How Beyond Fest became L.A.’s best film festival

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Honestly, I never expected much when I first heard about this festival – it almost felt like a dare! But it’s totally blown me away and become, in my opinion, the best film festival in LA. What really sets it apart is the incredibly diverse and surprising selection of movies, and the audiences? They’re just genuinely excited about everything they see, which makes the whole experience amazing.

Beyond Fest, a film festival now in its 13th year and presented with the American Cinematheque, kicks off Tuesday night and runs until October 8th. The festival will showcase over 90 films at the Egyptian Theatre, Aero Theatre, and Los Feliz 3 Cinemas. It opens with the U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s darkly comedic thriller, “No Other Choice,” and concludes with the new sci-fi film “Bugonia” by Yorgos Lanthimos. A major highlight will be a showing of 12 films by Guillermo del Toro, including a special black-and-white cut of “Nightmare Alley,” and the director will be at some of the screenings.

One of the best things about Beyond Fest is the variety of movies it shows. While it started with a focus on genre films – like thrillers, horror, and action – the festival now offers much more than just those types of movies.

This year’s festival features several acclaimed films, including Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirāt,” a Cannes jury prize winner. Both films will be shown on the West Coast for the first time. Other notable selections from major international festivals include Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” Bi Gan’s “Resurrection,” and Radu Jude’s new take on “Dracula.” A special addition to the schedule is a 70mm screening of Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee,” which was recently shown at the Venice and Toronto festivals.

The festival still celebrates its origins, featuring scary movies like Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone 2,” Kenji Tanigaki’s “The Furious,” and Gore Verbinski’s “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.” It will also showcase West Coast premieres of new films, including Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune” and “Queens of the Dead,” a horror-comedy by Tina Romero, who is the daughter of famous director George Romero.

The festival has a history of unforgettable moments, like when the director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, playfully hit a beach ball into the crowd, or Arnold Schwarzenegger had an arm-wrestling match with a young boy – experiences you simply won’t find at other events.

Grant Moninger, cofounder of Beyond Fest and artistic director of the American Cinematheque, emphasizes that going to the movies is about more than just the films themselves. It’s about the shared experience of being in a theater with others. ‘You can’t replicate that online,’ he says. ‘It’s about being together, enjoying the film, and sharing those emotions.’ He explains that the annual events are a way to show appreciation for the audience and provide them with the best possible experience.

There are a couple of interesting events coming up. Park’s film, “No Other Choice,” will premiere at the Aero Theatre, and the Egyptian Theatre will host a screening of Tom Stern’s documentary, “The Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt,” which is about the famous Texas punk band. Members of the band – Gibby Haynes, Paul Leary, King Coffey, and Jeff Pinkus – will be present for a question-and-answer session led by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads.

Despite not performing publicly for several years, there’s a good chance Butthole Surfers will take the stage again.

I was chatting with Tim Stern, you might remember him as one of the directors behind the wonderfully weird ‘Freaked’ from ’93, and he was saying how they’ve got the band all set up and the power’s on. He had this great, playful energy, like anything could happen at any moment, which honestly, got me even more excited about the project!

During their peak in the 1980s and 90s, Butthole Surfers were known for wild live performances. These shows often included things like two drummers, a nude dancer, unsettling medical films projected behind them, and even setting objects ablaze – all designed to enhance their strange and disturbing music.

Stern described the experience as beautifully dangerous, perfectly capturing the spirit of Beyond Fest.

Besides the celebration of Guillermo del Toro’s work, a special event will feature actor William Petersen discussing his roles in two classic 1980s crime films: Michael Mann’s “Manhunter” and William Friedkin’s “To Live and Die in L.A.” He’ll be holding Q&A sessions after the screenings.

The festival will feature several well-known actors and directors. John Carpenter will introduce a 70mm print of his film “Big Trouble in Little China,” while Al Pacino will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy.” Rob Reiner will present screenings of two Stephen King adaptations: “Stand By Me” and “Misery.” Tim Robbins will also be present, speaking after showings of Adrian Lyne’s “Jacob’s Ladder” and Robert Altman’s “The Player.”

The festival will also feature several beautifully restored horror films, including a brand new 4K version of Tobe Hooper’s “Salem’s Lot.” Audiences will be among the first to see the 4K restoration of Abel Ferrara’s “Ms. 45” internationally, and the world premiere of a 4K restoration of Ruggero Deodata’s “Cannibal Holocaust.” A new restoration of Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Rejects” will also be shown.

Beyond Fest stands out among local events by really capturing the excitement surrounding the revival of independent and classic movie theaters. According to cofounder Christian Parkes, a new generation of movie lovers-many of whom use the Letterboxd app-has diverse tastes, happily watching films by directors like Panahi and Carpenter back-to-back.

I’ve been listening to Parkes talk about this new project, and what strikes me most is how much they prioritize the audience. It’s not about rigid standards, but more of a ‘does this feel right for them?’ kind of approach. They really want to know if people will connect with it and genuinely make it their own – and that’s what truly matters to them. It’s less about formal approval and more about whether it will resonate with the people it’s intended for.

The Los Feliz 3 is hosting free screenings of exciting new films. Highlights include the world premiere of Ned Crowley’s western, “Killing Faith,” U.S. premieres of Eric Owens’ thriller “In A Cold Vein,” Julie Pacino’s horror film “I Live Here Now,” and Kenji Iwaisawa’s animated movie “100 Meters,” plus the West Coast premiere of Lucile Hadžihalilović’s unique fairytale, “The Ice Tower.”

What I truly admire about Beyond Fest, as Evrim Ersoy, the head of programming, explained, is their commitment to showcasing filmmakers who are doing genuinely new and exciting things. It’s about giving them a platform to share their unique voices and visions – that’s what really stands out to me.

The festival started in 2013 when a regular attendee of the Egyptian Theatre, named Parkes, spoke to Moninger with an exciting opportunity. He’d been in contact with the Italian band Goblin – famous for their film scores for director Dario Argento in movies like “Suspiria” and “Deep Red” – and believed he could bring them to L.A. for their debut performances. He’d already assured the band’s agent that he had a venue lined up.

Parkes remembers approaching Grant and telling him she was organizing a film festival. However, she admits she didn’t actually have one planned at the time – she only had a concept. So, she was essentially pretending to have something she hadn’t yet created, on multiple fronts.

Moninger recalls the event really took off in its first year. People were so enthusiastic that they immediately began asking about a second installment, which surprised the organizers. ‘We hadn’t even planned for a Year 2 at that point,’ Moninger remembers.

Previous festivals have honored filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Dario Argento, and Sonny Chiba. Last year, a special 30th-anniversary showing of “Speed” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was a major event.

Organizing this year’s event honoring Japanese actor Meiko Kaji – her first visit to America – took nine months, according to Ersoy. The process began when filmmaker Sean Baker (known for “Anora”) shared a photo of himself with Kaji in Japan. Baker will also be leading discussions with Kaji after screenings as part of the tribute. Kaji is famous for starring in cult classics like “Lady Snowblood,” “Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss,” and “Blind Woman’s Curse.”

According to Ersoy, the team doesn’t dismiss ideas as impossible or too difficult. Instead, they pursue anything they’re enthusiastic about until it’s either completed or clearly unworkable.

Beyond Fest is expanding its offerings with films like the West Coast premiere of Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” This thought-provoking film, starring Rose Byrne, explores the intense emotional challenges of motherhood and first debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Parkes observed that the film was one of the first to have all its tickets purchased when sales for this year’s festival began.

Parkes believes the core question is, ‘What even *is* genre?’ While genre had a specific meaning in the past, she asks why it needs to be fixed today. By examining filmmakers’ influences and how audiences respond, we can start a conversation about how genre is always changing and developing.

I always love how Beyond Fest describes itself as “The People’s Republic of Beyond Fest” – it just *gets* what the festival is all about! And even as they keep things fresh and exciting, they still know what their fans want. This year, I’m especially thrilled they’re showing a brand new 4K restoration of Mike Nichols’ “The Day of the Dolphin.” It’s a 1973 thriller with George C. Scott where they *train dolphins to assassinate the President*! Seriously, it’s a bit of a forgotten gem and I can’t wait to see it.

Moninger describes the Beyond Fest audience as a diverse group, explaining that he originally used the term ‘People’s Republic’ because of his fondness for unusual national anthems. He notes that people often reach out to him specifically about the film ‘The Day of the Dolphin,’ rather than other well-regarded movies. He believes this film is representative of what the ‘People’s Republic of Beyond Fest’ truly is all about.

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2025-09-23 13:32