LES Film Festival 2012 is Bigger, Still Eccentric; Includes Dolly Parton, Dustin Lance Black and Susan Sarandon

The LES Film Festival, which will run March 6-18 in Manhattan, has announced its 2012 lineup with films starring Dolly Parton, Dustin Lance Black, Olivia Munn and Lizzy Caplan.

The festival also features an expanded list of Lower East Side venues and a jury that includes Susan Sarandon and photigrapher-filmmaker Harvey Wang.

Opening LES 2012 is Matthew Petock’s “A Little Closer.” The festival also includes a special screening of “4:44 Last Day on Earth,” with star Willem Dafoe and director Abel Ferrara in attendance.

Screenings of all kinds will be held at both the Sunshine Cinema and the Crosby Street Hotel in addition to the Grand Opening storefront area that served as the central location for last year’s festival.

In addition to a Best Feature prize, the jury will award short films in three different categories: Dramatic, Comedic and Documentary. Over 40 shorts are eligible for recognition.

The full release follows:

LES* Film Festival Announces 2012 Line Up

LES Film Festival co-creators DAMON CARDASIS and SHANNON WALKER, along with fellow festival directors and creative team TONY CASTLE and ROXY HUNT are pleased to announce the 2012 program.  The LES Film Festival features the work of talented low budget filmmakers and showcases their films in the heart of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  In 2011, the LES crew turned the humble interactive storefront space of Grand Opening into a 22 day long film festival extravaganza.  A truly unique and intimate experience, the LES Film Festival culminated in a sold out event every night, and was featured in New York Magazine's Approval Matrix as HIGHBROW and BRILLIANT.

LES Film Festival 2012, March 6th – 18th, will expand to additional screening locations including the Sunshine Cinema and The Crosby Street Hotel.  LES* 2012 will focus again on creating an unparalleled combination of remarkable low-budget filmmaking in an intimate atmosphere with the youthful and bold spirit of the Lower East Side.  This year, the festival showcases films with talent as acclaimed and diverse as WILLEM DAFOE, ABEL FERRARA, DOLLY PARTON, DUSTIN LANCE BLACK, OLIVIA MUNN, SUSANNE BARTSCH, LIZZY CAPLAN, WHITNEY CUMMINGS, and JON HEDER.

LES Film Festival will award films in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Dramatic Short, Best Comedic Short, Best Documentary Short, as well as The Neighborhood Award and The Audience Award.

The winning films will be selected by an eclectic panel of judges: Academy Award ® winning actress SUSAN SARANDON, NYC performance artist JUSTIN BOND, “30 Rock” Producer JERRY KUPFER, GQ Senior Editor LOGAN HILL, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” writer ERIC LEDGIN, and local NYC filmmaker and photographer HARVEY WANG.

All screenings are BYOB and tickets are just $10! Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.lesfilmfestival.com/tix.

The LES Film Festival 2012 will feature...

OPENING NIGHT FILM AT SUNSHINE CINEMA 3/6

A Little Closer

Directed by Matthew Petock

Three family members each learn the cruelties of love and sexuality.

Cast: Sayra Player, Parker Lutz, Eric Baskerville, Chris Kies

*Q&A with writer/director Matthew Petock, and cast members to follow screening.

SPECIAL SCREENING PRESENTED BY IFP & IFC AT CROSBY STREET HOTEL 3/9

4:44 Last Day on Earth

Directed by Abel Ferrara

A look at what would happen if everyone knew the world was ending.

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Paz de la Huerta, Shanyn Leigh, and Natasha Lyonne

*Q&A with Willem Dafoe, dir. Abel Ferrara, and Shanyn Leigh to follow screening.

FEATURE NARRATIVE & DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Hollywood to Dollywood

Directed by John Lavin

Twin young men from North Carolina ride on the fumes of a dream to meet their idol, 'Backwoods Barbie' Dolly Parton, and find more than what they bargained for in an RV named Jolene.

Cast: Garry Lane, Larry Lane, Dustin Lance Black, and Dolly Parton

On The Street

Directed by John Spellos

In 1980, the Village Voice hired Amy Arbus to photograph the people of New York City for a section of the paper called On the Street. The documentary explores the impact of those photographs throughout the 80's and checks in with some of the people photographed to see where they are today. 

Cast: Amy Arbus, Susanne Bartsch, Peter McGough, and David McDermott 

Jedi Junkies

Directed by Mark Edlitz

A documentary about the world's most dedicated Star Wars fans. 

Cast: Olivia Munn, Ray Park, Peter Mayhew

Happily Never After

Directed by Jamie Heinricj

A dramedy redefining the existence of Cole Killian, whose large heart and ill judgment leads him into twisted relationship issues causing life destructive consequences.

Cast: Jason Carrougher, Katherine Bending and Ryan Wichert

Welcome to Nowhere (Bullet Hole Road)

Directed by William Cusick

In a series of warped, image-driven episodes, five strangers in the American West navigate overlapping landscapes of paradoxical fantasy.  The film is a dreamy revision to the classic road story.

Cast: Peter Blomquist, Tina Balthazar, and Stephanie Silver

Give a Damn?

Directed by Dan Parris

A feature length documentary about two Christian Activists who convince their friend to immerse himself in poverty and travel through the US, Europe, and Africa living on $1.25 a day!  Things don't go quite as planned.

Cast: Dan Parris

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

*The LES Film Festival will be screening over 40 short films. Some notable shorts are:

Successful Alcoholics

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

A co-dependent couple drowning in booze and yet still clinging to well-paying jobs. 

Cast: Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller, Nick Kroll, Matt Braunger, Nick Thune, and Whitney Cummings

The Kook

Directed by Nat Livingston Johnson, Gregory Mitnick

Fa is a gentle and unassuming member of an eccentric religious sect cloistered in The Catskill Mountains. On the eve of her group's scheduled "departure from Earth" Fa discovers that their leader, who appears to them as an alien hologram transmitted from a distant galaxy, is crossing signals with a man named Malcolm who lives close by. 

Cast: T. Sahara Meer, Dan Burkarth and Aerial East

Drained

Directed by Nicholas Peterson, Produced by Jon Heder

Told with animation and live-action, 'Drained' tells the story of how a man's selfish addictions can destroy the woman he cares for.

Yarnana

Directed by Gina Vecchione

Lost on the streets of New York City, a crochet girl must decide what is real before her crochet world unravels. YARNANA is an explosive film experience, featuring the 'Crochet Madness' of New York artist, Olek. 

Old in My Shoes

Directed by Kick Gurry

While his wife forbids him from purchasing his favourite cheese, William glimpses his own carefree childhood. William continues his emasculated fight for his cheese but ends up finding his youth.

Cast: Kick Gurry, Ruby Rose

I Am Root Beer

Written and Directed by Casey Donahue and Matthew Ballen

When a gifted surgeon gets a chance to audition for a regional root beer commercial, he sees this as his chance to spread the love his favorite beverage has given him.

Cast: Casey Donahue, Seth Herzog, and Jon Gabrus

Another Psycho 

Directed by Todd Pellegrino 

A video store clerk convinces his wife to use their wedding money to shoot another shot-for-shot remake of the movie, Psycho. 

Cast: Chris Smith, Adam Lustick, and Billy Scafuri

Class Trip

Directed by Sarah Gyllenstierna

Anthony is 15 and may be falling in love. The problem is that Trisha is much older -- 16. Can growing up be as fast as a subway ride from Queens to the Bronx? 

Cast: Martin Cepeda Jr., and Miranda Grieco

I REMEMBER

Directed by John Sylva

I REMEMBER witnesses three moments in the life of Derek Fox, an Ohio college student who struggles to find his place in the world of gay bars, relationships, and strange men that he had feared for so long...

Cast: Graci Carli, Natasha Scherief, Zack Swank, John Sylva, and J.J. Tiemeyer