“Disco Beats” — a story of 85-year-old man learning disco — and the Oscar-nominated “The Singers” — a story of forgotten men in a bar, finding their voices — were among the highlights of a NewFilmmakers Los Angeles’ festival with a special focus on countering ageism.
The day started with a collection of comedy, sci-fi, drama, mystery, musical and documentary films, which culminated in “The Singers,” the genre-bending and innovative latest from Sam A. Davis. The film is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards, and Davis was previously nominated Best Documentary Short Film for the 2023 short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó.”
The NFMLA event continued InFocus: Counter-Ageism, a collection of films that featured aging protagonists, narratives that challenge stereotypes about age and the fear of aging and filmmakers whose work challenges those same stereotypes.
The night concluded with the West Coast Premiere ofThe Long Run, the sophomore feature film of writer-director and NFMLA alum Mylissa Fitzsimmons. The road-trip film offers an existential reflection on the nature of ambition and friendship, as two strangers hitch a ride together towards their dreams.
NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year, across both our general and InFocus programming. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects for consideration for upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the schedule for InFocus programming, which celebrates representation by spotlighting various communities of filmmakers as part of the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival. This project is made possible in part by grant support from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
“Disco Beats” directed by Ken Arquello
About Ken: ‘Disco Beats’ is Ken’s film directorial debut that was awarded Best Short Film at the Fort Lauderdale and Arizona International Film Festivals. A Latino, he was awarded a producing fellowship from the PGA Create Program and NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) for Desert Rats, a television pilot that he co-created and co-wrote. He is currently in development for a feature adaptation of “Disco Beats” called Last Dance at Calle Ocho starring “Disco Beats” lead Pepe Serna, about a past-his-prime salsa dancer who gets one last chance at stardom. It is set in Miami’s Little Havana.
About “Disco Beats”: Detroit circa 1979: An elderly man tries to convince a jaded disco dance instructor to teach him to dance so he can surprise his wife on their 60th wedding anniversary…in one week.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Ken Arquello the Director of “Disco Beats”:
“Portraits in Coal” directed by Jack Gaertner
About Jack: Jack Gaertner is a documentary filmmaker from Atlanta whose work digs into the heart of southern life — its people, places, and contradictions. Drawn to human portraits and the texture of Americana, his films center on stories of resilience and perseverance. With an eye for the overlooked, his storytelling leans into the raw, the real, and the emotionally honest. Currently working professionally as a camera operator, he has continued to hone his shooting skills and gain experience on a wide variety of sets including documentary, sports and commercial.
About “Portraits of Coal”: Years after tragedy strikes the mining town of Whitesville, the echoes of hardship and corruption linger, challenging a resilient Appalachian community.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Jack Gaertner the director of “Portraits in Coal”:
“standby” directed by Robert Gomes
About Robert: Robert Gomes is a filmmaker and actor living in New York City. He produced the award-winning short films “Deflated,” directed by D Shroff; and “Pew! Pew! Pew!” As an actor, he appeared on Broadway in The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Racing Demon. He has worked extensively off-Broadway, as well as regionally. On film, he appeared in The Way I Remember It, Body/Antibody, An Englishman in New York, and the HBO film Daddy. His many TV appearances include Sex and the City, Ed, and Law and Order. Upcoming: With D Shroff, he is co-writing a series, Rio House, set in Austin, Texas.
About “standby”: A disheartened, but dedicated middle-age gay actor, living and working in NYC as a standby for an off-Broadway show, has his love for his art reawakened — with a jolt — in this valentine to the Theater.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Robert Gomes the director of “standby”:
“The Singers” directed by Sam Davis
About Sam: Sam Davis is an Oscar-nominated multi-hyphenate filmmaker with a foundation in cinematography. After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, he produced, shot, and edited the 2019 Academy Award-winning Netflix short “Period. End of Sentence.” Since then, his films have gone on to receive honors at Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW among others. In 2023, Sam was nominated for an Emmy for his cinematography work on the SXSW-winning New York Times Op-Doc “Long Line of Ladies,” which he also produced. He later produced and shot the Disney+ short “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2024. Sam collaborated with Sean Wang as the cinematographer on the 2024 Sundance Film Festival breakout, Dìdi, which won the Audience Award and sold to Focus Features. He is currently in production on an unprecedented longitudinal timeline feature documentary, his first as a director.
About “The Singers”: An impromptu sing-off will decide the best singer in the bar tonight.
Watch the NFMLA interview with David Breschel one of the producers of “The Singers”:
“11:11” directed by Mahnoor Euceph
About Mahnoor: Mahnoor Euceph is an award-winning Pakistani-American writer and director. She has a BA from UCLA in Design Media Arts and an MFA from USC in Film & TV Production. She was a fellow in Islamic Scholarship Fund’s Muslim Centered Writers’ Lab, with support from Extracurricular and The Black List, for her feature film Queen of Diamonds. Her internationally awarded short film “Eid Mubarak” was longlisted for the 96th Academy Awards.
About “11:11”: When 16-year-old Pakistani-American Noori’s wish at 11:11 to be her crush’s type goes awry, she’s magically transformed into a white, blonde, blue-eyed girl — and must undo the wish before losing herself completely. Set in affluent Palos Verdes, 11:11 is a comedic and profound exploration of the painful yet liberating realization that true belonging can’t be found by becoming someone else.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Mahnoor Euceph the director of “11:11”:
“Dearborn” directed by Skylar Kim
About Skylar: Skylar is an award-winning filmmaker and producer, born in Boston, who grew up in the U.S. and South Korea. She’s studying Film and TV at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (with a minor in English and Entertainment Business). Her films have been screened at NYU student film festivals and the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York. Her screenplays were selected as finalists for the Los Angeles Asian Film Awards, Ivy Film Festival, and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2022. As a producer, her projects were awarded the 2021 HEAR US Award and the 2021-2022 NYU Tisch Student Producers Grant. She was recently a Research Intern for two upcoming Apple TV+ productions, Pachinko (Season 2) and The White Darkness.
About “Dearborn”: A young woman, expelled from college and forced to return home to her tight-knit Arab community, tries to restore her reputation.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Leila Bustami the writer of “Dearborn:
“Gillyfish” directed by Sarah Sellman
About Sarah: Sarah has previously worked on shows at SyFy, Netflix and Amazon (Z-Nation, Lore). Sarah’s magically real pilot — Cottonwood — was selected as Series Fest’s Writer’s Initiative’s Grand Prize Winner, presented at IFP’s Project Forum, featured in Deadline as a top un-produced. The Gillyfish feature was pitched at Galway Fleadh market 2023 and completed by Cinestory & Stowe Story Labs in 2019.
About “Gillyfish”: When Gillian takes on her partner’s identity to confront their father, she finds a connection she didn’t expect in the strange exchange she has with him. A short about healing by proxy, and stepping into new identities.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Maya Korn the producer of “Gillyfish”:
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