Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) – the only other film festival besides SXSW that carves out a spot in the coveted time slots of filmmakers worldwide for music videos – has been offering music video showcases for somewhere around 10 years.
Drea Clark, Music Video Programmer and head of Filmmaker Relations, has run the last five years and is pretty sure that LAFF is the only major festival that donates so much time and attention to the music video art form – “which is fitting as we’re based in Los Angeles and surrounded by musical and directorial talent.”
And lest we forget the sheer number of filmmakers who got their start in music videos (David Fincher, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Floria Sigismondi, Mark Romanek, Marc Webb)… “to not be on the lookout for upcoming talent in this medium would just be crazy talk,” she tells me over the phone on the eve of the fest’s opening night.
“So many people think music videos aren’t being made anymore,” says Clark, “because they don’t see them on television. But there are tons of really incredible videos out there, and we find them from all over the world. Plus, they look so kickass on the big screen, and there’s generally a nice herd of directors there for the Q&A.”
And although you can see them online, it’s a uniquely LA-experience to see them on the big screen with an audience, and where you get to meet the directors. The following (and many more that you can check out here under Eclectic Mix 1 and 2) compete for the Music Video Audience Award, and most of these directors are new to film festivals, so this is both an introduction to their work and an introduction to the world of filmmaking – where music possibilities are always needed and essentially endless.
Feature by Valentina I. Valentini
FEATURED LAFF MUSIC VIDEOS:
Lillies: Bat for Lashes
Sacrilege: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Wor: Django Django
You Can’t Be My Girl: Darwin Deez
Void: Superchunk
Superpower: Beyonce feat. Frank Ocean
Get your tickets to the Los Angeles Film Festival’s music video selections, Eclectic Mix 1 (Friday, June 13, 9:30pm) and Eclectic Mix 2 (Monday, June 16, 9:30pm).
