Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced that Jennifer Cochis is being promoted to director of the Los Angeles Film Festival. Cochis, a producer who has worked with the likes of Drake Doremus and James Ponsoldt, has also served as the Festival’s creative director, collaborating with outgoing Festival director Stephanie Allain on all aspects of the Festival. An award-winning independent producer, Allain (Hustle & Flow, Beyond the Lights) is in production on Justin Simien’s Netflix series Dear White People, posting Gerard McMurray’s Burning Sands and prepping Juanita, an Alfre Woodard vehicle to be directed by Clark Johnson.
“Jennifer Cochis is a brilliant new force on the Festival scene and I am extremely happy to have her step into this new role,” said Josh Welsh, president of Film Independent. “She brings so much experience, intelligence and passion to everything she does. She’s worked closely with the mighty Stephanie Allain on the Festival for the past two years, first as senior programmer and then as creative director, turning the Festival into a powerful platform for discovering new and diverse talent.”
Allain said, “It has been such an honor to shine a spotlight on women and directors of color and leaving is bittersweet. But I know that the festival is in extremely capable hands with Jennifer Cochis at the helm because she helped me build it.”
Cochis related, “It’s an incredibly exciting challenge to build upon the great work that Stephanie has done at the LA Film Festival these past five years. I am passionate about continuing to grow this Festival, bringing together audacious and brave visual storytellers with the audiences of Los Angeles.”
In addition to her festival work, Cochis has produced critically acclaimed films, both fiction (James Ponsoldt’s Smashed and Drake Doremus’ Douchebag) and non-fiction (Marius Markevicius’ The Other Dream Team and Elise Salomon’s Los Wild Ones). Cochis is a Sundance Institute Creative Producers Lab Fellow and was awarded their prestigious Sheila C. Johnson Fellowship. Currently, she is the digital studio head for Joss Whedon’s Save the Day, a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC, creating short videos that aim to get people out to vote.
The 23rd LA Film Festival, which will take place June 14–22, 2017 at ArcLight, is currently accepting submissions. The early deadline for submissions is October 28, the regular deadline is November 18 and the late deadline is December 16, 2016. Click here for submission guidelines and forms.
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More