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"I whipped up a kick ass divorce mix playlist for ya." Gravitas Ventures has debuted an official trailer for Before/During/After, an indie drama written by and starring Finnerty Steeves. The film earned good festival buzz taking home Dances With Films' "Industry Choice Award", Greenpoint Film Festival's "Best of the Fest" award, San Diego's "Best Ensemble Cast" honor, Naples' "Programmers Choice Award", and an exclusive drive-in showing at the RiverRun Film Festival. This sharp-witted dramedy studies a middle-aged NYC theatre actress suddenly forced to figure out the kind of person she wants to portray in real life when her marriage comes to an end after she catches her husband cheating. In addition to Steeves, this also stars Jeremy Davidson, John Pankow, Kristine Sutherland, Richard Masur, Michael Emerson, and Deborah Rush. This looks rather amusing and witty, a cathartic film all about figuring out what to do now. Here's the trailer (+ poster...

When the coronavirus pandemic hit California in March, San Diego Film Festival artistic director Tonya Mantooth briefly considered canceling this year’s program. But when it came down to the final decision, she recalls, her team held her back, saying, “Wait a second, our mission is to use film as a catalyst to bring different perspectives and get them to the forefront. This is exactly why we exist as a festival — we need to stay in there and fight the good fight.”

In a year that is seeing a resurgence of sociopolitical movements challenging systemic racism and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, Sdff’s 2020 edition champions those messages as told through the big screen in a sincere effort to unite communities. With its weeklong program reduced to four days, the fest is scheduled for Oct. 15 to 18, featuring both drive-in events and virtual screenings that can be enjoyed in the comfort of festgoers’ homes.

The coming-of-age film Paper Spiders will open a virtual version of the Dances With Films Festival, the producers announced today.

Dwf:la’s 2020 lineup has more than 200 titles, including narrative features, documentaries, pilots, web series, music videos, short films, and films by young people. The entire festival, running Thursday August 27 through Sunday September 6, will be in real time, allowing interactive experiences, including a virtual red carpet, lounges with trivia nights and signature cocktails, panel discussions, and Q&a sessions.

Ticket prices will be lowered this year, owing to the virtual setup. Pre-sale tickets start at $11 through August 26 and then will go to $15. Tickets will be available on the website, http://dwfla.com

Paper Spiders stars Lili Taylor, Stefania Lavie Owen, Peyton List and Max Casella. The film is directed by Inon Shampanier and written by Shampanier and Natalie Shampanier. The story is a bittersweet coming of age mother/daughter tale that...