Presented by the esteemed Parajanov-Vartanov Institute, DOC LA - Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival - will screen and award outstanding films by students, emerging filmmakers and established masters of American and World cinema. DOC LA furthers the mission of the annual Parajanov-Vartanov Institute Awards established in 2010.
While the festival’s focus is documentary cinema, we program films of any genre (including Animation, Live Action/Fiction, Experimental and Music Videos). We are also enthusiastic about unusual, strange and unclassifiable films since the institute that presents the festival is named after the renowned nonconformists Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) and Mikhail Vartanov (1937-2009), who overcame censorship, persecution and low budgets, and earned praise for their daring point of view from many of cinema’s greatest luminaries, such as Godard, Coppola and Tarkovsky, and inspired the likes of Madonna and Lady Gaga. The festival’s programmer is their disciple and UCLA alum Martiros Vartanov, who has served as a juror and a curator at festivals in Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Busan, and worked on the restoration of The Color of Pomegranates selected for Festival de Cannes.
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute and DOC LA awardees, alums and guests include (Oscar) Academy Award ® winners Martin Scorsese, Emma Thompson, Marion Cotillard, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, as well as Werner Herzog, Emilio Rivera, Usher, Ice-T, Joe Berlinger, Errol Morris, Ross Kauffman, Jem Cohen, Alfred Molina, William Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Mark Ruffalo, Pierce Brosnan, Dennis Quaid, Liam Neeson, Christoph Waltz, John Malkovich, Keith David, Michael Weatherly, Michelle Rodriguez, Woody Harrelson, Gerard Butler, Jamie Lee Curtis, Seth Rogen, Moby, Stefania Spampinato, Steven Ogg, Angourie Rice, Matilda De Angelis, Alana Haim, Virginie Ledoyen, Dave Stewart, Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan, French cinema icon Jean Vigo, and Grammy winning rock bands Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, and System Of A Down. DOC LA was covered by The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Daily, LA Weekly, Variety, LA Times, CBS, FOX, and Deadline Hollywood.
Best Documentary Award
Best Short Documentary Award
Best Mid-Length Documentary Award
Best Student Documentary Award
DOC LA, at its discretion, may award cash prizes and special awards:
Directing Award
Cinematography Award
Screenwriting Award
Editing Award
Composer Award
Producer Award
Animation Award
Audience Award
Music Video Award
Episodic Series Award
Experimental Film Award