It’s no secret that the last few years have been, well, rather challengins.
So if you’re in need of a break, this week will offer a little escape and laughter via the hilarious make-believe world of “Young Frankenstein” and the romantic fun of a bygone era featured in “White Christmas.”
Those classic flicks will be among the offerings in the 20th annual Los Angeles Harbor International Film Festival, set to run from Thursday to Sunday, March 2-5, at the historic Warner Grand Theatre in downtown San Pedro.
“Everything around us has been so serious and maudlin,” said festival founder and Director Stephanie Mardesich. “My dream is, at the end of ‘White Christmas,’ everybody will be singing along. People need something to brighten their spirits.”
Also featured again this year will be the popular “Read the Book, See the Movie” outing for hundreds of area school children who will arrive at the theater, 478 W. Sixth St., Thursday morning escorted by horse-mounted Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies and a bagpiper.
The school outreach this year features the classic novel “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling, paired with the Academy Award-nominated animated Disney film of the same name from 1967.
The festival’s official opening night kicks off at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30) Friday, with a showing of the popular 1970s Mel Brooks film “Young Frankenstein.”
At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the festival will showcase four short films from NewFilmmakers LA, as well as a question-and-answer panel discussion with the filmmakers after each screening. Mardesich makes it a point to distribute special invitations to schools, youth groups and other organizations as a way to encourage young people to attend and to be inspired to explore the field of filmmaking.
Later that day, at 4 p.m. Saturday (doors open at 3:30 p.m.), the festival’s Hollywood Nostalgia Tribute will be presented, opening with a short video on the book “The Golden…
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