EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE · LA NIGHTLIFE · FILM
LA Punk Film Festival Turns 10 — Late-Night Laemmle Takeover, Puppet Matinée & a 20-Seat Filmmaker Den
Ten years in, the city’s punk film fest is going after dark on the Westside. Red carpet Oct 9. Laemmle Royal Oct 16–17. Stream from anywhere.
The LA Punk Film Festival is turning 10, and it’s throwing the party at the Laemmle Royal in West LA.
Official trailer: 10th Annual LA Punk Film Festival. Punk After Dark, Fri Oct 16, Laemmle Royal.
Video: Beach Dancer Films / LA Punk Film Festival, via YouTube
According to a release the festival put out Oct. 5, the anniversary edition brings live screenings Oct. 16–17, a tiny filmmaker market with fewer than 20 seats a session, and a worldwide streaming run where, per the festival, “your watch is your vote.”
It kicks off Friday, Oct. 9 with a private red carpet at Beach Dancer Films in Encino starting at 6:30 PM. Comedian Adrian Doughty is hosting the red carpet interviews, the festival says. Invite and RSVP only.
Friday night: Punk After Dark
The late show runs 10 PM to 12:30 AM on Oct. 16. The headliner is 50 Years of Punk — Special Punk Crew Presentation, with Faultline, Mom Came & Dick Boxing, Opting In and Apartment 666. The festival promises special guests and a Q&A.
Saturday morning: puppets. Yes, puppets.
The Punk Morning Matinée (10 AM–12:30 PM, Oct. 17) is billed as “puppets, animation and unexpected independent stories.” The tentative lineup includes Puppets in Paradise, Small Unfriendly Rodents, Staircase Stomp, El Depot, Hook, Infestation, It Makes its Way, Hell Is Other People, Night Terrors, Insidious and Peter.
Then everyone heads to Café 50’s for a late Breakfast Club meetup, 1–2 PM.
Saturday afternoon: the Lamb’s Den
The LA Punk Film Market takes over Laemmle Royal’s private Lamb’s Den screening room from 2:30 to 6:30 PM. Screenings, filmmaker Q&A, roundtables, and more red carpet interviews with Doughty. Titles include Neutrals, Lonely Trojan, Punk Rockula: The Curse of UGLOR and Later Las Vegas, plus shorts.
Seating is first-come and the room gets cleared between sessions. Under 20 seats. Do the math.
Watch from anywhere
Full-film rentals open Oct. 9 on the festival’s streaming channel; trailers are free. The festival says audience awards for first, second and third place come from viewing and engagement on the channel, no separate ballot. Viewing for the awards closes Oct. 18.
And the winners? A TV-style awards show, The PUNX, is planned before Halloween. Per the release, winners get a large pin and a personalized engraved dog-collar trophy.
Who’s behind it
The festival is run by founder and producer Sandie West and her company, Beach Dancer Films. On the festival’s site, West says she founded LA Punk after producing or founding 12 other film festivals, to build the kind of platform she wanted for her own films.
“This is the next chapter of what we have been building for ten years,” Sandie West, the festival’s founder and director, said in the festival’s August 2026 press release. “We are bringing together the energy and community of live cinema with the worldwide reach of streaming, while keeping independent filmmakers at the center of the festival.”
How to get in
- Oct 9 red carpet: you need an invite. It’s private, press and industry only, by confirmed RSVP.
- Oct 16 & 17 at Laemmle Royal: tickets, program updates and synopses are at lapunkfilmfestival.com.
- Film Market: fewer than 20 seats per session, first-come, and the room is cleared between sessions. Show up early.
- Can’t make it to the Westside? Rent the films from Oct 9 at the festival’s streaming channel. Per the festival, your rentals count toward the International Audience Awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd). No ballot needed. “Your watch is your vote.”
If we get time with Sandie West, here’s what we’ll ask
No interview has taken place. These are our questions, not answers.
- Ten years ago, what did “punk film” mean to you, and what does it mean now?
- Why Laemmle Royal for the 10th, and why a 10 PM start?
- The Film Market caps seats under 20. Why keep it that small?
- How does “your watch is your vote” work, and how do filmmakers share in rentals?
- Who makes a film festival-worthy “punk” if it has nothing to do with punk music?
Contact & links
Media contact (interviews, press access, images): Sandie West, Founder & Producer, LA Punk Film Festival / Beach Dancer Films · 310-721-2389 · lapunkfilmfestival@gmail.com · lapunkfilmfestival.com
- Official festival trailer (YouTube)
- Behind-the-scenes web series
- 2026 program and synopses
- Streaming channel (rentals from Oct 9)
- Instagram · Facebook · Linktree
- Photo galleries, 2016 to now · IMDb event page · Submit on FilmFreeway
Nightlife Report coverage is based on the festival’s Oct. 5, 2026 press release and its public website. Quotes are taken from the festival’s published materials. Images: LA Punk Film Festival / Beach Dancer Films, supplied for press use. Program subject to change; check lapunkfilmfestival.com.