Film Maudit 2.0

Film Maudit 2.0 (www.filmmaudit.org) is a showcase and celebration of new outré, unusual and startling films. Now approaching its 3rd edition, the fest is inspired by legendary artist Jean Cocteau’s festival, Le Film Maudit, which celebrated a group of films that were criminally overlooked and neglected at the time. - The term film maudit literally means “cursed films,” and this showcase of counter-cinema blends together narrative, documentary and experimental films that in their style and/or subject matter, are deliberately bold, extreme, confrontational, troubling, shocking and/or unusual. - We are looking for adventuresome works that eschew conventional genre & format expectations and deal with socio-political issues, taboo subjects, and challenge artistic assumptions and sexual mores. These works can be in the form of feature films, short films, pilots, VR, and works that cross disciplines. - The 2nd annual Film Maudit 2.0, which took place in January 2021, was a virtual edition that featured 17 feature films, 19 shorts programs featuring 125 films, specially commissioned works, performance and new, original film scores to classic 'film maudits' performed live. - The festival is co-presented by and takes place in part at Southern California's boldest center for new performance and media arts, Highways Performance Space & Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. In its 32nd year, Highways continues to be an important alternative cultural center in Los Angeles that encourages radical artists from diverse communities to develop and present innovative new works. Described by the Los Angeles Times as “a hub of experimental theater, dance, solo drama and other multimedia performance,” Highways promotes the development of contemporary socially involved artists and art forms.