Join NFMLA on August 25th for their festival highlighting emerging Developing Nations cinema

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 7, 2018 - PRLog -- NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) spotlights stories from Developing Nations and a selection of works by emerging local and US filmmakers, in partnership with the film commissioners' association Film Liaisons In California Statewide (FLICS).

The night begins with a powerful shorts program highlighting stories set in or about communities from developing nations, made by filmmakers who are either local to or intimately familiar with those communities. The themes in this program span the collision of worlds and cultures, the evolution of family dynamics, and the powerful bond between humans and the natural world.

Second in the night is Lonely Hearts Club, the feature directorial debut of award-winning director and NFMLA alumni Jason O. Silva. Three lives converge in this exploration of love and loss during a long flight layover in Los Angeles, starring Camille Guaty (Daytime Divas, Scorpion, Las Vegas)

The evening concludes with a shorts program offering a selection of surreal and comedic films that bring their own takes to topics including heartbreak, xenophobia and superstition, challenging us to look at them with fresh eyes.

Shorts Program #1: InFocus: Developing Nations

Geeta, Dir. & Writ by Sohil Vaidya, USA
After coming to United States to work as a housemaid, Geeta realises that her social, financial and personal freedoms are slowly being taken away from her.

Amazonia Dammed, Dir. by Ada Bodjolle, Brazil/UK
The story of the Munduruku people's urgent struggle to protect the heart of the Amazon against one of the largest mega-dam projects on earth.

On Monday of Last Week,Dir. by Akosua Adoma Owusu, USA/Ghana
Adapting a short story from author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck, we follow Kamara, a Nigerian woman, on her journey to self-realization.

Disconnected, Dir. & Writ by Shema Deve, Rwanda
North American Premiere
During the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, a young man refuses to kill a girl he likes, even under his father's furious pressure to murder her.

Still Waters Run Deep,Dir. & Writ by Abbesi Akhamie, Nigeria/USA
A father must withstand his emotions and preserve his pride when his estranged son mysteriously disappears.

Hairat,Dir. by Jessica Beshir, Ethiopia/ USA
Yussuf Mume Saleh journeys nightly into the outskirts of the walled city of Harar to bond with his beloved hyenas, a ritual he has practiced for over thirty-five years. Shot in black & white, HAIRAT is a meditation on this uniquely symbiotic relationship between man and wild beast.

Life in Other Words,Dir. & Writ by Abrar Athar, Bangladesh
When the ill-tempered Mr. Kabir and the rest of his family are having an extraordinarily terrible day, a game of cricket stands as their only hope of coming together.

Feature Film

Lonely Hearts Club,Dir. & Writ by Jason O. Silva, USA
Stuck in LA on a long layover back home to Texas after a huge break-up with her boyfriend, Jess (Remy Nozik) reconnects with an old friend (Camille Guaty) and learns she's not the only one dealing with major issues.

Shorts Program #2

Sole Addiction,Dir. by Kevin Palafox and Jacques Lamour & Writ by Kevin Palafox, USA
Four young men brave the harsh city streets just days before Christmas to satisfy their sneaker addiction and secure an extremely exclusive sneaker on its release date.

Numb,Dir. & Writ by Daniel Hayden, USA
World Premiere
Suffering from some dumb depression or whatever, Carrie loses the ability to feel. Anything.

Frenchies, Dir. by Kuan-Fu Lin & Writ. by Sam McGoldrick, Taiwan/USA
In an old apartment complex, a new family moves in to Arthur's next door. They are Frenchies. They act weird, make suspicious noise and - they have heads like French Bulldogs.

The Art (all feminine) to Lose Life with Grace (L'arte (tutta femminile) di perdere la vita con grazia),Dir. by Marina Rocco, Italy
World Premiere
A strange kind of Marilyn Monroe lives with three nuns in a strange kind of convent.

The Heartbreak Factory,Dir. & Writ by So Young Shelly Yo, USA
Imagine a place where you could fix the pains of your broken heart with a quick stitch. Ava, a fiery worker, is determined to mend all the broken hearts of the world.

Smiley's,Dir. & Writ by Mike James, USA
A stressed student becomes obsessed with a vending machine in the middle of nowhere.

Additional event information is available at www.nfmla.org.

Founded in 2007, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. NFMLA's programs annually serve approximately 25,000 patrons in the Greater Los Angeles area. NFMLA has screened over 2,500 films from 75+ countries, highlighting local and international talent. NFMLA is supported by Presenting Venue Sponsor South Park Center, Executive Sponsors FilmLA and HBO, Airline Partner Norwegian Airlines and Producers Circle Sponsors SAG-AFTRA, 21st Century Fox Global Inclusion, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), The Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).