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We are very excited to be coming back to Los Angeles to hold the 2013 United Film Festival, April 26- May 2. We have screened several hundreds of different films from different genres and we picked ones that we know you, the Festival Goer, would be delighted by. We are showing a total of 52 films, and we are very excited for you to see them all! View the complete schedule here!

We are honored to be showcasing “Your Friends Close.” An ensemble sci-fi-drama that takes place over the course of one evening at a party thrown by a husband-and-wife video game design team. When a betrayal thrusts the party goers into a competition that puts everyone’s careers on the line, each person must choose who they are willing to lose in order to win. Directed by Jocelyn Kelvin. This will be premiering at the United Film Festival Los Angeles on April 27 at 9:30pm.

Purchase your tickets for “Your Friends Close” here!

We hope to see you at the United Film Festival starting this Friday, April 26!

-United Film Festival

John Landis to be honored at the United Film Festival on May 2nd!

Each year the United Film Festival celebrates legendary filmmakers that have made a difference in this industry. This year John Landis will be honored at the United Film Festival in Los Angeles as the 2013 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Beginning his career as a mailroom attendant for 20th Century Fox, he eventually made his way to Yugoslavia to work as a PA for Kelly’s Heroes. Once production ended, Landis decided to remain in Europe finding employment as an actor, an extra and even a stuntman in numerous Spanish/Italian westerns. Upon returning to the USA, he started production on his debut feature, Schlock, which he also starred in as well. He then directed The Kentucky Fried Movie before rising to international stardom as director of the famous, Animal House. His resume also includes blockbusters such as The Blue Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Three Amigos!, and Coming to America. Even though he is a renowned movie director, he also directed what was awarded the Greatest Video in the History of the World, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The video forever changed MTV and the concept of music videos. Landis has also directed various documentaries such as Slasher for IFC, and Mr Warmth for HBO. Mr Warmth went on to win an Emmy in 2008!

Please join us in celebrating John Landis’ legendary career on Thursday, May 2nd at 7:30pm with a handprint ceremony and award presentation in front of the historic Vista Theater. Then prior to the screening of Animal House, Landis will join the audience in a discussion about the film and his illustrious career.

Buy your tickets to participate in this event and see the classic film, Animal House, on the big screen here!

We hope to see you there!

-United Film Festival

The United Film Festival has done away with all of our deadlines and created a new, streamlined submission system at a truly great value! We have come to realize that simpler is better.

Revamping our system, we have removed the components of Single City Submissions and Film Feedback, and are now offering a brand new way of joining our festival!

By submitting to the United Film Festival for a SINGLE FEE, filmmakers will be eligible for acceptance into all 6 cities the festival plays over the course of the calendar year – LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, LONDON, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, and TULSA.

The fees are $120 for feature films and $60 for short films. This breaks down to an OVERALL GREAT VALUE of $20 per festival for feature films, and $10 per festival for short films. Beyond our festival, United Films will also be considering each submitted film for SALES REPRESENTATION and DISTRIBUTION.

The Los Angeles Feature Lineup is back and once again, filled with all new amazing films! We are showcasing films that we know you’ll love, and we cannot wait for you to see them!

The festival includes this new comedic feature, Congratulations. A story about JIM and BRIDGET are on a road trip to visit Jim’s mother on the anniversary of his father’s death. Along the way, Jim proposes and Bridget says no. When they arrive at his mother’s house, she showers them with congratulations. Caught up in the moment, they pretend to be engaged for the weekend, and find that the question of marriage may tear them apart. For more info, www.congratulationsfilm.com and also follow the film on Facebook

For the full schedule and lineup for the Los Angeles Film Festival, click here!!

Our team has just returned from Tulsa, OK, where we celebrated our 10th United Film Festival – Tulsa! As we conclude the final festival of our 2012 season, we’re looking back on all the great people we met and memories we’ve made during our six festivals this year. With new branding and a completely redesigned website, we were able to launch an amazing festival season and could not have been prouder.

Just a few of our favorite moments? We were so excited to honor Mark Rydell and Dabney Coleman with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles to kick off the season. In New York and London, we were treated to spectacular Q&As (such as the moving and inspiring Tonier Cain during our screening of Healing Neen.)

We had people spilling out of the theatre in San Francisco to see films like Of Two Minds, We’re Getting On, and Crocodile in the Yangtze. We had a scary surprise when we packed the house for a midnight screening of The Craft in Chicago! And finally, returning to where it all began, we received a warm welcome in Tulsa (check out just one of our morning show appearances here!)

This year could not have been possible without the support of our amazing venues: Los Feliz 3 Cinemas in Los Angeles, Cobble Hill Cinemas in New York, Roxy Bar & Screen in London, Roxie Theatre in San Francisco, Music Box Theater in Chicago, and Circle Cinema in Tulsa.

We also owe so much to our amazing programming committees, who work year round to make sure we haven’t overlooked any promising film or filmmakers, as well as the incredible volunteer staff at each event, without which we definitely could not run our festivals.

Thanks to everyone who submitted and came out to support us this season. We can’t wait to see what 2013 holds in store!

We are excited to announce submissions for the United Film Festival are now reopen for Los Angeles, New York, and London in 2013. After some incredible submissions to the festivals this year, we are thrilled to see what next year will bring!

Visit the Submissions section of our website to learn more information and start the process. You can submit a film or screenplay via Withoutabox. Click here to submit to Los Angeles, New York, or London.

Some amazing new photos are up from the United Film Festival – Los Angeles. Click here to view the updated gallery on our Flickr and see for yourself!

First we would like to thank everyone who was able to attend the United Film Festival – Los Angeles this year. It was the best festival we have had in LA thus far, and we hope it only continues to grow from here. The fantastic turnout of filmmakers and audiences only solidified the fact that the support for the festival is stronger than ever before. We would like to congratulate all the filmmakers who screened at the festival, we were extremely impressed with the quality of all the films and felt honored to show them.

As the festival came to a close last week, it was incredible to see how many people flocked to celebrate with us on the last night. The closing night of the festival drew the biggest crowds and some of the most lively screenings of the whole event. It began with a wonderful short film block by the filmmakers of Finite Films. Three of their short films screened to a great crowd. The festivities continued with the screening of GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Not only was this screening close to the United Film Festival, the film was produced by Founder Jason Connell, over twenty of the original stars of GLOW were in attendance! The house was packed with people standing in the back to witness this documentary about these amazing women and their stories. The Q&A after the screening was perhaps one of the most dynamic of the festival. The fact that many of the stars of the were there to share their opinions about the film made it a fascinating event for all involved.

After the GLOW screening, we were proud to continue with the Awards Ceremony for the festival. Filmmakers were awarded for their submissions, as well as screenwriters from the Screenwriting Contest. We were also able to announce the Audience Award Winners throughout the night as ballots were counted. The evening concluded with a great screening of New York Showcase, a documentary about young performers hoping to make it on Broadway. After the final film, everyone involved with the festival headed to the after party at a local spot called The Dresden. It was a fantastic evening to celebrate all the hard work and success of the festival.

After such an amazing time here in Los Angeles, we hope to continue the success for the entire 2012 season. The United Film Festival – New York opens this Friday, May 11th at the Cobble Hill Cinemas. We will see you there for more fantastic screenings and events with our filmmakers!

The United Film Festival – Los Angeles is in full swing and so far the screenings have been incredible. To give you an update on everything you missed, let’s start from the beginning. After hearing all the great things that are happening you will most definitely want to buy your tickets immediately.

After our wonderful Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony to kickoff our 2012 season, we moved to the Los Feliz 3 Cinemas for our first screenings on Friday evening. We began with a short block called ‘Love and Romance,’ appropriately titled. Three fantastic shorts, ‘Gemalogia,’ ‘Love After Sunrise,’ and ‘Okechukwu’ screened to wonderful reviews. As early as 6:15 people were lining up for our 7:00 screening, ‘Act Naturally’ and the film played to a packed house followed by a great Q&A with the cast and crew. By 9:30 our audiences were ready for ‘The Horror of Barnes Folly,’ which also brought in a great crowd. Our midnight classic screenings of ‘Gremlins’ and ‘The Fly,’ brought nostalgic feelings as audiences came out to enjoy two great films.

Over the weekend we moved into our busiest days with five feature screenings each day. On Saturday we screened ‘To Make A Farm,’ ‘We’re Getting On,’ ‘Fools On The Hill,’ ‘Supporting Characters,’ and ‘It’s In The Blood.’ Each feature brought a really dynamic and interesting crowd of people. The feature screenings each included a set of short films which all played before the feature. If any filmmakers from the shorts were there, we gave them the opportunity to hold a Q&A. The Q&As continued with the features, which offered a fascinating opportunity to hear from the filmmakers themselves.

On Sunday we had a day of amazing documentaries. First was the screening of ‘Erasing Hate,’ followed by the hilarious and heartfelt documentary about Jim Breuer called ‘More Than Me.’ For our afternoon showing we were beyond thrilled to screen ‘Of Two Minds’ to a completely sold out house. We even had to sell standing room only seats! After that we screened ‘New Brow: Contemporary Underground Art,’ followed by the final screening of the evening, a great horror flick called ‘Dead Inside.’

We are now gearing up for a whole new week of screenings, and we would love for you to be there! Click here to view our schedule and buy tickets today!

Last night the United Film Festival kicked off the 2012 season by honoring Mark Rydell and Dabney Coleman. The event was set to start at 7:30pm, and by 6:30 supporters and fans of the dynamic duo were already lined up outside the theatre to witness the event. By the time the cement was ready, over 100 people gathered to watch Mr. Rydell and Mr. Coleman place their hands and sign their names. With so many onlookers, it was wonderful to witness the support given to the honorees. An immense amount of respect was felt the entire night for the work that Mark Rydell and Dabney Coleman achieved throughout their careers.

Before the movie began, Mr. Rydell and Mr. Coleman graciously agreed to a Q&A. In a display of true friendship, they both discussed their experiences with the film and shared some great stories. The audience was captivated as Mr. Coleman got emotional about his experience and the lifelong friends he made during production. As the Q&A began to wind down, our founder Jason Connell surprised both honorees with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening. Both Mr. Rydell and Mr. Coleman were sincerely touched by the gesture, and it was evident that they were grateful to be receiving such an honor.

After the ceremony, the film began and audience members prepared themselves for two hours of movie magic. The film remains a staple in Hollywood history, a testament to its brilliance. In a day and age where movies rely on computer graphics and intense sound effects to keep the attention of a viewer, this film is able to achieve it with sheer talent. After the screening, the audience clapped loudly to signify their appreciation to Mark Rydell and Dabney Coleman for such unprecedented work. Thank you to everyone who came out to experience such a great evening, and congratulations to Mr. Rydell and Mr. Coleman for their Lifetime Achievement Awards.