Carlos López Estrada, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind “Blindspotting” and “Raya and the Last Dragon,” will headline American Cinematheque’s fourth annual PROOF Film Festival, which will be held at the Culver Theatre from Nov. 5-8.
The independent festival showcases short films from up-and-coming filmmakers with the goal of helping them break into the entertainment industry with feature and TV projects. The festival’s 2024 Audience Choice Award winner, “The Musical,” has been developed into a feature-length film starring Gillian Jacobs, Tony Award winner Will Brill and Golden Globe winner Rob Lowe that will be showcased at this year’s PROOF on Nov. 5.
“PROOF gave us the credibility to be taken seriously by financiers. Winning the Audience Award was a pivotal moment that solidified our plans to move into production in Summer 2025,” said “The Musical” director Giselle Bonilla.
“It was the most impactful festival experience we’ve had to date, with an incredible and authentic community of films and filmmakers. We couldn’t have asked for a more positive experience” added producer Alex Heller.
In addition to the film programming, PROOF features a series of industry panels bringing together leading filmmakers, executives, producers and representatives to offer emerging talent insight into financing, representation, pitching and navigating today’s entertainment landscape.
Highlights include the Next/Gen Champions Roundtable, a new annual centerpiece conversation featuring this year’s spotlighted organizations: Estrada’s Antigravity Academy and Rideback Rise — the production studio co-founded by former Netflix film chief Dan Lin — both of which are aligned with PROOF’s mission of championing the next generation of storytellers.
Another key centerpiece conversation is the annual Next Steps: From a Short to Feature panel, which this year will feature director Kate Mason of “Serious Play,” writer/director Russell Goldman of “Sender,” producer Valerie Steinberg, writer/director Jessica Liu of “Better Life” and director Liz Sargent of “Take Me Home.” Both Liu and Sargent are PROOF Film Festival alumni. TheWrap will also co-present a panel examining current trends in today’s film marketplace.
Weekend passes for the PROOF Film Festival are available on the American Cinematheque website.
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