Los Angeles Film Society

Los Angeles Film Society
Name	Los Angeles Film Society
Type	Nonprofit arts organization
Founded	2012
Location	Los Angeles, California, United States
Focus	Film exhibition, preservation, education

Contents

Los Angeles Film Society is a nonprofit film organization based in Los Angeles, California dedicated to film exhibition, preservation, and community engagement. Founded amid the cultural ecosystems of Los Angeles County, Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, and the San Fernando Valley, the organization collaborates with institutions such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, the Film Independent, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Through partnerships with venues like the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Regent Theater (Los Angeles), and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the society programs retrospectives, new releases, and archival restorations.

History

The organization emerged in the early 2010s during a period of expanded festival programming in Los Angeles, following precedents set by the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, and regional series from the New York Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. Founders included curators and programmers who previously worked with the American Cinematheque, the Cinéfamily, the Getty Center, and the Hillary Film Foundation, seeking to create a hybrid model influenced by institutions such as the British Film Institute, the Film Forum, and the Cinémathèque Française. Early seasons featured retrospectives of filmmakers associated with Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Agnes Varda, Stanley Kubrick, and collaborations with archives like the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York).

The society's mission emphasizes preservation, exhibition, and public programming in line with practices at the National Film Registry, the Criterion Collection, the PFA (Pacific Film Archive), and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programming mixes contemporary premieres with restorations of works by filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, Wong Kar-wai, Federico Fellini, John Cassavetes, and Hayao Miyazaki, and organizes panel discussions featuring guests from the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America West, the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Producers Guild of America. Collaborative initiatives mirror partnerships seen between the British Film Institute and the British Council, or between the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Annual festivals and curated series draw on models from the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the SXSW Film Festival, while staging localized events referencing the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, and the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival. Special events have included auteur retrospectives honoring figures like Ingmar Bergman, Satyajit Ray, Billy Wilder, and Akira Kurosawa, and thematic series spotlighting national cinemas including programs on Japanese cinema, French cinema, Mexican cinema, Indian cinema, and Iranian cinema. The society also hosts award ceremonies, industry mixers, and co-presentation nights with entities such as the Independent Spirit Awards, the International Documentary Association, and the Film Foundation.

Educational programming partners with universities and colleges such as the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, the California Institute of the Arts, and the Occidental College, as well as with museums like the Getty Museum and the Hammer Museum. Workshops, masterclasses, and youth programs feature visiting artists from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, and the American Society of Cinematographers, and collaborate with community organizations including the LAUSD, the Los Angeles Public Library, and local cultural centers. Outreach initiatives echo models from the Black Film Center/Archive, the National Black Theatre, and the Sundance Institute's education programs.

The society programs screenings at venues across Los Angeles, partnering with cinemas and cultural venues such as the ArcLight Hollywood, the Cinerama Dome, the Nuart Theatre, the Aero Theatre, the Los Feliz 3, and the Egyptian Theatre (Hollywood), and frequently uses institutional spaces at the Getty Center, the Hammer Museum, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive for restorations and talks. Touring programs and outdoor screenings have appeared at public sites including Griffith Park, Echo Park, and the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and special collaborations have taken place at galleries like the LACMA and performance venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Membership models resemble those of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the American Cinematheque, and the British Film Institute, offering tiers for individuals, students, and industry professionals, with benefits including advance ticketing, member-only events, and voting privileges in governance meetings. Governance is overseen by a board composed of arts administrators, filmmakers, and producers drawn from networks including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Independent Film Project, the Producers Guild of America, and the Local 600 (IATSE) ranks, and advised by curators affiliated with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and academic departments at UCLA Film & Television Archive and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Financial support combines grants, philanthropy, ticket revenue, and corporate sponsorships, reflecting funding strategies similar to those of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and corporate donors like Netflix, Apple Inc., Amazon Studios, and Warner Bros. Partnerships for restoration and exhibition have involved the Film Foundation, the Packard Humanities Institute, the Getty Foundation, and archives such as the Library of Congress and the Academy Film Archive, while co-presentations and underwriting have included arts institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Getty Research Institute, and media outlets such as Variety (magazine), The Hollywood Reporter, and Indiewire.