NewFilmmakers LA

🫶 Sometimes the deepest conversations are the ones left unspoken. Tapeworm Diaries joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: Tapeworm Diaries follows ten real-time minutes, told through the perspective of a tapeworm, as a rising actress prepares to leave for her first major film premiere. It’s the biggest night of her career, and she’s invited her mother as her plus-one. Tapeworm Diaries ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Kayla Cao 🎥 Producers: Mia Hsu & Sebastian Cerani 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

💛 Healing doesn't follow a timeline. Missed joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in LA and California program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: After her miscarriage, June begins seeing a wise cracking puppet who helps her through the grieving process. Missed ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Nell Riley 🎥 Producer: Roni Geva 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🧱 What if the person you needed most was... yourself? Clay Life joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: A struggling actor builds a clay figurine of himself that comes to life and quickly achieves everything he has always dreamed of. Clay Life ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Juan Pablo Saa 🎥 Producers: Juan Pablo Saa & Arkin Pal 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🪨 Some paths are meant to be followed… others hide unexpected danger. Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawer of Rocks) joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts I program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: Two young women are out for a walk on the tundra. They find a trail of colourful stones left on the ground, and decide to follow it -- but it unwittingly leads them into danger. They become trapped within the subterranean lair of the Mangittatuarjuk! The women must use their cunning and the teachings of their elders to escape from the monster. Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawer of Rocks) 🎥 Director, Producer: Louise Flaherty ✍️ Co-Writers: Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🚨 A mother's love knows no borders—but too often, neither does fear. Please Don't Shoot! joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in LA and California program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: An immigrant mother in the U.S. is unjustly targeted while searching for a better life, set to El Colectivo Sabinas' powerful song "PLEASE DON'T SHOOT". PLEASE DON'T SHOOT! ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Evelyn Gonzalez 🎥 Producers: Desiree Marisol Carcamo 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🏡 What remains after disaster is more than what's left standing. Still Standing joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in Los Angeles and California program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: After the Los Angeles wildfires leave thousands of homes contaminated with toxic ash, residents face an impossible choice: should they risk their health to return home? Still Standing ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Victor Tadashi Suarez 🎥 Producers: Livia Albeck-Ripka and Victor Tadashi Suarez 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🎥 Every family has dreams. Every generation has different ideas of how to achieve them. The Sharp Point of Time joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in LA and California program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: An immigrant Filipina who had dreams of being a filmmaker just wants her American-born son to not smoke weed, wash the dishes right and be more like his brother. The Sharp Point of Time 🎥 Director, Writer, Producer, & Editor: Andrew Acedo 🎭 Starring: Pinky Albea, Julian Bataclan, David de Vera, Sarah Albea, and Theresa Albea 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

📦 Growing up doesn't always happen on schedule. I Should Be Going joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: When perpetually adolescent Darcy returns home to pack up her childhood bedroom, she seizes the chance to live out her wildest teenage fantasy—until the arrival of her emotionally frayed mother, desperate to escape what Darcy can’t bear to lose, shatters the illusion. I Should Be Going ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Gemma Holdway 🎥 Producers: John Negropontes and Tyler MacIntyre 🎭 Starring: Jes Macallan and Thomas Nicholson 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

Join us in celebrating the arts and culture in LA county! 📣🎉 The LA County Arts & Culture just awarded $5.6 million to arts, cultural, and social service organizations, including NewFilmmakers Los Angeles! Thank you to NFMLA's Direct County Supervisor, Lindsay P. Horvath (@LindseyPHorvath), and to all LA County Supervisors, Hilda L. Solis (@HildaSolis), Holly J. Mitchell (@HollyJMitchell), Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn), and Kathryn Barger (@kathrynbarger), as we serve filmmakers and audiences countywide. A HUGE thank you to the Director of Arts and Culture, Kristin Sakoda, and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture! To read more about this incredible grant, check out the press release below: lacountyarts.org/press-release-…

Thank you to @moviemakermag for continuously highlighting our filmmakers each month, most recently, our March InFocus: Female Cinema program, which showcased stories from a high school heist, to a meat obsession, and to a surprising wedding night. The program also featured the Los Angeles Premiere of Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker Pamela J. Hogan's "The Day Iceland Stood Still". This spotlight celebrates the talent of directors like Gabriela Garcia Medina (Skrrrt!), Karan Sunil (Mango Chile Pie), and Yael Grunseit (Everything There Is To Know About Me), whose impactful and beautiful filmmaking dives into themes of friendship, family, grief, and memory. 🙌 At NFMLA, we believe in elevating diverse stories and voices. Through our Monthly Film Festivals and InFocus initiatives, we’re proud to provide an inclusive platform where filmmakers of all backgrounds can be seen and heard. ✨ We’re so grateful to MovieMaker for shining a light on these exceptional voices—and to our community of creators who continue to inspire us all. Read more: moviemaker.com/nfmla-infocus-…

🌲 Sometimes going home is the hardest journey of all. ✨Sometimes love stays with us long after goodbye. Tire-toi une bûche (Pull Up a Log) joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: Returning to her estranged rural hometown after a life-altering event, Laurie struggles to find her place in the world. With the unwavering support & guidance of her mother, she is forced to confront grief and everything it reshapes within her. Tire-toi une bûche (Pull up a log) ✍️🎥 Writer & Director:Béatrice Richer 🎥 Producers: Béatrice Richer, Josée Massie 🎭 Starring: Laurie Caron, Jöelle Lalonde, Jenn Hennessy 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🚗 Growing up sometimes happens faster than expected. Driving Lessons joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: A 12-year-old must learn to drive while also navigating the worst instructor ever... her inebriated father. Driving Lesson ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Gillian Gordon 🎥 Producers: Jonathan Laflamme and Gillian Gordon 🎭 Starring: Daniella Chudnovsky 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🎞️ Are you curious about what resources you can use as a creator and producer? Do you want to learn more about the future of indpendent filmmaking? 📍 NFMLA Virtual Conversation | Building studios without studios: a conversation on the future of independent film with Callo 📆 Thursday, July 17th, 2026 at 11:30am PDT - 01:00pm PDT Join us for a conversation with Fassa Sar (@FassaSar), founder of Callo (@wearecallo), the operating system empowering creators and producers to build and run studios worldwide, and Sabrina Parra, Callo's Head of Curation. Fassa's path from Capitol Hill to Sony Pictures to founding Callo has made her a recognized changemaker, honored by Variety, Forbes, CNBC, and TheWrap, and today Callo serves 14,000+ members across 60+ countries, supporting over $300M in declared project value. Sabrina brings over five years as a film development executive and script consultant, most recently as VP at a production company behind films including Little Women, Crazy Stupid Love, and A Walk to Remember, giving her rare insight into what studios and financiers look for in a screenplay. Together, Fassa and Sabrina will discuss how Callo is reshaping access to resources for creators and producers, and what it means for the future of independent filmmaking. This conversation will also be moderated by Award-Winning Filmmaker/Producer with nine Emmy Awards for journalism, Farrah Fazal! 🎟️ For tickets and more info, visit newfilmmakersla.com/events #Film #Entertainment #FilmIndustry #VirtualEvent #NewFilmmakersLA #NFMLA See less

More recognition for our 2026 Best New Filmmaker! 🤩⭐ Thank you for the Hollywood Reporter India and to Amanda V James for this exclusive interview and coverage of Nani Sahra Walker, our Best New Filmmaker of the year! 🔗 Read the full article to gain an insight on Nani and her project, Shatki: hollywoodreporterindia.com/global/intervi…

🕊️ What happens when curiosity challenges the rules you've always known? Have You Never Seen Birds? joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts II program. 🎬✨ ✨ Sometimes freedom begins with daring to see the world differently. Synopsis: A story set against the legacy of rigid Catholic schooling explores the struggle for personal freedom under oppressive, moralistic authority. Have you never seen birds? ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Jessica Fecteau 🎥 Co-Director & DOP: Rob Desroches 🎬 Producer: Jérémy Nolet 🎭 Starring: Béatrix Méthé 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

🎉 Congratulations to NFMLA alum, writer/director Peter Kirk and producer Brad Cooke on the Netflix (@netflix) streaming release of "The Knowledge Keepers." In this documentary series, Peter and Brad work to capture how, "in an age of extreme weather affecting millions its time we listened to the past to prepare for the future. Its time we listened to First Nations land practitioners". Peter and Brad played at our November 2025 Film Festival, and we are so thrilled about the Netflix (APAC Region) release of his series! 🎬

🎂 Some memories never stay in the past. Fourteen joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: Canadian Cinema Shorts I program. 🎬✨ ✨ Sometimes looking back is the first step toward moving forward. Synopsis: On her 24th birthday a drunk young woman is brought back to a sleepover where she had an unsettling interaction with a young man. Fourteen ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: @jahnellejones 🎥 Producers: Lola Gafar and Kat Khan 🎬 Executive Producer: @jahnellejones 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

⛽ One unexpected stop becomes a moment that changes everything. Somewhere to Be joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in LA and California program. 🎬✨ ✨ Sometimes the most important journeys begin when someone refuses to back down. Synopsis: In this dark comedy, an eight-year-old girl has to grow up quickly during a tense car ride. Set in 1985. Somewhere To Be ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Christy Chan 🎥 Producers: Keith Wilson, Jeremy Summer, and Christy Chan 🎬 Executive Producers: W. Kamau Bell and Gordon Yamate 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/

"We had such a weird, mysterious, spectacular day." - Satsuki Kusakebe, 'My Neighbor Totoro' (1988) Joe Hisaishi Film Music Concert, Featuring Studio Ghibli & More, comes to the @HollywoodBowl July 21, 22, & 23rd! Experience the moving castle, delivery service, spirits, and neighbors on the big screen as the legendary @LAPhil, conducted by Joe Hisaishi, performs the score live! 🎶🏰 🎟️ Want free tickets? 1️⃣ Follow @NFMLA 2️⃣ Tag a friend you’d want to be Spirited Away with 👻 Winners will be contacted via DM—don’t miss your chance to experience the magic of Studio Ghibli with us! Giveaway ends July 16th at 10am PT! Giveaway tickets are ONLY for the July 22nd concert! We will only accept ONE submission per person. If you would like to purchase tickets, click here: bit.ly/HisaishiGhibli… #JoeHisaishi #HollywoodBowl #StudioGhibli #LAPhil #NFMLA

🖼️ Is it a date… or just two people hoping it is? Is It Like, a Date?!? joins the lineup for NFMLA’s July Monthly Film Festival, featured in the Made in LA and California program. 🎬✨ Synopsis: Two teenage girls at an art museum are desperate to figure out if their meetup is a date — while their parents connect in the parking lot and wind up on a date of their own. Is it like, a Date?!? ✍️🎥 Writer & Director: @elianapipes 🎥 Producers: Julia Mok, Austin Taylor, Nina Kadjar, Rachel Deutsch 🎭 Starring: Belissa Escobedo, Lauren Melton, Safiya Fredericks, and Hugo Medina 🎟️ Learn more: newfilmmakersla.com/events/