| LA Femme Film Festival | |
| Opening: | Annually in October |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California |
| Established: | 2005 |
| Website: | https://lafemme.org/ |
LA Femme International Film Festival is an annual film festival. It focuses on platforming women filmmakers, "by women, for everyone". The festival was launched in 2005, with the objective of enhancing female directors, producers, and writers. It was the first women-focused festival in Los Angeles. To meet the festival objectives of showcasing and promoting commercially viable films by women filmmakers, the organization offers mentorships, creates dialogues among creators, holds panels, and assists with finding distribution opportunities.
The film was founded by Leslie LaPage, after attending Sundance Festival 2005, and remarking on the fact that there were very few films by women.[1] LaPage found it difficult to find sponsors, because, in her words, "almost no one in Los Angeles seemed to believed that women could direct anything other than a romantic comedy." But the event was mounted, and 25 films were screened in the 2-day festival. Since then, the festival has grown to include over 100 films screened over four days, in two theaters, and it includes seminars, panels, networking mixers, and gala events.[2] [3]
Some of the major awards granted at LA Femme Film Festival include:
| Year | Award | Winner | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Best Director | Marcia Kimpton | Bardo Blues |
| Best Feature Screenwriter | Catherine Dudley-Rose | Parallel Chords | |
| Best Foreign Film | Jo Morris, Aiman Harhish | Dagenham | |
| Best Special Focus Documentary | Susan Scott, Bonne de Bod | Stroop: Journey into the Rhino Horn War | |
| 2017 | Best Feature Director | Sandi Somers | Ice Blue |
| Best Animated Short | Roadside Assistance | ||
| Best Feature | Becky Smith | August in Berlin | |
| Best Foreign Film | Julia Frick, Alice Frick | Shop of Little Pleasures | |
| 2016 | Best Special Focused Documentary | Julia Gibson, Audrey Mesler | The Last High: The Lure and Lie of Smoking Synthetics |
| Best Director | Dorie Barton | Girl Flu | |
| Best Foreign Film | Judy Naidoo | Hatchet Hour | |
| 2015 | Best Feature | Lisa Arnold | Caged No More |
| Best Documentary | Laurie Kahn | Love Between the Covers | |
| Best Feature Director | Corey Misquita | Reign | |
| Best Feature Writer | Jenica Bergere, Doc Pedrolie | Come Simi | |
| 2014 | Best Feature | Ann LeSchander | The Park Bench |
| Best Feature Director | Miriam Kruishoop | Greencard Warriors | |
| Best Feature Writer | Dominique Schilling | A Reason | |
| Best Foreign Documentary | Geetha J | Algorithms | |
| Life Achievement Award | |||
| 2013 | Best Feature | Finola Hughes (director), Christine Fry (producer) | The Bet |
| Best Feature Director | Francesca Gregorini | The Truth About Emanuel | |
| Best Feature Writer | Rachel Noll James, Katy Kvalvik | Don't Pass Me By | |
| Best Documentary | Ilse van Lamoen | Daughters of the Niger Delta | |
| 2012 | Best Feature Director | Deborah Brock | The Misadventures of the Dunderheads |