Twilight’s 'Eclipse' premieres at LA Film Festival

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The 16th annual Los Angeles Film Festival will world premiere The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, as part of a bonus invitation-only screening during the event, running June 17-27. Tickets will be available to festival passholders.

Opening the festival is The Kids Are Alright, starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo ( Shutter Island), and Mia Wasikowska ( Alice In Wonderland). Directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko ( Laurel Canyon with Frances McDormand and Christian Bale), it releases July 7.

The closing film is the premiere of animated film Despicable Me in 3D about supervillian Gru voiced by Steve Carell ( Date Night). It also stars Russell Brand ( Forgetting Sarah Marsall), Kristen Wiig ( How To Train Your Dragon), and Julie Andrews. Directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, it opens July 9.

The fest, which draws 75,000 attendees, will feature more than 200 mostly independent films from 40 countries at the LA Live complex in downtown Los Angeles.

Films in competition include narrative and documentary features. The International Showcase includes films from Asia, Europe and South America, and the "Ambulante Festival" of Mexican films.

A lineup of the Gala Screenings includes:

• Cyrus with Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, and Catherine Keener.
• Waiting for Superman a documentary by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth)
• Australia's Animal Kingdom with Ben Mendelsohn and Guy Pearce
• German film Waiting for Mahler directed by Percy Adlon and Felix O. Adlon
• Revolución by ten cutting-edge Mexican directors for the centenary celebration of the Mexican Revolution with poignant views of their homeland

Free Outdoor Screenings include The People vs. George Lucas, a documentary that asks who rightfully owns Lucas' cultural legacy - the filmmaker or the fans.

"Retrospective" screenings will show Luchino Visconti's restored The Leopard. There are panel discussions, screenings of shorts, and music videos with a survey from Japan.

The festival is a qualifier for the Academy Awards' live-action and animated shorts categories, and all categories of the Spirit Awards. Passes go on sale on May 10 (ranging from $200-1,000), and individual tickets are available June 1.

http://www.lafilmfest.com

RC