Director, writer, producer and rabid film fan Guillermo del Toro has been named guest director of the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, which will take place in downtown Los Angeles in June.
Film Independent, the non-profit organization that presents the festival, also announced on Wednesday that LAFF's closing-night attraction will be the del Toro-written horror film "Don't Afraid of the Dark," and that the lineup will include a special screening of Warner Bros.' "Green Lantern," along with gala screenings of Chris Weitz's "A Better Life" and Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive."
The festival will also include conversations with James Franco ("a freewheeling discussion of film, poetry and pushing the creative envelope"), who will premiere his new film "The Broken Tower"; and with film and stage director Julie Taymor, whose work includes the films "Frida" and "Across the Universe" and stage productions ranging from her acclaimed adaptation of "The Lion King" to the troubled Broadway production of "Spider-Man," on which she was recently replaced.
Del Toro, whose films include "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," will select a film to screen at the festival, and will follow that film with a conversation.
Later this month, LAFF will announce its opening-night film, along with additional galas, special guests and programs. The festival begins on June 16 and runs through June 26 at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles.
The full lineup is available at the LA Film Fest website.
(Photo by Getty Images)
