LAFF Announces Artists In Residence; "Summer," "Strange" Added To Lineup

A scene from Marc Webb's "(500) Days of Summer." Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight.

Author Khaled Hosseini and architect Thom Mayne have been announced as the Artists in Residence for the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. In their roles as Artists in Residence, each has programmed a film that has inspired their work, followed by a conversation. Khaled Hosseini has selected Cyrus Nowrasteh's "The Stoning of Soraya M.," to be followed by a panel discussion with Nowrasteh, the film's actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, and writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan.

Thom Mayne will be engaging in a fascinating dialogue with acclaimed cinematographer Frederick Elmes about architecture and cinema, and screening specific film references that will offer insight into their work with light and space to create both imagined and living environments.

"We love having artists from different mediums who share a passion for cinema and a critical and conscious engagement with society as our Artists in Residence," said Festival Director Rebecca Yeldham, in a statement. "We look forward to having Khaled and Thom share their film selections and insights with the Festival's audiences and our community of artists."

The festival also announced late selections to its programming, including the documentaries "When You're Strange" from director Tom DiCillo and "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia" from director Julien Nitzberg, Marc Webb's romantic comedy "(500) Days of Summer," and "Big Fan," from director Robert D. Siegel. The Los Angeles Film Festival will run from Thursday, June 18 to Sunday, June 28.

For the festival's full lineup, click here.