by Larry Richman
June 26, 2008 5:18 PM

As I sit here in the comfortable, party-like atmosphere of the Los Angeles Film Festival's Target Red Room on Westwood Boulevard, after several days of moviegoing, I can say confidently that I'm impressed with what the folks at Film Independent have put together here.

Film festivals can generally be divided into two categories: markets and festivals. At a "market"-type festival one finds a mix of foreign and independent films which are presented with the hopes of making money for their investors. Distributors send acquisition people who are looking to pick up films for theatrical, DVD, or (more and more lately) cable distribution. While the public attends, theoretically, to see good movies, there is a not-so-hidden agenda that's all about marketing and commercial potential. Festivals which fit this mold include Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca. Toronto also has the distinction of being the festival at which films already picked up for distribution are trotted out as the studios' Oscar hopefuls. Most of this year's Academy Award winners had their World Premieres at the Toronto Film Festival.

At a "festival"-type festival, for lack of a better term, films are presented with less of an eye towards commercial distribution and more of a focus on pleasing lovers of quality foreign and independent films. While distributors may have representatives present (it wouldn't make sense for them not to), and business meetings do take place, this type of festival is more about moviegoing than dealmaking. The best example that comes to mind is the thrilling SXSW Film Festival which takes place every March in Austin, Texas. We've covered that festival extensively on this blog for several years (as well as Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca, for that matter). These festivals tend to be more laid-back and informal and, although films do get picked up for distribution, the suits take a backseat to the folks who just plain want to sit in a theater and see something fresh and creative.

This is my first time attending the Los Angeles Film Festival. On the one hand, it would appear at first glance that any film festival taking place in the city where Hollywood movies were born and continue to thrive would fit the "market" description. On the other hand, as I posted several days ago, LAFF is presented by Film Independent, whose Spirit Awards are known as the "Oscars for indies." The result is a festival which is like an oasis of art in a desert of lowest-common-denominator multiplex blockbusters. Yes, it's in Los Angeles, but this festival has the loose, fun-filled air of SXSW and some of the smaller, folksy events I've attended in New England (Williamstown, New Hampshire) and in the midwest (Sedona). I'll be posting reviews in the days to come as time permits.