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Los Angeles Film Festival makes a move out of Westwood

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Like Jamie Foxx in ‘Dreamgirls,’ the Los Angeles Film Festival is going downtown.

The 16-year-old festival, whose events have been centered in Westwood for the past four years, will move the locus of its screenings and events to downtown Los Angeles.

Among the venues at which the Film Independent-run LAFF will show films and host panels are Regal Cinemas, the Grammy Museum, the Orpheum Theatre and Nokia Plaza, with L.A. Live serving as its flagship venue. The festival will continue to hold outdoor screenings in Hollywood, at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater. (The Times is a presenting sponsor of LAFF.)

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The move continues a pattern for Film Independent, which also runs the Spirit Awards, of moving its events downtown. The Spirits’ switch last month, to L.A. Live, met with mixed results, but festival director Rebecca Yeldham said that the new spot would be more central and also tap into the neighborhood’s emerging cultural identity.

“Our new location will continue to pave the way for LAFF to realize its potential as an international destination event, and unites our filmmakers and audiences with the diverse arts community that exists downtown,’ she said.

Last year’s festival showcased a number of films that went on to broader acclaim, including the political satire ‘In the Loop,’ which was nominated for an adapted screenplay Oscar. This year’s edition of the festival begins on June 17 and runs through June 27. Film announcements are expected in early May.

--Steven Zeitchik

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