NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Premieres Comedy Feature at August 2017 Film Festival

    LOS ANGELES, CA, August 09, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) continues its ever expanding celebration of emerging storytellers with a fresh edition of its Downtown Los Angeles based monthly film festival. The festival kicks off with two installments of short films. Throughout these two programs, attendees will have an opportunity to experience 12 international short films from the USA, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Ireland, with the second program highlighting female filmmakers in partnership with The Alliance of Women Directors (AWD).

In the third and final program of the evening, NFMLA presents another installment of InFocus: Youth Cinema. This marks the LA PREMIERE for feature comedy "How to Get Girls". The film, from up-and-comers Omri Dorani and Zach Fox, stars a stellar cast of recognizable comedic talents including Chris Elliott, Kate Flannery, David Koechner and Chris Kattan. This comedy tells the story of an awkward high schooler taking advantage of his childhood best friend's newly developed good looks in order to get girls.

Throughout the event, attendees will have opportunities to mingle with the showcased filmmakers, industry supporters and film lovers over libations in the events Filmmaker Lounge at the South Park Center, the festival venue.

A detailed program line-up is available below.

Con Boys - Directed by Ryan Casselman

A small-time con artist Jimmy is forced to look after his neighbor's little brother Robbie for the day.

Ryan Casselman is an up-and-coming filmmaker from San Diego. Ryan has made numerous shorts. Con Boys was nominated for a Pacific Southwest Emmy Award and also won the San Diego Film Award for Best Actor: Narrative Short Film.

Twenty-Something (Pet Shop Boys) - Directed by Gavin Filipiak

The music video follows the hardships of an ex gang member as he struggles to integrate into society after incarceration.

Mr. Filipiak attended San Diego State University for a B.A. in Television, Film and New Media Production and has worked for Tallgrass Pictures as a senior editor. He was also hired to direct a music video on behalf of Universal Media Group.

Pet Shop Boys have acquired several Grammy nominations and have won an MTV Europe Music Award and the San Diego Film Award for Best Music Video.

Quelle vie! - Directed by Joakim Scheidegger

Remy moves to an old apartment in a building and quickly discovers the challenges he's up against with his new landlord. Will Remy solve his problem?

Joakim attended the Film School of Geneva and received a BA in Filmmaking in 2016. He now works at Microdia SA, teaches at Lausanne Film School and is a director at Sigma PROD.

Plastic Ankles - Directed by TKHS

A day in the life of Marlon, a man convicted for a crime he didn't commit, struggling with his inner battles and unclear memories.

The film's star, Tanay Chheda (Marlon) won multiple Awards pertaining to his performance in the Oscar winning film, Slumdog Millionaire.

833 - Directed by Vijay D. Varu

Running late for work, an out of breath Jake begins a journey towards enlightenment and self-discovery. But he must overcome his own shackles if he is to reach his 'true' destination!

Vijay D. Varu is a writer-director, British born and from Indian descent. Brought up in London, Vijay was able to take the opportunity to explore a vast array of diverse cultures and enrich his knowledge of life stories. A graduate in BA (Hons) Film & Television Production from the University of Westminster. Vijay is the founder of Scene 97, a production company established in 2015.

Kinesthesia - Directed by Jesse Atlas

A supernatural dance short featuring the fictional Paulo Saramago's retelling of his memories, an old dance recital.

Featuring the choreography of Travis Wall, Teddy Forance and Nick Lazzarini from Dancing with the Stars, along with Bradley Fischer of HBO's Westworld portraying Mr. Paulo Saramago.

Jesse Atlas wrote the sci-fi love story Record/Play which screened at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, Sundance and the LA Film Festival amongst others. After its festival circuit, the short received a feature adaptation development deal from Focus Features with Atlas Entertainment producing.

The Cage - Directed by Ricky Staub

The story of a teenage basketball player's survival on Philly's streets that entangle him with violence, anger and death.

The Cage was awarded a Gold Young Director Award. The Young Director Award is organized by Commercial Film Producers of Europe (CFP-E). CFP-E is a European federation for commercial film producers.

Ricky's production company, Neighborhood Film, works with former inmates in an effort to connect them with career opportunities in entertainment. The company is known for their work with international brands such as Nike, Google and Coca-Cola.

Come Here Often? - Directed by Morgan Dameron

Three vignettes in the same sleepy bar about romance, friendship and taking chances.

Morgan Dameron was born and raised in Kansas City. She received a scholarship to USC School of Cinematic Arts where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She has worked on Star Trek Into Darkness, Westworld and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Her first feature film 'DIFFERENT FLOWERS' is currently performing well on the festival circuit.

Irving - Directed by Rebecca Feldman

A Brooklyn curmudgeon receives a surprise visit from a British gentleman claiming to be his son.

The film's star, Kevin Chamberlin, can be seen in The Emoji Movie and Road to Perdition among many others. Casting Director Sara Isaacson has cast for Scream: The TV Series, The Mentalist and Fringe.

The Singing Bones - Directed by Danishka Esterhazy

Adapted from the story by celebrated author Francesca Lia Block, The Singing Bones is a modern dark fairy tale.

Danishka was born in Canada and won Women in Film's Kodak New Vision award in 2008. She currently has three projects in development. One of these films, Jagged Winter, won the Best Screenplay Award at The Vancouver International Women in Film Festival.

Real Artists - Directed by Cameo Wood

In the near future, a young animator is offered what should be her dream job. But when she discovers the truth of the modern 'creative' process, she must make a hard choice about her passion for film.

Cameo Wood, founder of Charming Stranger Films, wrote and directed the short which is based on Ken Liu's short story. Cameo is also currently in pre-production on her first feature.

Waste - Directed by Justine Raczkiewicz

Roger lives a grim and detached life, picking up medical waste for a living, but looks forward to his evening conversations with his quirky roommate and foodie, Olive.

Justine graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Theater, Philosophy and Anthropology. She has worked on major productions such as The Pyramid, Inglorious Basterds and Horns.

How to Get Girls - Directed by Omri Dorani and Zach Fox

In this teen comedy, an awkward high schooler takes advantage of his childhood best friend's newly developed good looks in order to gain popularity and get girls.

As a result of stellar comedy writing, Zach and Omri's script allowed these filmmakers to enlist comedy veterans Chris Elliott, Kate Flannery, David Koechner and Chris Kattan to participate in the movie. Zach created a TV pilot for DisneyXD and also hosted the DisneyXD series Just Kidding. Omri previously produced the feature film Funny Man and is a graduate of The Art Institute of California-Los Angeles.

Located in Downtown LA, South Park Center is the Presenting Venue Sponsor of the NewFilmmakers LA film festival. Founded in 2007, NFMLA has screened over 2500+ films from over 72 countries. The organization provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized with support from Executive Circle Sponsor FilmLA, and Producer Circle Sponsors SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Sony Pictures Entertainment, DreamWorks, Comcast NBC|Universal and Entertainment Partners. The festival is also promoted by Media Partners Variety Magazine and TheWrap.

For information or to reserve tickets to the NewFilmmakers LA August 26, 2017 Film Festival, please visit http://www.NFMLA.org

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