NewFilmmakers Los Angeles

08/20/2026

🌎 Stories that cross borders. Voices that connect us.

Join us September 19th for NFMLA’s annual InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema program, featuring three dynamic short film programs showcasing independent filmmakers from and working across Latin America, Spain, and the United States. 🎬✨

Kicking off with InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema I, exploring coming-of-age, family, identity, and the complicated experiences that shape us.

The celebration continues with InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema II, a powerful collection of stories confronting systemic injustice, inequality, social expectations, and political and personal upheaval through comedy, drama, satire, and whimsy.

The night concludes with InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema III, exploring connection, belonging, loss, and the ways we find our way back to one another.

✨ From intimate family stories to bold reflections on society, discover a diverse lineup of films that challenge, inspire, and connect us.

📅 September 19, 2026 | 2:00 PM PDT – 10:00 PM PDT

Program #1 – InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema I
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Pre-Reception
3:00 PM – 4:45 PM – Program
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Audience Q&A

Program #2 – InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema II
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM – Pre-Reception
5:30 PM – 7:15 PM – Program
7:15 PM – 7:30 PM – Audience Q&A

Program #3 – InFocus: Latin & Hispanic Cinema III
7:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Pre-Reception
8:00 PM – 9:45 PM – Program
9:45 PM – 10:00 PM – Audience Q&A

🎟️ Learn more about our festivals and other programs at https://www.newfilmmakersla.com

08/18/2026

Thank you to our friends at TheWrap for their support in helping us usher in the fifth season of the STARZ Writers’ Intensive, co-presented by NewFilmmakers Los Angeles and Nalip Org! Read the article at: https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/tv/starz-takethethelead-writers-program-2026-details/

We are excited to return with this vital initiative that offers emerging writers the chance to hone their skills and create original spec scripts with direct mentorship from leading professionals, executives, and seasoned writers. This year, we will select four writers to engage in both phases of the program.

In Phase 1, participants will collaborate with 15 industry experts from various TV backgrounds while developing a spec episode treatment. During Phase 2, each writer will be matched with a mentor to produce a complete spec episode script based on an existing STARZ series. Each fellow will also receive a $5,000 grant to uplift with their participation in the program.

The program opened up for submissions today, August 18th, 2026, at 11:00am PT, with the submission deadline set for September 15th, 2026, at 11:00am PT.

For more information on submission and applicant requirements, additional program details, and to submit your application using Scrybe, please visit: https://bit.ly/2026TVWritersIntensive

Starz's writing intensive program will be returning for a fifth year, TheWrap has exclusively learned.

08/18/2026

NewFilmmakers LA is proud to support the Los Angeles Pop Up event: Muslim Creatives Summit, where creativity meets culture!

This pop up event (hosted by Rhym Guissé and Ilhan Abdullahi) is a grassroots, community-led gathering bringing Muslim creators, filmmakers, storytellers, and culture workers from across the globe together in one room. Connect, create, and celebrate with fellow Muslim creators and don’t miss out on inspiring talks, cool collabs, and loads of creative vibes. It’s the perfect chance to spark new ideas and expand your network!

And stick around to close out the night with a special after-party comedy show featuring headliner Sammy Edan.

📍 First Entertainment Credit Union, 6735 Forest Lawn Dr, Los Angeles
📆 Saturday, August 29, 3 PM - 7 PM PDT

Check out more details and view the speaker lineup here: https://www.muslimcreativessummit.com/

08/17/2026

🚨 LAST CALL — NewNarratives 2026 submissions close TOMORROW, Tuesday, August 18th at 3:00pm PT!

$35,000 in cash grants is on the table this cycle, including the NewNarratives Absurd AI Storytelling Grant, presented by X & Insta — a $10,000 award plus a three-month fellowship supporting the awarded artist as they explore X & Instagram's AI storytelling tools and reimagine what independent filmmaking can look like with AI.

Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gibG8rG9

Winners announced September 8th! 📅

08/17/2026

American Film Market is just around the corner! 👀

AFM is offering the NFMLA community a chance to win a FREE Platinum Badge ($1295 value)! You’ll skip the lines at badge pickup, get priority entrance to The AFM Sessions, a year-long subscription to The Film Catalogue, full access to the attendee list, and more!

🎟️ Want a chance to win a free Platinum Badge?
1️⃣ Follow NewFilmmakers Los Angeles
2️⃣ Like the post and comment your favorite film 🎥
3️⃣ Tag a friend who wants to attend AFM with you!

Winners will be contacted via DM—don’t miss out!! Giveaway ends August 24th at 10am PT!

If you would like to purchase tickets to AFM, visit the website here: https://americanfilmmarket.com/attendee-registration/

One entry per person, must be 18+ to enter. Open to U.S. residents only. Winners will be picked at random, and winners will receive one AFM 2026 Platinum Badge to attend at winner’s own expense and per AFM guidelines. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited.

08/14/2026

💧 What if tears were the only way to see the world clearly again?

Chawk (Fountain) joins the lineup for NFMLA’s August Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: International Animation program. 🎬✨

Synopsis: A middle-aged man who is a projectionist of a small-town cinema meets his teenage love after many years. The faces of all the residents of the city are deformed and only crying will make their faces return to their normal form.

Chawk (Fountain)

✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Hazhir As'adi ‎

🎥 Producers: Sina Aubi, Hazhir As'adi, Afsaneh Ghorbani

🎟️ Learn more: https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/events/

08/14/2026

💎 Some treasures are worth more untouched.

Cavern joins the lineup for NFMLA’s August Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: US Animation program. 🎬✨

Synopsis: A young miner stumbles upon a cave filled with treasured geodes and magical glowing plants. As he mines the crystals with machinery, the cave starts to collapse. He realizes their importance in maintaining this ecosystem and decides to risk his life shutting down the machinery and preserving the underground world.

Cavern

✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Norman Wei

🎟️ Learn more: https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/events/

08/13/2026

✨ What does it really mean to age gracefully?

Thought-provoking and deeply personal, the film explores beauty, identity, and the pressures placed on Black women as they navigate the realities of aging.

My Black Is Cracking joins the lineup for NFMLA’s August Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: US Animation program. 🎬✨

Synopsis: As chin hairs emerge and wrinkles deepen on her face, Danni, in her 30s, finds herself drawn into an internal struggle over how a Black woman “should” age—and who, exactly, decides what “aging gracefully” means.

My Black Is Cracking

✍️🎥 Writer & Director: Bianca Lambert

🎥 Producers: Kiah Clingman

🎟️ Learn more: https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/events/

08/12/2026

💫 Sometimes protecting someone means learning when to let them shine.

Our Song joins the lineup for NFMLA’s August Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: US Animation program. 🎬✨

Synopsis: A father knows his son is different in a way the world may not understand, so he keeps guiding him toward the safer paths, the gentler dreams. He believes it's protection. But when his son comes home with a dream of his own, Dad must choose: keep steering him away, or trust that his boy's light is meant to be seen.

Our Song

🎥 Director: Stephanie Glover

✍️ Co-writers: Darnell Lamont Walker & Stephanie Glover

🎥 Producers: Darnell Lamont, Jessica Woodard, Jonathan Gist, Tiffany Spencer

🎟️ Learn more: https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/events/

08/11/2026

🎤 In a future ruled by trash, one karaoke queen is ready to find her voice again.

Tuna Tartare joins the lineup for NFMLA’s August Monthly Film Festival, featured in the InFocus: US Animation program. 🎬✨

Synopsis: In a karaoke bar in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, an expired can of tuna fish and a fake Louis Vuitton purse encourage each other to believe in their artistic voices even if the world sees them as trash.

Tuna Tartare

🎥 Director: Lena Greene

✍️ Co-Writers: Lena Greene, Alessandra Clark

🎥 Producers: Lena Greene, Abigail Lowenthal

🎟️ Learn more: https://www.newfilmmakersla.com/events/