Tinseltown dreaming

THE Cannes Film Festival generates plenty of publicity, paparazzi and starlets parading in the skimpiest of bikinis -- some even leave their swimwear at home. The Sundance Film Festival has Robert Redford plus practically every major star, studio or distributor gallivanting around Park City, Utah.

But the Los Angeles area is the go-to place for film festivals. Every year, Tinseltown and its environs offer dozens of independent film festivals, Hollywood-friendly festivals, foreign film festivals, acting film festivals, family film festivals and even short film festivals.

The reason for the plethora of festivals is easy: “There are probably more filmmakers in Los Angeles than anyplace else,” says Greg Ptacek, one of the directors of the Silver Lake Film Festival, which opens tonight and continues through March 31.

The Silver Lake Festival triumphs independent film. “We are anything but institutional,” said Ptacek. “We are essentially a group of volunteers. None of us make a salary here. We just do it out of a love of independent film.”

This year, the organization received 1,200 submissions. Only a fraction of those -- 200 independent films, documentaries and shorts -- will be screened. “A lot of filmmakers around the world want to showcase their movies in Los Angeles,” he said.

“There are a couple of philosophies about filmmaking and festivals,” he added. Some embrace Hollywood completely “and make no bones about it. We are not interested in those kinds of films. What we are interested in is presenting the films that normally would not be seen, not only theatrically but not on DVD or pay TV. It has nothing to do with the quality of the film. It has to do with the personal vision of the filmmaker.”

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs April 19 to 23, began three years ago because its executive director, Christine Marouda, found there was a dearth of venues for Indian films. “I worked at a couple of international festivals in town and there wasn’t an Indian film in the lineup, or maybe just one every other year,” she said.

“So Indian films didn’t have an outlet, and that sort of intrigued me. I knew there was a really large industry in India. There really wasn’t a platform for these films -- especially for films that do not get distribution through an Indian/U.S. distributor.”

The fourth edition of the festival will feature 34 films, including Deepa Mehta’s “Water.”

“We received almost 350 submissions,” said Marouda. “We try to reach out to as many Indian filmmakers everywhere and let them know that this is an opportunity for your film to be screened in Los Angeles.”

And opening the festival with a high-profile film such as “Water,” she said, “attracts the film critics’ attention to the other films we have. It’s important to have a few big titles so the other films benefit.”

It takes time for festivals to find their audience. The Newport Beach Film Festival, which takes place April 20 to 30, came into its own last year by presenting the U.S. premiere of “Crash,” which went on to win the best film Oscar.

“My background is investment banking,” said executive director Gregg Schwenk. “And yet this is the hardest type of business I ever worked with. It’s incredibly challenging. There is a number of moving parts -- it’s extremely complex and you are doing it with a very small budget.”

Because of “Crash,” he said, the festival saw an increase in submissions for its seventh annual edition.

On the docket are 200 short films and 120 features and documentaries from 40 countries. “We are able to combine the best of what is quality studio and independent films and a wonderful setting to enjoy them in,” Schwenk said.