The LA Film Festival will hold the world premiere of holiday-season comedy “The Oath,” starring Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz, on Sept. 25 at the ArcLight Hollywood.
“The Oath,” Barinholtz’s directorial debut, centers on a couple whose Thanksgiving takes a turn for the worse when two federal agents wind up being held captive in their living room. Barinholtz also wrote the script. The film also stars John Cho, Carrie Brownstein, Billy Magnussen, Meredith Hagner, Barinholtz’s brother Jon Barinholtz, Nora Dunn, and Chris Ellis.
Roadside Attractions will open “The Oath” on Oct. 12. The movie was one of four gala screenings unveiled Wednesday by the festival, which also announced it will hold the West Coast premiere of Eva Vives’ “All About Nina” on Sept. 23 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; the Los Angeles premiere of Rupert Everett’s “The Happy Prince” on Sept. 25 at the Annenberg; and the Los Angeles premiere of climbing documentary “Free Solo” on Sept. 27 at the Annenberg.
The festival has also scheduled a Sept. 21 special screening of Tom Volf’s documentary “Maria by Callas” at the ArcLight Hollywood. It will premiere “The Body” episode of Hulu’s “Into the Dark” series on Sept. 21 at the Writers Guild Theatre and show the “I Don’t Have to Think About Being White” segment of Steve James’ “America to Me” series on Starz.
The LA Film Festival announced last week that it would kick off on Sept. 20 with Andrew Slater’s music documentary “Echo in the Canyon” at the Ford Theatre.
The festival will screen 12 films in the Buzz Section, consisting of titles that have screened at other festivals, including “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable,” “Galveston,” “The Great Buster: A Celebration,” “Jonathan,” “Little Woods,” “Mr. Soul!,” “Museo,” “The New Romantic,” “Sadie,” “Song of Back and Neck,” “Unlovable,” and “You Can Choose Your Family.” It will also show three podcasts — “Don’t @ Me with Justin Simien”; “Hollywood & Crime,” hosted by Larry Brand; and “Welcome to L.A.,” hosted by David Weinberg.
“My aim with LA Film Festival is to celebrate and acknowledge storytelling in all its myriad of forms,” said LA Film Festival director Jennifer Cochis. “Bringing forth part of our Series programming, launching our Podcast section, and shining a spotlight on this year’s Galas is all in effort to honor these creative teams, processes and stories.”
The LA Film Festival announced its competition lineup in July and noted that it had placed a heavy emphasis on diversity in its competition film slate, with 42% of the films directed by women and 39% helmed by people of color. The 24th edition of the festival is also positioning itself as an event for unveiling lesser-known talent. It will take place Sept. 20-28 as it moves from its traditional June slot to the fall awards season.
The Los Angeles event follows the Venice International Film Festival, which begins in late August; the Telluride Film Festival, which runs over Labor Day; and the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, which starts on Sept. 6. The festival will end just as the New York Film Festival begins.
