In 1922, Grauman’s Egyptian hosted Hollywood’s first theatrical film premiere with a screening of Robin Hood. Today, Los Angeles Filmforum holds weekly Sunday-night presentations in the Egyptian’s more intimate 77-seat Steven Spielberg Theatre. L.A.’s longest continually operating experimental film series, Filmforum screens rare, independent gems that challenge the boundary between film and art, including documentaries, animation, video art and other forms of progressive cinema. Since 1975, the nonprofit arts organization has been dedicated to preserving and presenting avant-garde films, often with special guests on hand for Q&As. Past programs include a survey of underground film in the 1960s and ’70s, filmmaker retrospectives and The Festival of (In)appropriation: Contemporary Found Footage Filmmaking. In 2008, Filmforum received a grant from the Getty Foundation to participate in the citywide postwar art bonanza Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980, kicking off in fall 2011. Filmforum offers an intelligent, provocative and engaging respite from mainstream Hollywood film culture. 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd. lafilmforum.org. —Tanja M. Laden

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