The La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival is gearing up for its seventh year, to run at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla for two days, July 29 and 30. Our notice may be a little ahead of schedule, but there’s a bigger news picture here – namely that the museum will be closing for reconstruction. This means that ideally, the festival will relocate into The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center (“The Conrad,” in the vernacular), with La Jolla Music Society as anchor tenant. Opening date is expected in January 2018. Fred Sweet, festival producer, said that this turns out to be perfect timing for the event. The 44,000-square-foot facility, to be located at 7600 Fay Ave., was designed by Epstein Josln Architects, of Cambridge, Mass. Yasuhisa Toyota, president of Nagata Acoustics America, will develop the sound system. Both these elements mean that the facility’s acoustic excellence will be recognized internationally. This world-class home is perfect for the prestigious festival participants who fly into La Jolla from around the world. Construction on the Conrad started the week of Dec. 14. And that’s only part of the news. “They (the Conrad staff) want us (as tenants), and we want them,” Sweet said. “It’s a marriage made in heaven. My group is like a luxury international group, and there’s just such a serendipity about an arrangement like that. It just fits in with all our events.” The Fashion Film Festival has grown around the idea that fashion is an increasingly branded component in film, such that modern design commands a place among the tools in actors’ and directors’ arsenals. It lures an array of distinguished producers, directors, artists, celebrities and those whose lives revolve around filmmaking. A new performing arts center would complement such branding brilliantly, Sweet said, adding that The Lot – the high-end restaurant and film house across the street, will be the site of next year’s festival after-parties. Sweet said that The Lot, with its seven postmodern screens and its lofty amenities, is something the festival can anticipate as well in a search for future venues. “Huge screens, beautiful layout – how really, really cool,” he said. “At this stage,” he added, “we’ve never been this far ahead” in planning the event. The seventh festival promises to be an exciting one, filled with awesome screenings, Red Carpet awards, press receptions and industry networking. For more, see ljifff.com.
