ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood unveiled their summer line up of critically acclaimed award winning non-fiction films for their 2015 Summer ArcLight Documentary Series.  The Series is part of an ongoing commitment by ArcLight Cinemas to celebrate the powerful storytelling of the documentary form.  Under the curation of documentary filmmaker and President of the International Documentary Association, Marjan Safinia, this bi-annual series presents exceptional documentaries to the Southern California public on the big screen. 

This summer season, four exceptional festival-favorite films will enjoy their Los Angeles premieres on Tuesdays at 7:30pm at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood beginning July 7. 

Women directors are the spotlight, as women directed or co-directed every film in this lineup – a refreshing and much-needed change from regular Hollywood fare.

This year’s line up presents these amazing films:

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING Directed by David Osit & Malika Zouhali-Worrall            July 7

(T)ERROR                             Directed by Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe           July 14

SONG OF LAHORE               Directed by Andy Schocken & Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy July 21

PROPHETS PREY                 Directed by Amy Berg                                                         July 28

All screenings are followed by a lively Q & A with the filmmakers with an open reception in the upper bar where audiences can mix and mingle with filmmakers, and continue the conversation about the films.

“Living in Los Angeles, the epicenter of film, I find myself frustrated that so many of the best documentaries that have debuted at top festivals around the country never have a chance to play in theaters in this city,” says curator Marjan Safinia.  “The ArcLight Doc Series is filling that gap. I’m particularly proud this year to showcase exceptional films with women behind the camera. Documentary is a considerably more level playing field for women directors, and their work is moving, brave and unwaveringly excellent.  Each of these powerful films will take you on a journey into a world you would not otherwise be able to access with exceptional filmmaking and compelling characters you will find hard to forget.”

The ArcLight Documentary Series is set for every Tuesday in July at 7:30 PM at the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood at 6360 W. Sunset Boulevard beginning July 7.  Tickets and schedule are available online at www.arclightdocseries.com

“Documentaries have crossed over into mainstream consciousness like never before and are among the most interesting and nuanced films being made today, states Gretchen McCourt, Executive Vice President Cinema Programming for ArcLight Cinemas. “We at ArcLight Cinemas are passionate about supporting these films. We’re known for being a home for movie lovers, and the documentaries in our series are a perfect fit for our audiences. We are proud to support these filmmakers and this series.”

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ARCLIGHT DOCUMENTARY SERIES 2015 LINE UP

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING                                    Tuesday July 7, 7:30pm

A meditation on grief, courage and love in the context of 21st century technology, Thank you for Playing tells the story of Ryan, a father who is a video game designer as he uses gaming as a form of self expression and storytelling to help him make sense of his infant son’s cancer diagnosis, and the ancient confrontation with his likely death. Contrasting the abstraction of game design’s visual universe and the pseudo-reality it generates, with the raw and unavoidable truth of the boy’s day to day battle with disease, Thank You For Playing weaves a gut wrenching tale that makes us think and feel and wonder how we might contend with this family’s “dragon,” which is cancer. Directed by David Osit & Malika Zouhali-Worrall with great tenderness and respect, it was well received at Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs. Thank You For Playing is having its Los Angeles premiere in the ArcLight Doc Series, screening at 7:30 PM on July 7th at ArcLight Hollywood. Go to this link to learn more about the film and to buy tickets. http://arclightdocseries.com/films/thank-you-for-playing/

(T)ERROR                                                                Tuesday July 14, 7:30pm

This stunning documentary that plays like an edge-of-your-seat thriller, chronicles an active FBI counterterrorism sting operation in real time, showing the dubious ethical nature of such government’s activities and the tragic outcomes that sometimes follow. (T)ERROR follows FBI informant “Shariff” as he chases possible financial reward in befriending and possibly entrapping an American Muslim associate as the FBI pursues the endless War on Terror. The modern American surveillance state comes under scrutiny in this fascinating study of a man being slowly torn in two by Federal Agents as they push Shariff hard so they can make arrests and garner convictions.  Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe co-directed this chilling story with a plot seemingly out of the realm of fiction. (T)error won the Special Jury Award for Break Out First Feature at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. This is the Los Angeles premiere of the film and it will screen at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, July 14th at ArcLight Hollywood. Co-director Lyric Cabral will take your questions in a Q and A after the film. Click here to learn more or buy tickets. http://arclightdocseries.com/films/terror/. 

SONG OF LAHORE                                                   Tuesday July 21, 7:30pm

With its ancient palaces and stately gardens, the Lahore of Pakistan's 1947 independence was a haven and a muse for musicians, artists, and poets. Today, this vision of Lahore exists only in myth. Islamization, ethnic divisions, war and corruption have torn apart the cultural fabric of Pakistan, and the sounds of the tabla no longer drift through the old city's bazaar. Against this backdrop, a group of highly talented musicians from Lahore’s Sachal Studios record a breakthrough album of jazz classics that unexpectedly takes them from Lahore to New York City and a performance with iconic Wynton Marsalis.  While the film premiered to acclaim at the Tribeca Film Festival the ArcLight Doc Series is proud to give the story its Los Angeles premiere with co-director Andy Schocken in attendance. Witness the joyful and universal power of music when this film screens at ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood on Tuesday, July 21st at 7:30 PM. Go to this link to learn more and purchase tickets. http://arclightdocseries.com/films/song-of-lahore/

PROPHET’S PREY                                                    Tuesday July 28, 7:30pm

Warren Jeffs ruled over a religious fiefdom of thousands of people in southern Utah as President of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints–but Jeffs is no saint. Sitting atop a secretive organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Jeffs pursued power, sex and wealth while sanctioning polygamy, coercion and underage marriage using faith to manipulate a large and believing group of people whose most vulnerable members are women and children. And yet they believe in their “Prophet” passionately and many adherents would sacrifice their own lives for this unusual leader. Prophet’s Prey digs deep to reveal the man behind the “Prophet” and the ways in which he abused this status to maintain his lock on power, money and the “sister wives” who surround him–many of them barely in their teens. The documentary, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, is now screening as part of the ArcLight CInemas Documentary Film Series. The film’s Los Angeles premiere begins at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, July 28 at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood.  Academy Award nominated director, Amy Berg, will be available for a Q and A after the screening to explain further what she uncovered about the FLDS and Warren Jeffs’ rule. Click here to learn more and buy tickets. http://arclightdocseries.com/films/prophets-prey/

ABOUT THE CURATOR - MARJAN SAFINIA

Marjan Safinia is an Iranian documentary filmmaker, President of the International Documentary Association, and a self-diagnosed documentary junkie. Marjan is also one of six international co-hosts of the pre-eminent documentary community online, The D-Word. Docs are her passion, her livelihood and her expertise. She is frequently an advisor, programmer, advocate, moderator and juror of all things documentary, and produces work through her company, The Department of Expansion. It is her fondest desire to help Los Angeles develop a vibrant documentary scene, where documentary filmmakers can develop a true sense of community here in the belly of the movie-making beast.