{{Infobox film or theatre festival , name = Mammoth Lakes Film Ferstival , logo = Mammoth-Lakes.jpg , logo_alt = , logo_size = , image = , image_alt = , image_size = 220px , caption = Mammoth Lakes Film Festival 2016 , opening = , closing = , location =

Mammoth Lakes, California Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

Mono County, California Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The coun ...

Eastern Sierra The Eastern Sierra is a region in California comprising the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, which includes Mono and Inyo Counties. The main thoroughfare is U.S. Route 395, which passes through Bridgeport, Lee Vining, Bishop, Big Pine, Inde ...

, telephone = , founded = 2015 , founders = Shira Dubrovner , awardsreceived = , awards = , films = , directors = , producers = , writers = , starring = , host = , number = , date = Memorial Day Weekend , language = , website = {{url, mammothlakesfilmfestival.com , chronology = , preceded_by = , followed_by = The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is a five-day

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

that screens independent features and shorts in

, a mountain resort town in the

. The festival, founded by Shira Dubrovner in 2015 with Paul Sbrizzi as director of programming, takes place over

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend each year, and was named as one of the Top 50 Festivals Worth The Entry Fee by ''

Moviemaker Magazine ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis. See also * List of film periodicals Film period ...

'' in 2016 and 2017.

Festivals

2015

The 2015 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival was held May 27–30, 2015. The event opened with the film '' Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine'', and closed with ''

Cartel Land ''Cartel Land'' is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman about the Mexican Drug War, especially vigilante groups fighting Mexican drug cartels. The film focuses on Tim "Nailer" Foley, the leader of Arizona Border Recon ...

''. The Jury Judges were

Andrew Lazar Andrew Lazar (born 1966) is an American film producer and graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He is associated with Mad Chance Productions, a production company he formed in 1997 and affiliated with Warner Bros., but als ...

Kristanna Loken Kristanna Loken (born October 8, 1979) is a Norwegian American actress and model. She is known for her roles in the films '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), ''BloodRayne'' (2005) and ''Bounty Killer'' (2013) and on the TV series ''P ...

, Larry Meistrich, Allison Amon,

Yana Gorskaya Yana Gorskaya (Russian: Яна Горская; Яна Викторовна Гороховская) is a Russian-American director, producer and film editor. She is best known for her work as director and co-executive producer of the TV series '' ...

Kathleen Kinmont Kathleen Kinmont (born Kathleen Kinmont Smith) is an American actress who starred in film and on television. Kinmont is best known for starring in horror films. Early years Kinmont is the daughter of Jack Smith. Career Her first feature film ...

, Kimberley Browning, and Breven Angaelica Warren.

2016

The 2nd Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival was held May 25–29, 2016. The festival opened with the film ''

Operation Avalanche (film) ''Operation Avalanche'' is a 2016 American-Canadian found footage conspiracy thriller film directed by Matt Johnson, who co-wrote the film with Josh Boles. Johnson and Owen Williams star as CIA agents who infiltrate NASA to expose a potential m ...

''.

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

was presented with the Sierra Spirit Award. The festival Jury Judges were

John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, Kelly Leow,

John Wirth (television producer) John Wirth is a television showrunner, producer, and writer. From 2012 to mid-2016, he was the showrunner and executive producer for the American Western series ''Hell on Wheels''. He is also credited as a co-creator, executive producer and writer ...

, Allison Amon,

John Scheinfeld John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, Katherine Tulich, Bojana Sandic, and Amanda Salazar.

2017

The 3rd Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival was held May 24–28, 2017. The event opened with the film '' Up In Smoke'', with actor

Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox's ' ...

in-person for a question-and-answer panel following the screening. The Sierra Spirit Award was presented to

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and ''L ...

Vincent Spano Vincent M. Spano Jr. (born October 18, 1962) is an American film, stage and television actor; he is also a film director and producer. Early life Spano was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian-American parents Vincent Sr. and Theresa. Career ...

, following a screening of ''

Baby It's You (film) ''Baby It's You'' is a 1983 American comedy drama film written and directed by John Sayles. It stars Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano.''Variety'' film review; March 9, 1983. Plot The film, set in 1966 New Jersey, is about a romance between an ...

''. The festival Jury Judges were Allison Amon, Judy Coppage, Devin Digonno, Zackary Gilyani,

Jacques Thelemaque Jacques Thelemaque ( ) is an American screenwriter and director best known as the president of the Los Angeles film collective Filmmakers Alliance. Biography Thelemaque studied briefly at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, but his film career began ...

, Kelly Leow, Sandra Seeling Lipski, and Bobby Putka.

Awards

2015

*Audience Award for Narrative Feature -- ''

They Look Like People ''They Look Like People'' is a 2015 independent psychological horror film shot, edited, written, produced and directed by Perry Blackshear. It was his feature film directorial debut. It premiered on January 25, 2015 at the Slamdance Film Festival, ...

''
IMDb
*Audience Award for Documentary -- '' Omo Child: The River and the Bush''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Narrative Feature -- '' Diamond Tongues''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Documentary Feature -- ''

Autism In Love ''Autism in Love'' is an American documentary film released in 2015. Synopsis The film follows four autistic adults, Dave, Lindsey, Lenny, and Stephen, and explores the concepts of love, romance, and parental relationships. Dave and Lindsey, who a ...

''
IMDb
*Jury Special Mention Bravery Award -- ''

''
IMDB
*Jury Award for Narrative Short -- '' Una Nit''
IMDb
*Jury Honorable Mention for Narrative Short -- '' Upon The Rock''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Animation or Documentary Short -- ''

Tourist Trap A tourist trap is an establishment (or group of establishments) that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide overpriced services, entertainment, food, souvenir ...

''
IMDb
*Jury Honorable Mention for Animation or Documentary Short -- '' The Tide Keeper''
IMDb

2016

*Audience Award for Feature Narrative -- '' Buddymoon''
IMDb
*Audience Award for Feature Documentary -- '' Learning to See (film)''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Narrative Feature -- '' Bodkin Ras''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Documentary Feature -- ''

Sonita (film) ''Sonita'' is a 2015 documentary film about Sonita Alizadeh, a 15-year-old Afghan rapper and refugee living in Tehran. The film was directed by Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami and premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the festival's ...

''
IMDb
*Jury Bravery Award Feature Documentary -- ''

Under the Sun (2015 film) ''Under the Sun'' (; ) is a 2015 Russian documentary film directed by Vitaly Mansky. The film follows a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea as their daughter Zin-mi prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the ...

''
IMDb
*Jury Special Mention Feature Narrative -- '' Mad''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Narrative Short -- '' A Night in Tokoriki''
IMDb
*Jury Honorable Mention for Narrative Short -- '' Tisure''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Animation or Documentary Short -- '' The Second Life'' *Jury Honorable Mention for Animation or Documentary Short -- '' The Night Stalker (2015 film)''
IMDb

2017

*Audience Award for Feature Narrative -- '' Withdrawn'' - *International Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award -- '' Cold Breath''
IMDb
*Audience Award for Feature Documentary -- '' Strad Style''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Narrative Feature -- '' Space Detective (film)''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Documentary Feature -- '' Strad Style''
IMDb
*Jury Bravery Award Feature Documentary -- '' Forever B (film)''
IMDb
*Jury Special Mention Feature Narrative -- '' The Great Unwashed (film)''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Narrative Short -- '' Flowereyes'' *Jury Special Mention Narrative Short -- '' Call Your Father''
IMDb
*Jury Special Mention Narrative Short -- '' Sadhu in Bombay''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Documentary Short -- '' 52-The Trolleybus''
IMDb
*Jury Award for Animated Short -- '' Little Red Giant, The Monster That I Was''
IMDB
*Jury Special Mention Animated Short -- '' Adam (2016 film)''
IMDb
2017 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Winners List
''LATF USA'', May 30, 2017

Footnotes

References

Visit MammothNews from the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival

External links

Official site
Film festivals in California Tourist attractions in Mono County, California