Depressed about the impossible odds of making it in Hollywood? Meet NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, the well-oiled machine fighting against the studios by providing indie filmmakers with a platform and PR. Each month NewFilmmakers hosts a monthly film festival at the AT&T Center downtown, which screens eight to 12 top-notch independent shorts and a feature. The events have been known to draw 1,500 local cinephiles, and they feel like world premieres — open bar, food, attendees in suits and cocktail dresses and brightly lit red carpets and logo step-and-repeat backdrops for photo ops. Sound expensive? It's not. NewFilmmakers is a 501(c)(3), so it's able to provide its services for non-ridiculous prices. Fifteen dollars will get you an all-access pass. Short film submissions cost only $35. “We're about democratizing access for everyone,” executive director Larry Laboe says. “Our mission is to build a truly independent film community.” —Isaac Simpson

1150 S. Olive St., dwntwn. (323) 521-7385, newfilmmakersla.com.

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