L.A. Film Festival: Looking at the multiple definitions of family
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Family is a constantly evolving concept. At its core are the issues of belonging, acceptance and love. Three films at the 2011 L.A. Film Festival are exploring today’s definition of family in very different ways. Director Linda Goldstein Knowlton explores the lives of four American teenagers, adopted from China when they were babies, in her documentary “Somewhere Between.” Mike Akel looks at a family reunion where one man’s religious beliefs hinder his ability to accept his gay brother in “An Ordinary Family.” And Marie Kreutzer makes her directorial debut with “Fatherless,” the story of the four adult children of a commune leader who reunite for the man’s funeral and hash out their complicated feelings about their childhoods.
The L.A. Times is a presenting sponsor of the festival, and Wednesday at 12:30 at the festival’s downtown Filmmaker Lounge, we continue our series of free lunchtime talks with Akel, Knowlton and Kreutzer on hand to discuss family and filmmaking. (You can watch the chat live here at latimes.com.)
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--Nicole Sperling