We had the good fortune of connecting with Alessandro Gentile and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alessandro, how do you think about risk?
Sometimes in life you need to take big risks that can potentially impact the trajectory of your life. In the case of 2020 it seems like everything is a risk. As the artistic director and co-founder of the Highland Park Independent Film Festival we were faced with a big challenge since the movie theaters were closed due to the pandemic. We had many discussions and knew that we didn’t wanted to pursue what everyone else was doing (The Virtual Film Festival). We wanted to do something interactive but safe. That’s when we came up with the idea of producing the first drive-in film festival in Northeast, Los Angeles. “If you jump off the cliff the net will always appear.”    

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My entire career as an independent filmmaker I’ve always  thrown out ideas to see if they stick. That’s how the film festival was born. It was the idea of showcasing independent film to the unique growing local audience of Highland Park. What started as a small art organization supporting my personal endeavors quickly grew into the non-profit organization that we are today. I want to say it was easy because the film festival always supported itself these 8 years. The founders never had to invest money of their own to make it happen. The community and local sponsors have always backed us. Now we are an official non-profit and writing big grants to aide in our growth. So needless to say the film festival has a life of it’s own and has really come a long way. Our mission is to share unique independent cinema to Norhteast, Los Angeles and educate youth in the fundamentals of filmmaking. From our mentor-ship program four of our kids have gone on to receive film scholarships to reputable schools. The first to venture off out of our mentor-ship program just completed Cal State Northridge and is now working for Netflix. Sometimes your not sure if your making an impact on these kids but that goes to show that they are actually listening.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There’s three areas I always like to share with visitors (Venice, Downtown LA, and of course Highland Park). We would catch some brunch at the Venice Whaler Bar & Grill (Where The Doors hung out) then take a stroll through the Venice/Ocean Park Beach scene. Then do a lunch pit stop at Canter’s Deli for a Reuben sandwich before heading to Downtown LA. I’ve always liked the 4th and Spring Street area (The Galleries, coffee shops, historic buildings). Pay a visit to Grand Central Market and take a stroll into the historic Bradbury Building. Then do a photo op at Echo Park for a quick snap shot of the city in the distance and end up in the heart of Highland Park (Ave 56 at North Figueroa). Grab a drink at the Greyhound Bar/grill, visit the historic Highland Theatre where we conduct our film festival and do a night cap at the Offbeat Bar for some drinks and dancing. Sounds like a fun time. Take me there now 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would like to do a shout out to the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council and the Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance. Both these organizations have supported us since the beginning and have driven our growth. We are ever so grateful.

Website: www.hpifilmfest.com
Instagram: @hpifilmfest
Twitter: @hpifilmfest
Facebook: @highlandparkindependentfilmfestival
Other: https://vimeo.com/467116838

Image Credits
Photos by: Tim Karau Featuring: Danny Trejo and son Gilbert Trejo Co-Founders: Alessandro Gentile, Marita De La Torre, & Mark Reitman

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