Friend of the Fest is a new week-long film festival in Los Angeles, programmed and presented by the American Cinematheque and a wide variety of exciting podcasts (both film and non-film related). Each of our guest podcasts has curated a film that they will introduce live to audiences at the Aero Theatre and Los Feliz 3.

Schedule of Films:

Thursday, August 24, 2023

7:00 PM - Miami Nice Presents MIAMI VICE

Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell go deep undercover in Michael Mann’s explosive, action-packed MIAMI VICE. When detectives Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Farrell) are asked to investigate the brutal murders of two federal agents, they find themselves pulled into the alluring and lethal world of drug traffickers.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Miami Nice’s Katie Walsh (in-person) and Blake Howard (virtual)

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - The Big Picture Presents THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is a bright and charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-’50s New York City as a men’s room attendant and sometimes pianist, though his real skill is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting, and running second-rate scams. After being mistaken for a Princeton student, Tom meets the shipping tycoon father of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who has traveled to the coast of Italy, where he’s living a carefree life with his father’s money and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Dickie’s father will pay Ripley 1,000 dollars plus his expenses if he can persuade Dickie to return to America. As Ripley and Dickie become friends, Tom finds himself both attracted to Dickie and envious of his life of pleasure. In time, he decides that he would rather be Dickie Greenleaf than Tom Ripley…

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by The Big Picture’s Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Ruined Presents THE BABADOOK

Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6-year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, and he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Ruined’s Halle Kiefer and Alison Leiby

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

Friday, August 25, 2023

7:00 PM - Pure Cinema Podcast Presents CALIFORNIA SPLIT

Bill Denny (George Segal) and Charlie Walters (Elliott Gould) are two compulsive gamblers with nothing in common except incredibly bad luck. But after a chance meeting at an LA card parlor, these two losers find that together, they make an unbeatable team. Embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime winning streak, Bill and Charlie bet their way from the tacky racetracks and bars of Los Angeles to the plush casino tables of Reno, where they end up staking their good fortune on a “friendly” little game of poker with the legendary world champion, Amarillo Slim.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Pure Cinema Podcast’s Elric Kane and Brian Saur

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - The Bechdel Cast Presents THELMA & LOUISE

Thelma and Louise – a bored housewife and a strait-laced waitress at a coffee shop – are best friends who are sick of what they’ve settled for. Deciding to escape the tedium of their everyday lives, the pair sneak off in Louise’s ’66 T-bird convertible for a three-day fishing trip with no husbands, no boyfriends, and no problems. But things don’t go quite according to plan when an encounter with a drunken, foul-mouthed, would-be rapist transforms their quiet getaway into a cross-country escape that will change their lives forever.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by The Bechdel Cast’s Caitlin Durante

New 4K Restoration!

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Black Guys On White Movies Presents PRETTY WOMAN

Corporate raider Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is so focused on his work that he can’t keep a girlfriend, but he wants someone impressive on his arm as he finalizes an important acquisition. After seeing her working Hollywood Blvd., Lewis hires Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) as his escort; over the next week, their relationship changes from a business arrangement to a romance. Though it features a triple-platinum soundtrack and a strong supporting cast (including Héctor Elizondo, Laura San Giacomo, Jason Alexander and, in his final role, Ralph Bellamy), it’s the chemistry between the two leads that made this film a blockbuster hit, and Roberts’ Oscar-nominated performance turned her into a star.

$8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Black Guys on White Movies’ Aaron Covington, Aman Adumer and Brandon Gardner

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

Saturday, August 26, 2023

1:00 PM - Sista Brunch Presents PARIAH

Seventeen-year-old Alike lives with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is quietly embracing her identity as a lesbian. But whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion at home, her parents’ already strained marriage is pushed to the breaking point. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Sista Brunch’s Fanshen Cox, Mimi Slater and Farida Abdul-Wahab

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

2:00 PM - IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit Presents JFK

Chronicling New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation into the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, this riveting drama examines assassination theories that still plague the United States with persistent questions, doubts, and suspicions about the murder of a charismatic President – an event that changed a nation forever.

Cost: $10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Q&A with filmmaker Oliver Stone. Moderated by Jim Hemphill.

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

7:00 PM - Increment Vice Presents INHERENT VICE

In this Oscar-nominated adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon neo-noir novel, stoner private eye Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix, in an industrial-strength mullet) winds his way through three interrelated cases in 1970 Los Angeles after an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) turns up at his door. Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, Jena Malone, and Martin Short round out the amazing cast.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Increment Vice’s Travis Woods (in-person) and Blake Howard (virtual)

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - WTF Presents DOG DAY AFTERNOON

From the true story about a Brooklyn bank robbery gone haywire one hot August day comes a gripping, funny Oscar-winning movie capturing star Al Pacino and director Sidney Lumet at the top of their game. A desperate and crazed man (Pacino in his Oscar-nominated role), with the help of an accomplice (John Cazale), takes a local Brooklyn bank hostage with plans to rob it in order to pay for his lover’s sex-change operation. Lumet also picked up a Best Director nod.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by WTF’s Marc Maron  

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:30 PM - Cinephile Summer Presents DARKMAN

Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when a gang, led by the sadistic Robert G. Durant (Larry Drake), obliterates his laboratory. Burned beyond recognition and altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake attempts to rebuild his laboratory and reestablish ties with his former girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand). But his most challenging task lies within himself. Torn between his desire to create a new life with Julie and his quest for revenge, the man known as DARKMAN begins to assume alternate identities in this stunning, fast-paced action thriller from Sam Raimi.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Cinephile Summer’s Cory Everett

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Sunday, August 27, 2023

1:00 PM - Ticklish Business Presents FOUR DAUGHTERS

A musician is blessed with four musical prodigies, all girls, and cursed when a troubled young composer enters the lives of his FOUR DAUGHTERS. Adam Lemp (Claude Rains) already has enough trouble when all four young women, Ann, Thea, Kay and Emma (real-life sisters Priscilla Lane, Lola Lane, Rosemary Lane, and Gale Page) fall for Felix Deitz (Jeffrey Lynn). But when struggling composer Mickey Borden (John Garfield) moves into the house as a boarder and draws the eye of Ann, their relationship can only lead to heartbreak. The first of a trilogy of films that includes FOUR WIVES and FOUR MOTHERS.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Ticklish Business’ Kristen Lopez (in-person), Samantha Ellis, and Emily Edwards (virtual)

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

3:00 PM - Inglorious Treksperts Presents GALAXY QUEST

For four years, the courageous crew of the NSEA Protector – “Commander Peter Quincy Taggart” (Tim Allen), “Lt. Tawny Madison” (Sigourney Weaver), and “Dr.Lazarus” (Alan Rickman) – set off on thrilling and often dangerous missions in space… and then their series was canceled! Now, twenty years later, aliens under attack have mistaken the GALAXY QUEST television transmissions for “historical documents” and beam up its crew of has-been actors to save the universe. With no script, no director, and no clue, the actors must turn in the performances of their lives.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by Inglorious Treksperts’ Mark A. Altman and Daren Dochterman

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

4:00 PM - The Skylight Books Podcast Presents ORLANDO

ORLANDO is the story of a journey through time, of someone who lives for four hundred years, first as a man, then as a woman. As a young nobleman, Orlando (Tilda Swinton) is granted favors and property by Queen Elizabeth I. After her death, he falls passionately in love with a visiting Russian princess on the glittering ice of the frozen river Thames. The princess leaves Orlando, however, and, after a disastrous brush with poetry, he takes up his “manly” destiny as an ambassador in the deserts of central Asia. Centuries later, Orlando emerges into a twentieth century filled with speed and noise as an ordinary individual, who, in losing everything, has found herself.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by the Skylight Books Podcast’s Justin Remer, Tyler Austin and Allan Traylor

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:00 PM - Jokermen Presents PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID

Oscar-winner James Coburn portrays legendary outlaw Billy the Kid’s childhood friend, Pat Garrett. Now a law-abiding sheriff, he arrests Billy (Kris Kristofferson) for murder. Sentenced to hang, Billy escapes in a hail of gunfire, forcing Pat to hunt him down. Featuring an appearance by music legend Bob Dylan, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID remains a landmark cinematic statement from New Hollywood master Sam Peckinpah.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Jokermen’s Evan Laffer, Ian Grant and Steven Hyden

50th Anniversary!

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - The Movies That Made Me Presents THE KING OF COMEDY

Way ahead of the curve in its dissection of celebrity culture, this unsettling film reteams director Martin Scorsese and star Robert De Niro to profile a New York outsider less violent but no less deranged than TAXI DRIVER’s Travis Bickle. Wannabe comedian Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) is so desperate for a chance to perform on a late-night TV show that he kidnaps its host (Jerry Lewis, a revelation here) with the help of a stalker (Sandra Bernhard).

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by The Movies That Made Me’s Josh Olson and Joe Dante  

40th Anniversary!   

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Boys’ Bible Study Presents LET THERE BE LIGHT

World-famous atheist Dr. Sol Harkens (Kevin Sorbo) delights in debating and defeating Christians but is emotionally empty. Isolated from Katy (Sam Sorbo), the wife he divorced following the harrowing loss of their first son, and a lousy part-time dad to their two younger boys, his self-destruction culminates in a car crash that leaves him clinically dead for four minutes. The four-word message from that experience challenges his convictions, sending him into a panicked tailspin. Reluctantly leaning on his family’s forgiveness, love and faith, Sol struggles to find meaning and purpose in the words LET THERE BE LIGHT.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Boys’ Bible Study’s Ash Hegedus and Julian Shine (in-person) and Scott Whiteman (virtual)

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Monday, August 28, 2023

7:30 PM - Unspooled Presents THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Heralded by several critics as one of the best films of the 21st century, Anderson’s eight-time Oscar-nominated oil epic is a true cinematic masterpiece. Featuring brilliant co-stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano, the film depicts the brutal, bloody founding of his American oil empire, and is a soaring historical drama that both employs and ingeniously transcends the conventions of epic cinema – shocking and thrilling viewers at every turn. An enthralling exploration of greed, capitalism and violence, this opus thrives as a visually mesmerizing study of an ironfisted oil baron and the developing American frontier he reigns over.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by Unspooled’s Amy Nicholson and Paul Scheer

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Fangirl Central Presents CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN

When the always dramatic Lola (Lindsay Lohan) and her family move from the center of everything in New York City to the center of a cultural wasteland in suburban New Jersey, she feels her life is simply not worth living. But no matter who or what gets in the way, Lola won’t give up on her life’s ambition: to be a star!

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Fangirl Central’s Amanda Layne Miller and Amber Miller

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

7:00 PM - The Greg Proops Film Club Presents THE 39 STEPS

The original version of the classic comedy thriller, starring legendary British heartthrob Robert Donat, was a highlight of Hitchcock’s career. While sitting in a London theatre watching a man perform dazzling memory tricks, Richard Hannay and the rest of the audience flee after hearing a gunshot. As he leaves, he encounters a young woman who asks if she can accompany him. Fascinated by her apparent terror, he agrees. During the night, however, she is murdered in his flat, and he must avoid the police long enough to find the real killers and clear his name.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Program begins with a live recording of the Greg Proops Film Club podcast. Feature starts at 7:30 pm.

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong Presents DUNE

The long-awaited film version of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction epic, DUNE, explodes on the screen with dazzling special effects, unforgettable images and powerful performances. The saga of intergalactic warrior Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) and his messianic rise to leadership features an all-star cast, including Jose Ferrer, Max Von Sydow, Oscar-winner Linda Hunt and rock legend, Sting.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong’s Mark Ellis (in-person) and Jacqueline Coley (pre-recorded)

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Dead Pilots Society Presents SOAPDISH

Sally Field leads an all-star cast in this sidesplittingly funny look at a scandal-ridden TV soap opera. Kevin Kline, Robert Downey, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Cathy Moriarty, and Elisabeth Shue star as the zany cast and crew of The Sun Also Sets, America’s hottest ‘soap,’ where on-screen drama and off-screen craziness combine for outrageous hilarity!

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Dead Pilots Society’s Andrew Reich and Ben Blacker

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

7:00 PM - Every Outfit Presents ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow star in this hilarious buddy comedy about two ambitionless friends who attempt to steal the show at their high school reunion and impress the “popular” kids who once bullied them. Alternately ridiculous and heartwarming, ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION is tailor-made for fans of Cyndi Lauper and Post-Its.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Every Outfit’s Lauren Garroni and Chelsea Fairless

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

7:30 PM - The MUBI Podcast Presents CHUNGKING EXPRESS

In Cantonese with English subtitles.

The whiplash, double-pronged CHUNGKING EXPRESS is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” into tokens of romantic longing.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Aero Theatre | Introduction by the MUBI Podcast’s Rico Gagliano

Screening courtesy of Janus Films

Location: Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

10:00 PM - Trust Me Presents THE INVITATION

When Will shows up to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife Eden and her new husband David (Michiel Huisman), the estranged divorcees’ tragic past haunts an equally eerie present; amid Eden’s suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda. Unfolding over one dark evening in the Hollywood Hills, THE INVITATION blurs layers of mounting paranoia, mystery, and horror until both Will – and the audience – are unsure what threats are real or imagined.

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Trust Me’s Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth

Location: Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Dates: August 24 - 30, 2023

Locations:

Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

Click Here for more information.