Helix Collective‘s Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival features short films with original scores performed live-to-picture by Helix Collective.
Selected film composers are paired with a winning filmmaker to create an original score for the festival. The film is screened with the score performed live by the renowned performance and recording ensemble, Helix Collective. The screening includes an interview with the filmmakers and composers. Awards for Best Picture and Best Musical Score are presented at the close of the festival.
Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival films have garnered Best Score wins at the L.A. Cinefest, IMDB Independent Short Awards, the Under 5 Minute Film Festival in Toronto, and screened at several additional festivals including the Los Angeles Outfest.
Now in it’s seventh season, LALSFF’s goal is to highlight the role of collaboration between composers and filmmakers. Acting like a talent agent, the festival brings experts in the two disciplines together. At the screenings, filmmakers and composers hear and see the work of new colleagues, meet new collaborators, and establish working relationships with each other. Additionally, Helix Collective proves that it is possible to get talented, experienced film musicians to play and record for independent films!
About Helix Collective
Helix Collective are classical musicians busting out of the traditional mold. From crossover dance music, to storytelling, to film, television, and video game music, the Los Angeles-based ensemble takes the best of classical chamber music and makes it the life of the party.
Variety Magazine praised Helix Collective’s musical range moving from “moody urgency and edgy chamber-music sound” to the “sweetly romantic evoking wide-open spaces.”
Helix “has a little something for everyone: those who like their classics straight up, with a contemporary edge to it, or with populist appeal.” Called “dizzyingly virtuosic with exquisite musicianship and world-class range” by The Free Times and praised for “beyond-the-ordinary programming.”
Like the double helix, the ensemble is rearrangeable, flexible, and fuses the DNA of classical music into worlds where it’s never gone before.
What participants are saying about the Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival:
“This whole process of doing the festival, having a spotting session, and talking about music for the film together really changed the way that I look at editing, choosing the right music, and choosing where to place music.”
-David Haye, director, LA Live Score Film Festival 2018
“Hearing Helix Collective perform live is a great experience because the ensemble feeds off the energy of the audience. You get the feedback and the connection of being there while the music is actually being made.”
-Reuven Herman, composer, LA Live Score Film Festival, 2015
“I was able to use the instruments so much because horror has the advantage of pretty much having no limits…It felt like every musician had fun playing it. I get even more emotional when there is a live performance because it just feels like the musicians want to be part of what’s going on.”
-Nathalie Bonin, composer, LA Live Score Film Festival 2018
“It was challenging and also really fun because I had to be smart and creative in my decisions and not just rely on my samples.”
-Annie Rosevear, composer of Best Score winner, LA Live Score Film Festival 2017
“I’ve been part of a lot of festivals but I’ve never been part of something this unique.”
-Eric Michael Cole, actor, LA Live Score Film Festival 2017
“There was a lot of discussion about themes and how to use the instruments that we had, so it was a really great collaborative process.”
-Ben Hoff, composer, LA Live Score Film Festival 2018
“When I started I was really nervous but when I met [my paired composer Jesper Ankarfeldt] he was so nice. It was fun.”
-Nirupam Dhakal, director, LA Live Score Film Festival 2019
“You must come to the screening to experience this magic with your friends and family…it will surely be a show to remember.”
-Jonathan Samukange, director, LA Live Score Film Festival 2018
“My collaboration with my composer has deepened my understanding of how to use music as a tool in storytelling.”
-Savannah Sivert, director, LA Live Score Film Festival 2018
“I’m thrilled and excited! Now I have great expectations about launching into more film festivals.”
-Lanyue Zhang, director after his win for Best Picture at the 2018 LALSFF