Why the love affair between Film Independent and downtown Los Angeles?
First it was the Spirit Awards, which left its signature time and location – Saturday afternoon on the beach at Santa Monica – for a 25th anniversary celebration on a rooftop in the L.A. Live complex in downtown L.A.
And now it’s the Los Angeles Film Festival, which for the past few years has been held in Westwood Village, but which also is moving to L.A. Live, and the surrounding downtown neighborhoods, this June.
Film Independent, the nonprofit organization that runs both the Spirit Awards and the LAFF, is headquartered on the west side of Los Angeles, near Century City.