Three siblings walk along the dry, concrete expanse of the Los Angeles River, reminiscing through memories about their recently deceased mother. One of them remembers her dream about a river.
Set in the bustling neighborhood of Koreatown, Los Angeles, Essential Work is a meditative piece chronicling a gig economy worker’s last day to make rent and avoid eviction.
After moving to LA, an ambitious film-maker encounters considerable success with her career. However, these successes force her to grapple with the memories of his passing through the powerful, cleansing forces of water.
Winner of the Audience Award 2021. In Los Angeles Chinatown, a lonely teenager tries to help her parents keep their seafood restaurant afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between chopping green beans and packing takeout orders, she attempts to hang on to a semblance of normalcy by studying for her driver’s permit and prepping for her high school Zoom theater debut in “The Tempest”.
Silvia Lara is the recipient of the inaugural Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award. Her film comprises poetic vignettes, capturing the essence of life in her home town of Whittier, California through the perspective of its residents