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When Los Angeles unveiled its CityThink effort last month, the magazine also invited budding filmmakers to create a short film about Los Angeles. More than 80 films were submitted to Get L.A., and now the eight chosen finalists are being submitted for your approval and judging by a panel that includes actors Richard Dreyfuss and David Arquette, film critic Joe Morgenstern, MTV VP Lauren Dolgen, architect Ron Radziner and others. It's a pretty rich mix of points of view, judging by the summaries. Readers can watch the films and vote on their favorite until April 1 at the Los Angeles website. The winner will be announced at City Hall later in April. Finalists and judges after the jump.
From each filmmaker's self-description of their work:
"…To the City of Angeles" by Jay McClatchy
A short film that lets LA tell her own story through beautiful, arresting images of her innate beauty. My own heartfelt reflections on LA are accompanied by a haunting guitar piece, composed by Christopher Cox and Grant Johnson. Time lapse, sunsets, and stunning landscapes punctuate the piece.
"Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) California" by Evan Mather
A visit to the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles - a slice of small town Americana in the midst of a megalopolis.
"F.LA.S.H" by James Song
F.LA.SH is a short film about the lights of Los Angeles. Each light is a living, breathing inhabitant of LA. It is a film about the relationship between energy and person, both individual and collective. As LA is the heart of film and filmmaking, we chose to construct a piece using varying video mediums. As most Los Angelenos have access to some type of camera and the potential to create a film; our shots ranged from high quality HD, to old school standard definition, to consumer video shot via cell phones.
"This is My City" by Laura Villalpando
Capturing our global city: hard work, big dreams, loss and longing.
"Mrs. Kim" by Aya Tanimura
This is a preview for an up coming expose on Los Angeles' hidden gem - “Mrs. Kim”. For the first time, the elusive Mrs. Kim sits down and talks to us about her plans to save Young Hollywood from their self-destructive behavior. Get rare, never before seen insight into Mrs. Kim’s pearls of wisdom and discover a part of Los Angeles you never even knew existed!
"BoXed In L.A." by Joey Schober
"BoXed In L.A." is a commentary on parking in L.A.
"Pearl" by Alyssa Price
The day in the life of an Actress in LA, as told from the perspective of her car.
"The Buy" by Jeffrey Nagel
The Buyer travels through the city of Los Angeles looking for a sense of community.
Judges:
1. David Arquette, Actor
2. Janet Clayton, Award Winning Journalist & President of Think Cure, LA Dodgers' Cancer Charity
3. Lauren Dolgen, VP Series Development, MTV
4. Richard Dreyfuss, Academy Award Winning Actor
5. Leo F. Estrada, Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA School of Public Affairs
6. Hon. Eric Garcetti, President Los Angeles City Council
7. Liz Goldwyn, Producer & Designer
8. Hill Harper, Best-selling Author & Actor (CSI)
9. Evan Kleiman, Chef, Restaurateur & Host of KCRW's "Good Food"
10. John Kobara, EVP California Community Foundation
11. Joe Morgenstern, Pulitzer Prize Winning Film Critic
12. Arianne Phillips, Golden Globe Nominated Costume Designer & Celebrity Stylist
13. Ron Radziner, Award Winning Architect & FAIA, Design Principal, Marmol Radziner
14. Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund)
15. Pierre Andre Senizergues, President CEO Sole Technology
16. David Strasberg, CEO, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute
17. Jeff Wachtel, President, Original Programming USA Network & Co-Head, Content for Universal Cable Productions