Director: Nick DenBoer & Kenny Hotz
PG-13 CANADA
Best Music Video
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
"Monophobia" is the first collaboration from deadmau5 and Swire since the iconic "Ghost N Stuff" of 2009. It's the first track on mau5ville: level 1, an 8-to-10-track compilation featuring "Monophobia" remixes from mau5ville records family as well as original tunes from Getter and GTA. The song tackles mental health issues and asks that we be there for our friends in times of need.
North American Premiere
12:15pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Dana Tynan & Kario Salem
G USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
Billy Bob Thornton stars as a haunted ex-soldier suffering from PTSD on a journey toward the ultimate confrontation with HIMSELF.
IFS Premiere
12:15pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Jacob D. Patrick
G India
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
"SPARK" is an animated short film about an outcast firefly trying to find his place in the world. Spark's adventure leads him on an emotional journey to challenge who he is and what he is capable of. Music by Grammy award winning songwriter, Nikhil Korula, and directed by Jacob Patrick who has worked on Oscar winning fantasy adventure films, "SPARK" is a timeless story that will be loved by children and adults alike.
North American Premiere
12:15pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Molly Schreiber
PG USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
Eytan Ribner's music video about a close call.
IFS Premiere
12:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Bradley Wilkinson
PG-13 USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
A solo animation project by new coming artist Bradley Wilkinson. Content from original hand drawn flip books, Wilkinson animates, directs, and also composes his own indie score for this digital short. It is a surreal lo-brow art film with A.D.D. and a variety of characters in small juxtaposed sub-stories. TDEOMMVDH is a personal art project molded into a semi coherent story to help him cope loss and impermanence of family.
IFS Premiere
12:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Aubry Villaver Bratcher
PG-13 USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18A
Y Control is a quasi-experimental, personal documentary quietly and intimately exploring a strain on a mother-daughter relationship. First-time filmmaker Aubry Villaver Bratcher bares vulnerability in a contrast of dream-like visuals through the eyes of a 7-year-old girl. This found footage film intimately explores issues of abuse, control, and survival.
IFS Premiere
12:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Te-Hsing Lu
PG-13 Japan
SHORTS PROGRAM 18B
Last Choice is a hybrid documentary exploring the social-withdrawal phenomenon in Japan, based on the real incident took place in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Starred by Sho Oyamada(Godzilla Resurgence) and narrated by "VOSOT" Ikeida(the hikikomori who experienced 30 years of isolation), the film represents the ultimate dilemma which embodies the fear and struggle that overwhelms the society.
LA Premiere
1:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Yaxiong Shao
G Japan
SHORTS PROGRAM 18B
When a beautiful memory turns into a haunting nightmare, a solitary old man must face his past and finally finish what he started a lifetime ago.
IFS Premiere
1:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Yixia Li
G USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18B
Paracusis is a thrill about an office clerk Will, who struggles to free himself form a mysterious but familiar haunting voice, in order to get his life-changing promotion.
IFS Premiere
1:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Ying Liu Hatch
G China
SHORTS PROGRAM 18B
The first Chinese sci-fi musical. Shot in the scenic Hangzhou, China, featuring original songs.
A girl receives a gift, an AI robot version of the boyfriend she just broke up with, who comes with a remote control that allows her to correct his every move. Yet there is a secret to this robot…
World Premiere
1:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Muslima Gulyamova
G USA
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS 18C
"Veins of Life" is a poetic adaptation of a passage from Hermann Hesse's Bäume: Betrachtungen und Gedichte (Trees: Reflections and Poems) that celebrates life and nature. At the center of the story is Sayuri, who yearns to reconnect with her inner self. This longing brings her back to the forest of her childhood memories and dreams.
IFS Premiere
2:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Kathy Smith
G Australia
Best Animated Short
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS 18C
Slippages | Grace (experimental animation) explores the final moments of Grace’s existence and takes the viewer on a journey as her consciousness leaves her body at the point of death. Set against the austere landscape of the Australian bushland, overlapping images of ever increasing clarity inform Grace’s consciousness as she moves toward the end of her life. Proof of her existence through the many experiences take on a personal symbolism; these include kittens, stolen houses, car rides, cockatoos and horses across multiple moments and immersive environments.
IFS Premiere
2:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Jensen Rule Tierra & Shaun Johnson
PG USA
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS 18C
"Secret eater" describes a person who consumes large quantities of food in solitude, away from the judgmental gaze of others. We live in a culture that encourages indulgence, yet there is a pervasive sense of shame in the act of over eating. The film, Secret Eater, inverts secret eating as an act of auto-cannibalism. The film is a hybrid of experimental art-house and camp monster movie.
IFS Premiere
2:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Stephanie Delazeri
PG USA
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS 18C
In this short experimental animation, printed frames from 1950s educational shorts are painted and manipulated to explore ideas around gender in the animation workforce, female relationships and how everyone loves weenie roast parties.
West Coast Premiere
2:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Ricardo Dal Moro
PG USA
LGBTQ SHORTS 18D
Mia, a 1960s housewife has desires that don’t fit into the sexual norms of society, what can be done?
West Coast Premiere
2:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Vivian Ip
PG Singapore
LGBTQ SHORTS 18D
While packing up his late wife’s belongings, a man hiding his sexuality is presented with a final gift. He must choose between continuing to protect his secret or accepting himself just as she did.
World Premiere
2:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Matt Chupack
PG-13 USA
LGBTQ SHORTS 18D
Zach's life is upended when 'performance anxiety' in bed leads to a life-shattering accusation: his girlfriend says she thinks he's gay, and Zach wonders if she's right. With help from his gay best friend, Zach must discover that sexuality isn't about 'tribes' or staying hard. It's about who you love. I Think I’m Gay? is an LGBTQIA film starring Miles Tagtmeyer as Zach, previously Emmy Nominated for Best Actor for his role in webseries Broken (2019).
World Premiere
2:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Ori Ravid
R USA
Best LGBT Short
LGBTQ SHORTS 18D
World-renowned adult entertainer Colby Jansen stars in this short tale of two "Matts" – one an accomplished architect (Jansen) who has been around the block, the other a nursing student (newcomer Patrick Wallace) who is fresh out of the closet. Matt invites Matt over for drinks, a movie, and a night that will mean much more for one of them than the other.
World Premiere
2:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Shiqi Huang
PG-13 USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18E
An orphan teenager is struggling living with uncle after her grandmother passed away. A sudden appearance of Ghost Grandma helps the girl realize the true meaning of things happened in the past.
World Premiere
3:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Carrick Moore Gerety
PG-13 USA
SHORTS PROGRAM 18E
While looking for a place to sleep, a homeless man stumbles upon an unincorporated island in the L.A. River. He and a fellow vagabond decide to declare the island a sovereign nation, and together, they construct the framework for a new society from the detritus of the old. Like most human civilizations, this one soon comes tumbling down, but not before a lasting friendship is forged.
World Premiere
3:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Paul Overacker
PG-13 USA
Best Dramatic Episodic Project
SHORTS PROGRAM 18E
Every generation lives by their own set of rules, and the millennials are no exception. From creator, Heidi Putallaz and directed by Paul Overacker, "Millennial Rules" is a half hour single-cam dramedy which follows Sam (Afra Tully), a pre-teen girl, as she comes of age learning the rules of being a millennial -- all while she navigates the world-changing events of the mid- 90s and the growing pains and pressures of Junior High. As Sam's emotions, friendships and family dynamics change as fast as the world around her, and faster than it takes to log-on to AOL, the rules she learns along the way will help equip her for the real world - if she survives Junior High.
IFS Premiere
3:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Maclovia Martel & Kristina Korsholm
G USA
AWARD SHORTS 18F
"The Digital Nomad & The Scientist" is a compelling documentary short that follows a Danish, actress and model, who also happens to be a science blogger, on a journey with an astro-entrepreneur to the rocket launch of the first commercial WiFi in outer space. The film is a thought provoking, dreamy, artistic film that takes viewers inside the entrepreneurial world at the edge of the final frontier.”
Los Angeles Premiere
4:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: James Carey
G USA
Best Independent Short
AWARD SHORTS 18F
'Fancy Meeting You Here' an original work by Laura Walker, based on the life experiences of Rosemary Clooney. It's 1968, a tumultuous time for our country and ourselves. Still reeling from Bobby Kennedy’s assassination and a career suddenly halted by a nervous breakdown, we follow Rosemary Clooney before she enters Mt. Sinai Hospital. The time has come to face her own truths.
IFS Premiere
4:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Alex Prager
PG-13 UK
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett
Best Sci-Fi Short Film
AWARD SHORTS 18G
After an experiment with artificial intelligence doesn’t go according to plan, Lee (Cate Blanchett) realizes that what they’ve creative to save mankind could be the very thing that ends up destroying it.
IFS Premiere
5:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Iliona Blanc
PG-13 USA
AWARD SHORTS 18G
A sensual sweet lullaby narrates the charming Iliona’s endearing fantasy. The hypnotic strokes of her guitar and the magical touch of her lover transform her lucid dream from no strings attached black and white to golden ecstasy. Dulcet notes and masterful imagery create a sense of 50 shades of freedom and bondage, tying this guitar toting muse to her faceless hero in this captivating modern love story.
North American Premiere
5:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Jay Dizon
PG-13 USA
AWARD SHORTS 18G
Director Jay Dizon hand drew every frame of animation himself over the span of 2 years. This project is a collaborative multimedia project that includes film, live action cinema, photography, and animation. The origin of the project began when a close friend of the director took his own life. Feeling alone and distraught the director was inspired to channel his frustrations into this project.
IFS Premiere
5:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Roxanna Dunlop & Arden Grier
PG-13 USA
Best Comedy Short
AWARD SHORTS 18G
Haven’t you ever wanted something so badly, you pretended to have it just to feel what it would be like? After a miscommunication leads her coworkers to believe she is pregnant, a seemingly barren waitress allows the fantasy to overtake reality and finds herself navigating an ever-growing web of lies - as she gets closer and closer to her imaginary “due date.” My Baby is a Bike Helmet is a short film integrating classic filmmaking, sketched art, comedy, and musical performance to explore the delicate balance between desire and obsession in our “fake it 'til you make it” driven society. Written by Julia Lehman, co-directed by Roxanna Dunlop & Arden Grier, executive produced by Jesse Dixon and made complete by a majority female cast and crew, My Baby is a Bike Helmet tells a story from a female perspective that will relate to men and women alike.
IFS Premiere
5:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Derek Quick
PG-13 USA
Best Action Short
AWARD SHORTS 18H
Kommando 1944 is a cinematic Journey into the WWII era highlighting the Japanese American Internment in America, It follows a group of American Soldiers in a Kommando imprisonment farm in Germany During WWII. It has won over 150 Awards in the last six months. Some of the notable Cast includes Jeff Seid, social media Icon with over 10 million followers. It will screen at the American Pavilion in Cannes as well as The WWII Band of Brothers Reunion Festival In Normandy on the 75th Anniversary of D-day where it has won Grand Jury Prize, Best Short Film.
IFS Premiere
5:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Zelie Dember-Slack & Lynn Slack
PG-13 USA
Best Drama Short
AWARD SHORTS 18H
In an age where being the target of ridicule and bullying seems to be growing, what options does a victim have? Why is this such an epidemic among teens in our society? This dramatic short spotlights the day in the life of someone pushed too far. Starring up and coming singer/actor -Lazarus Tate, New Humanitus New Voices Finalist - Kaypri, Joshua Johnson-Lionel, and Claudia McCray.
World Premiere
5:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
IFS SPECIAL EVENT
Come get your press and personal photos taken on the IFS Red Carpet before the IFS Awards Ceremony!
Show up early to take photos before the rush.
Show off those swanky threads!
All IFS festival filmmakers, cast, crew, and attendees are invited to our Red Carpet Press Photo event at L.A. Live.
5:45pm
May 18th - L.A. Live Venue: To Be Announced
Director: Bruce R. Schwartz
R USA
When Sam's adult daughter Sara has been missing for over a year surfaces as "Jasmine," a woman of the evening on the Las Vegas Strip, Sam heads out to Las Vegas to find her and bring her home.
IFS Premiere
6:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
IFS SPECIAL EVENT
The largest and most talked about event of the IFS Film Festival.
The IFS Award Ceremony is where our membership honors the best independent filmmaking of the past year.
The 28th IFS AWARD CEREMONY celebrates true independent filmmaking.
As the IFS 2019 IFS Awards (democratically chosen by the 200 members of the IFS Film Society) are presented to this years winners.
Surprise celebrities also stop by to greet tomorrows superstars!
Come join us for the fun!
Get your tickets early, as this event sells out quickly each year!
Buy your tickets early to insure you get a seat at this popular event.
Tickets on-sale online prior to the event.
Purchased Tickets must be redeemed at IFS Box Office at L.A. Live for entry.
Ticket Holders should arrive by 6:15pm, for pre-seat check-in.
Award Ceremony Tickets are only available online.
6:45pm
May 18th - L.A. Live Venue: To Be Announced
Director: Bo D
R USA
An awkward OCD physics genius, and a hot ex-Catholic sorority girl, wake up after blacking out Halloween night to discover they missed the evacuation of Earth. A mysterious agent pursues the feuding couple as they figure out how to work together to solve the recently entangled multi-verse and try to save humanity.
World Premiere
7:45pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Ana Barredo
G Philippines
Best Dramatic Feature Film
Nominee - Best Picture
Set in 1985, Manila, this coming-of-age story follows 15-year old Christina who convinces her parents not to send her and her younger siblings back to school after being notified by the US Immigration Office that their 10-year old application is about to be processed.
But apparently, there was more waiting to be had, as their application inches at a snail's pace through the US immigration process. With nothing to do and all the time in the world, see how these kids creatively kill time during the longest summer vacation of their lives - the same year a revolution is about to erupt as the exasperated Filipinos attempt to oust 20+ year dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
World Premiere
8:15pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Griffin Loch
PG-13 USA
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominee - Best Picture
14-year-old filmmaker Griffin Loch raised funds to write, produce and direct his second feature length film focusing on the haunting and tragic epidemic of teen depression and suicide. The talented cast in "The Adventure of T.P. Man and Flusher" tell a true story of deep depression, love, laughter, and friendship.
After learning that his best friend Jim (Sam Grossinger) has attempted suicide, Tom (Adam Simpson) enlists the help of the neighborhood kingpin, a.k.a.'Granddaddy' (Blake Borders). Their plan is to sneak Jim out of the hospital for one last adventure before his disconnected parents move him off to Memphis. On the way, they encounter a washed up 90’s Boy Band star, get attacked by tiny cupcakes and try to win the hearts of their dream girls. Tom realizes that this adventure will not fix his friend, but their last night together does evolve into the most defining experience of their lives.
World Premiere
9:30pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
Director: Jim Akin
R USA
A lonely, occasionally God-fearing woman honors sensation seeking as a distraction from greater problems. “California Hands” test-drives the absurd.
World Premiere
10:00pm
May 18th - Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 14
IFS PARTY EVENT
Join us at our biggest and most exciting party event of the season:
The Awards Night Gala After-Party.
Meet filmmakers and industry - at our most special party event.
Award Ceremony Tickets only available online.
Purchased Tickets must be redeemed at IFS Box Office at Regal L.A. Live - to exchange for entry ticket.
21 and Up.
10:15pm
May 18th - Hollywood Venue: To Be Announced