC PRIDE, AMERICAN PREJUDICE, the stories of the African-American Olympians of 1936.
A handful of docs also screen outside of this competition, including in the Buzz section, which offers audiences a look at favorites from other fests; LA Muse, which celebrates quintessentially Los Angeles films, such as MANCHILD: THE SCHEA COTTON STORY, Eric “Ptah” Herbert’s investigation into why a celebrated Inglewood high school athlete never made it to the NBA, and ACTORS OF SOUND (pictured), Lalo Molina’s celebration of Foley artists; and Limelight, films which fearture noteworthy talent, including FREE CECE!, Jacqueline Gares’ examination of injustice against a wrongly incarcerated transgender woman, featuring Laverne Cox.
what (not) to doc 