Silver Lake Film Festival

In 2005, in addition to its annual event, SLFF launched a very successful monthly series of short films with curated programs from an international array of filmmakers that is consistently SRO.

Since their establishment in the early 20th century, Silver Lake and its surrounding environs have had a reputation for avant-garde arts, a pronounced multiculturalism, a large gay and lesbian community, and staunchly progressive politics.

Artists and audience-goers gravitate to an area filled with alternative music clubs, one-of-a-kind fashion boutiques, art galleries, record and book stores, and a vast array of ethnic cafes and restaurants – the equivalent of the East Village in New York City or San Francisco’s South of Market district.

The area is also becoming known nationally for its thriving alternative music scene, and numerous musicians as well as other artists call it home, including Beck, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and world-famous opera singer Marilyn Horne.

[1],Curated by Saskia Wilson-Brown and David Burns, MP4Fest provided another parallel festival devoted exclusively to digital content and, specifically, movies made for viewing online and on handheld devices, such as cellphones, PDAs and game players.

The Festival also looks to the present and future, bestowing its Spirit of Silver Lake Award for career achievement in independent cinema on such notables as actors John C. Reilly, Laura Dern, Mark Ruffalo, and Julie Delpy, and filmmakers Allison Anders, Charles Burnett, Kenneth Anger, Rob Nilsson, Curtis Harrington and Penelope Spheeris For the first four years, the Festival was based at the historic Vista Theatre at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards—the longest-running freestanding theater in Southern California—and included additional venues in neighboring theaters.