Buy 4/15 7:00pm film / Class Tickets

     Highlighting the opening of LADF 2023 is the showing  of the documentary film  "BELLA"

The film, Bella, is about the life, influence and impact of California-based artist and activist Bella Lewitzky. Described as"...one of the greatest American dancers of our age," (Walter Terry). Bella Lewitzky was a talented, strong, out-spoken individual, who dedicated her creative life to protect the rights of every American. designated one of America's irreplaceable dance treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition and awarded the national medal of arts, Lewitzky’s life demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity can change the lives of her fellow citizens. 

Producer/Director Bridget Murnane has exhibited her work in theatrical, broadcast and cable platforms. She received an MA in Dance and an MFA in Television and Film Production from UCLA, and is a former Professor of Television, Film and Media Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. Bridget produced the feature Odile and Yvette at the Edge of the World, premiering at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and receiving theatrical distribution. PBS and numerous cable channels have broadcast her films. She was the Associate Producer on Mia a Dancer's Journey which won a 2015 LA Emmy for Arts, Culture and History, as well as Cindy, Telly and Golden Mike 

awards. She was awarded a Pew Fellowship and selected to be a Faculty Fellow by the Television Academy. In 2019 Bridget received a grant from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to design and implement the course “Women Making Films” in collaboration with Canon Burbank. Bridget's recent film, "Bella," has been exhibited in over 30 international festivals and was awarded Best Documentary Feature at Dance Camera West, Festival Internacional Cine de América, Film Fest International, Montgomery International Film Festival and the Worldwide Women's Film Festival.     

Walter Kennedy, Associate Producer, was a principal dancer with the Lewitzky Dance Company for nearly twenty years. He was trained by Bella Lewitzky to be one of her master teachers of technique, improvisation, and composition, and was appointed the company's rehearsal director from 1990 - 1997.