More than 37,000 people packed the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles this week, making Beyond Fest one of the biggest cinema events in the city’s recent history. The festival runs through October 5 and has quietly established itself as a major fixture in Los Angeles’s film scene. For years, Los Angeles has debated whether it has a signature film festival.
The city is home to the Academy Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and numerous other events, but none of these have achieved the same level of recognition or attendance as festivals in New York or Toronto. That changed with Beyond Fest.