Michael Mann’s Depression era gangster thriller Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard will receive its world premiere as the centrepiece screening for the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, which runs from June 18-28.

Overall the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen more than 200 features, shorts and music videos representing more than 30 countries culled from more than 4,600 submissions.

The seven titles in the narrative competition vying for the $50,000 Target Filmmaker Award are:

  •  Dear Lemon Lima by Suzi Yoonessi (world premiere)
  •  Harmony & Me by Bob Byington
  • Hollywood, Je T’aime by Jason Bushman (world premiere)
  • Passenger Side by Matt Bissonnette – Canada (world premiere)
  • Turistas by Alicia Scherson – Chile (US premiere)
  • Wa Do Dem (What They Do) by Sam Fleischner and Ben Chace (world premiere), and
  • Zero Bridge by Tariq Tapa – USA-India (US premiere)

The seven documentary competition selections bidding for the $50,000 Target Documentary Award are:

  • After the Storm by Hilla Medalia (world premiere)
  • Bananas! by Fredrik Gertten – Sweden (world premiere)
  • Branso by Brent Meeske (world premiere)
  • Convention by A J Schnack
  • The Last Beekeeper by Jeremy Simmons
  • October Country by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher (world premiere)
  • Those Who Remain by Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman – Mexico (US premiere)

The 21 International Showcase selections, eligible for audience awards for best international feature, best narrative feature or best documentary feature, include the international premiere of Martin Rejtman’s Elementary Training For Actors from Argentina, the North American premieres of Gabriel Mascaro’s Brazilian film High-Rise and James Lee’s Malaysian entry Call If You Need Me, and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson.

Among the Summer Showcase entries eligible for the same awards as the International Showcase films are Armando Iannucci’s In The Loop, Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, Davis Guggenheim’s It Might Get Loud, and Claire Denis’ 35 Shots Of Rum.

Programming selections include a spotlight on documenting Mexico that features the international premiere of Anais Huerta and Raul Cuesta’s Rehje, as well as Glenn McQuaid’s I Sell The Dead and Jose Mojica Marins’ Brazilian film Embodiment Of Evil in the Dark Wave genre strand, and Guilty Pleasures entries Weather Girl by Blayne Weaver and ZMD: Zombies Of Mass Destructionby Kevin Hamedani.

Scott Sanders’ Sundance hit Black Dynamite and Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s Soul Power are among four outdoor screenings at the Ford Ampitheatre and there are on-stage conversations with Jon Voight before a special screening of John Schlessinger’s 1969 Midnight Cowboy and Tom Laughlin before his 1971 directorial effort Billy Jack. The LA Film Critics Association will co-present three films with the UCLA Film & Television Archive: Rafael Filipelli’s Musica Nocturna from Argentina, Pere Portabella’s Silence Before Bach from Spain, and Koji Wakamatsu’s United Red Army from Japan.

“The 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival is a celebration of culture, cinema and community: a festival where everyday movie lovers can see films they otherwise might not see, hear first-hand from the artists and film-makers that inspire them, and get a sneak peek at the great movies of the summer,” Los Angeles Film Festival director Rebecca Yeldham said. “It’s a beautiful programme, and I can’t wait to share it with our audiences.”

The festival is organised in association with Film Independent in Los Angeles.

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