The Opening Night Gala ‘Taste of North County’ will showcase Carlsbad area's exquisite cuisine, award-winning craft breweries and boutique wines - all accompanied by live music.
Carlsbad, California (PRWEB) September 08, 2014
The 2nd annual La Costa Film Festival (LCFF) will take place at the world famous Omni Resort La Costa in seaside Carlsbad from September 18-21. This year, the festival is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Mandalay Sports Media (MSM) to help curate the festival’s sports themed narrative, documentary and shorts programs, as well as to expand their outreach to filmmakers and distributors in this space.
The La Costa Film Festival (lacostfilmfestival.org) will screen 42 films from 13 countries and host nightly red carpet galas, exciting panels and numerous special events. The festival will debut a World Premiere as well as a special tribute to renowned actor Ed Harris.
Opening Night Gala
The La Costa Film Festival will open with Frank Vs. God, starring Henry Cusick and Ever Carridine, which follows a hot shot lawyer who, after a series of misfortunes, decides to serve God with a lawsuit. The director and the lead actress, Ever Carridine will offer comments before the start of the film screening, which will take place under the stars on Center Court of the Omni Resort La Costa on Thursday, September 18th, at 8:30 pm. The screening will immediately follow the Opening Night Gala ‘Taste of North County,’ which will showcase the area’s exquisite cuisine, award-winning craft breweries and boutique wines - all accompanied by live music.
Friday Night Gala
The Friday Night Gala will keep the party moving, with a special tribute to Ed Harris, who will be present for a pre-screening party at the Cinepolis Luxury Theater. He will be honored with the retrospective showing of Radio, which will also have Producer/Director Mike Tollin on hand to share the spotlight and add his insights on the film and working with Ed Harris. The party then moves back to the Omni La Costa for the World Premiere screening of Brothers in Exile, which follows the heart wrenching true story of two brothers who risk their lives to escape Cuba and play professional baseball in America. The film’s Director and the two brothers are scheduled to appear and speak about their experiences. Finish off the evening with a rousing special After Party at the Omni, with live music, appetizers, and plenty of libations.
Awards Night Gala
Saturday’s closing night, the La Costa Film Festival will feature the sports awards, which will begin with wonderful cuisine, fine wines, and live music. Then our celebrity jury will recognize the best sports films in feature narrative, documentary, and shorts. We’ll pay special tribute to our selected Ambassador of Sport. Then a special presentation and award to the student winner of our high school competition for the best in short film with a $1,000 prize, which is shared with the school’s film department. We are proud to present under the stars our feature film Teacher of The Year starring Matt Letscher, Keenan-Michael Key and the Sklar brothers, in a satire on the California public high school system, which portrays the life of one exceptional teacher amongst the extremely eccentric staff of Truman High School.
Spotlights/ Features
The La Costa Film Festival is proud to present 14 feature films from 13 countries. Highlights include the drama Circles a story of five people affected by a tragic heroic act. Life’s a Breeze, a comedy which follows Nan and her family, when a wonderful surprise goes awry and the family misplaces a fortune, a desperate search ensues.
Sports Features and Shorts
Utilizing the Omni’s sports-themed grounds, the La Costa Film Festival is proud to announce a partnership with Mandalay Sport Media. The newly formed collaboration allows the festival to have a consistent and viable source to attract the best in sports features, documentaries, and shorts, while maintaining a balance of the finest independent films in all genres. Highlights from the sports competition include Don’t Quit: the Joe Roth Story which tells the story of a local San Diego football player and his personal battle with cancer; and Pantani: Accidental Death of a Cyclist, directed by James Erskine, which portrays a man that was a hero to millions as he accomplished the unthinkable, winning both the Giro and Tour de France. The Middle Distance is the true story of Canadian world class runner Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and the events of his life leading up to the Olympic trials in Calgary.
World Premieres
The La Costa Film Festival will present the world premiere of Brother’s In Exile. Directed by Mario Diaz, Brother’s In Exile tells the incredible story of Livan and Orlando Hernandez, who risked their lives to get off the island of Cuba and pursue success in professional baseball.
Documentaries
The La Costa Film Festival will feature three documentaries throughout the course of its 4-day run. On The Way to School tells the story of four children that live light years away from each other but who have a common point: they cover tremendously long distances to reach their school. Extinction Soup directed by TV and Film star Phillip Waller begins as an adventure following one of the greatest extreme sport legends Jimmy Hall and finds himself consumed with exposing one of the greatest on-going environmental catastrophes in the making, the extinction of the ocean’s shark population. American Wine Story embodies the wonderful entrepreneurial spirit and obsession of those that chase their dreams with a bottle in one hand and a corkscrew in the other
Shorts Programs
The La Costa Film Festival will showcase 8 shorts filmmakers from around the world. Highlights include local High School award winners Jason Phillips and Brandon Chase of Canyon Crest High School with their emotionally gripping film Sofia. Also local Carlsbad business owner, Thomas Aldrich, will be featured with his short film West, a fictional short about the real man with no name, who rode with Doc Holiday, was chased by Wyatt Earp, and was the only man feared by Billy the Kid.
Seminars and Panels
“Journey of a Superhero”
- Zack Stentz
- Barry Sandrew
- Ash Miller
“Extreme Sports and Film”
- Geoff Clark - Moderator
- Chuck Patterson
- Dan Moore
- Mike Horelick
“Youth & Sports” TBD
- Mike Tollin - Moderator
- Adam Stotsky
La Costa Film Festival:
Opening Night Film
- Frank Vs. God preceded by Before Babe: The Women Who Changed Golf
Friday Night Spotlight Screenings
- Radio– retrospective honoring Ed Harris w/Mike Tollin
- World Premiere of Brothers in Exile preceded by Tommy & Frank
Closing Night Film
- Teacher of The Year preceded by Matilde
Feature Films
- Circles
- White Lies
- Life’s a Breeze
- Chasing The Wind
- La Despedida
- The Invisible Collection
- God Help the Girl
- Una Vida
- Copenhagen
- This is Where We Live
- Radio
Sports Features
- Essence of Surfing
- Don't Quit: The Joe Roth Story
- Heaven's Gate
- Pantani: Accidental Death of Cyclist
- Brothers in Exile
- Playing for the Mob
- H2Mexic0
Sports Shorts
- The Middle Distance
- Eideann
- Our Tough Guy
- Anna Beautiful Gaze
- Matilde
- Tommy & Frank
- Before Babe: Women Who Changed Golf
Shorts
- Bis Gleich
- Mr.Invisible
- Tandem
- West
- The Orphan and the Polar Bear
- Sofia
- Zugzwang
- Monkey Love Experiments
- Catalina Island
Documentaries
- On The Way To School
- Extinction Soup
- American Wine Story
Sports Jury Members
- Cash Warren
- Brad Holland
- Ira Opper
- Paul Rudy
- John Carney
About La Costa Film Festival
The La Costa Film Festival of Carlsbad beckons you to explore this idyllic coastal town known for its gorgeous beaches, exquisite local cuisine, and sports loving citizenry. It is home to sports industry giants such as Callaway, TaylorMade, and Cobra, as well as family focused attractions such as LEGOLAND and ‘The Flower Fields.’ Another great choice is simply strolling through the Village of Carlsbad and enjoying its quaint seaside ambiance. Our mantra is much like Carlsbad by the Sea, “Casual yet intimate, relaxed yet unforgettable.”
The goal of the festival itself is to combine the excitement, glamour, and experience of Hollywood with a setting that makes you feel like you’ve arrived at a destination vacation. It’s adds another dimension to watching a movie, when you’re able to listen to the passion of the filmmaker as they discuss their creation, or mingle with the stars that brought it to life. A variety of panels and parties will further deepen the impact as well as the appreciation of their craft.
About Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas
Cinépolis started its operations in the USA, July of 2011 at the Del Mar, California, location with a luxury movie concept. This debuted a completely revolutionized movie theater with comfortable leather seats, gourmet dining offerings in-theater for select theaters, snacks, a full bar, elegant lobby spaces and cutting-edge sound and projection technology. Today, Cinépolis USA has some of the top performing theaters in the country and currently operates 35 screens in Southern California with plans to continue expanding across the U.S. in the next few years.
About Omni La Costa Resort and Spa
California's original destination for Mind, Body + Sport, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa was recognized as a Top Southern California Resort in the 2013 Condé Nast Traveler "Reader's Choice Awards." Nestled among the beautiful coastal foothills of Carlsbad, Calif., the resort boasts 607 guestrooms and suites, an adults-only pool, the Coastal Events Center, 110,000 square feet of meeting and event space, an Athletic Club, exhilarating waterslides and two recently updated golf courses, including the Champions Course & the Legends Course, recipients of the "Gold Medal Resort" rating by Golf magazine. Honored as the #1 Wellness Spa in the Nation by Spa magazine, the 43,000-square-foot Spa at La Costa includes a private pool, waterfall showers, café and therapeutic reflexology path. Acclaimed restaurants - BlueFire Grill and Bistro 65 - present an updated take on local cuisine, including dishes inspired by the resort's own colony of honey bees. Also home to Premier Fitness and the worldwide headquarters of The Chopra Center, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa offers continually evolving health and wellness programming as part of LiveWell La Costa. For more information on Omni La Costa, call (800) 854-5000 or visit http://www.lacosta.co
