Health & Fitness
VIDEO: West Hollywood's 'Real' Film Fest Underway at The Laemmle
Dances with Films, a festival running through June 9 at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre, offers a refreshing experience in West Hollywood.
Considered the real independent film festival, Dances with Films is playing at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre in West Hollywood through June 9. The films must have no known actors, directors, writers or producers attached, which is a huge feat in this celebrity-focused town and very refreshing.
I saw three great documentaries over the weekend that immediately transfixed my heart.
Nurses for Africa is about a group of nurses who go to Zambia to do what they do best, nursing. But what they find surprises them, discovering more than an exotic, impoverished land with tribal people, they find a richness beyond tangibles. These people were happy, even blissful in spite of their very basic existence. The nurses learned about the real meaning of happiness.
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Next in this trio presentation was a powerful short called Unchastened about a dancer's thriving after breast cancer. She transforms her mastectomy "scar" into beautiful henna art, then incorporates dance to show beauty beyond illness.
Certain Proof is about three children with Cerebral Palsy, struggling to navigate their way through our educational system. Another heart tug, but a film about hope. We see them make strides we would consider miniscule, but for them, giant leaps as they try to communicate even a word.
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Just like these powerful documentaries about the realness of life, the Dances with Films festival matched them with its down-to-earth feel. No paparazzi. No Hollywood hoopla (that I saw, anyway). Producers/directors and participants were equally accessible and real. The founders even made time for my very spontaneous interview.
I was on a stair/hike adventure yesterday with Secret Stairs author, Charles Fleming. Fellow stair hiker, Emily Lewis, said it best about LA adventures, "Los Angeles is filled with so much to do, but so much of it is invisible."
Adventure Tip: Sometimes, all we have to do is open our eyes for our next adventure. Just like the Dances with Films very independent festival, a must-see.