1995
Inaugural Los Angeles Independent Film Festival (LAIFF)
Created by 28-year-old Festival Founder Robert Faust
Dates: April 6 – 10
Festival Director: Robert Faust
Venues: Raleigh Studios in Hollywood
Opening Night: The Addiction, directed by Abel Ferrara
Closing Night: New Jersey Drive, directed by Nick Gomez
Festival Advisory Films: 14 features and 19 short films
Board: Allison Anders, Diane Ladd, Edward James Olmos, Eric Stoltz, Forest Whitaker and Alfred Woodward
Founding Sponsors: Independent Film Channel, the Directors Guild of America, and Eastman Kodak Corporation
Participating Organizations: The Black Filmmakers Foundation, The National Latino Communication Center, and Women in Film
Seminars: “Legal Aspects of Low Budget Financing,” and “Navigating and Negotiation the Distribution Agreement”
Of Note: Billed as a “showcase of cultural diversity”
Attendance: 5,700
1996
Second Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
Dates: April 18 – 22
Festival Director: Robert Faust
Venues: Directors Guild of America, Raleigh Studios, Paramount Studios
Opening Night: Dead Man, directed by Jim Jarmusch
Closing Night: Things I Never Told You, directed by Isabel Coixet
Films: 19 features and 21 short films
Attendance: 9,000
1997
Third Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
Dates: April 3 – 7
Festival Director: Robert Faust
Venues: Directors Guild of America, Raleigh Studios, Paramount Studios
Opening Night: Little City, directed by Roberto Benabib
Closing Night: Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Films: 23 features and 34 short films
Awards: The Directors Guild of America presented a $2500 award in the Best Director category; The Writers Guild of America presented a $2500 in the Best Writer category.
Award Winners by Category: Audience Award, Best Director – Will Geiger, Ocean Tribe; Best Short Film – Fairfax Fandango, Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein; Best Feature Film – Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, Kirby Dick; Best Writer – Jon Harmon Feldman, Lovelife; Indie Supporter Award – Toni Robertson.
Attendance: 15,000
1998
Fourth Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
Dates: April 16 – 20
Festival Director: Robert Faust
Venues: The Directors Guild of America, Harmony Gold Theater, Luna Park, Laemmle Sunset 5, Laugh Factory Theater
Opening Night: Shadrach, directed by Susanna Styron
Closing Night: Mr. Jealousy, directed by Noah Baumbach
Films: 27 features and 31 short films
Awards: The Directors Guild of America presented a $2500 award in the Best Director category; The Writers Guild of America presented a $2500 in the Best Writer category.
Award Winners by Category: Audience Award, Best Director – Rory Kelly, Some Girl; Best Short Film – ‘Mad’ Boy, I’ll Blow Your Blues Away. Be Mine, Adam Collis; Best Feature Film – Broken Vessels, Scott Ziehl, Roxana Zal; Best Writer – Rocky Collins, Pants on Fire; Indie Supporter Award – Eric Stoltz.
Attendance: 17,000
1999
Fifth Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
Dates: April 15 – 20 (one day added from previous year)
Festival Director: Robert Faust
Venues: Directors Guild of America, Laemmle Sunset 5, Harmony Gold Preview House, Laugh Factory Theater
Opening Night: Entropy, directed by Phil Joanou
Closing Night: The Big Brass Ring, directed by George Hickenlooper
Films: 33 features and 34 short films
Sponsors: Sundance Channel, Eastman Kodak, Directors Guild of America, Chevrolet, Apple Computer and Absolut Vodka
Award Winners by Category: Audience Award, Best Director – Ed Radtke, The Dream Catcher; Best Short Film – Bingo, Chris Landreth; Best Feature Film – Pop & Me, Chris Roe; Best Writer – Jaffe Cohen, Christopher Livingston, Hit and Runway; Production Grant Award – Julia Jay Pierrepont III.
Of Note: Recognized as “one of the top ten film fests in the country and certainly the premier showcase for new independent film and filmmaking talent on the West Coast.”
Attendance: 18,000
