MAN OF STEEL MAKES APPEARANCE AT LA FILM FEST
by Susan Royal

Nearly 200 features (including 20 world premieres) were selected out of 5,428 submissions to screen at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, running June 13-23 at L.A. Live's Regal Cinemas downtown.

A day before LAFF kicks off, the fest will present a special screening of Man of Steel – the Superman reboot, directed by Zach Snyder.

Then the festival kicks off with the latest comedy from Pedro Almodovar I'm So Excited, starring Javier Camara, Cecilla Roth, Lola Duenas and Raul Arevalo, with cameos from Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz.

The comedy The Way Way Back, starring Steve Carell, Toni Colette and Sam Rockwell, will close the festival.

Gala Screenings include the top Sundance award-winning Fruitville Station and Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling as an American expatriot living in Bangkok.

Academy Award®-nominated and Film Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmaker David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) will serve as the Guest Director at this year’s LA Film Fest, where he’ll host a special screening of Three Kings that will also include a discussion about his body of work. He’ll also receive the Spirit of Independence award recognizing an individual for his or her commitment to artistic independence in film, and he’ll attend the 12th annual Filmmaker Retreat at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California.

Returning to the 2013 Festival is the Master Class series, which features artists discussing their area of expertise with Film Independent at LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell. Actress Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Away We Go, "Saturday Night Live") will be choosing her favorite comedy scenes of all time and discussing how/why they work. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla (On The Road, Brokeback Mountain) will show selected scored scenes from films and discuss what makes them work and why they’re so effective.

Director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) will present footage from his upcoming film, Her, and take part in a discussion forum titled "A Brand of His Own: Spike Jonz" on June 22.

Also confirmed for this year’s Festival is an “In Conversation” session with playwright and filmmaker David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games) and actor/stage magician/author Ricky Jay (Boogie Nights, The Prestige) together talking about their past collaborations. Additionally, the 2013 Festival will feature “An Evening With Costa-Gavras.” The Oscar®-winning filmmaker, known for such films as Missing and Z, will be on-hand to talk about his work and screen his latest film Capital.

For more information or to get your Festival passes, go to www.lafilmfest.com