Thur. March 12th 2026
Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

HRIFF Box Office: 2:30pm - Midnight

I Took My Avocado to Aspen, Colorado (USA)

I-Took-My-Avocado
3:00 PM

Director: Mark Roberts

A-12 SHORTS PROGRAM

A “mobbed up” gopher treats his avocado associate to a lavish weekend of private planes, fancy hotels and expensive gifts, lulling the unsuspecting fruit into a blissful stupor, before tossing him off a high-rise balcony.

This animated evolution of a film-within-a-film is a stop-motion journey filled with danger, intrigue and rhymes.

California Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Grandma's Face (USA)

Grandmas-Face
3:00 PM

Director: Taylor Wells

A-12 SHORTS PROGRAM

A little girl questions her reality when her new, but not necessarily improved, grandmother returns from the hospital after a "procedure."

Is this frightening looking lady with the stretched face and new eyes really her grandma, or a crazy feline imposter?

World Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Background (USA)

Background
3:00 PM

Director: Julian DeGuzman

A-12 SHORTS PROGRAM

An aspiring professional dancer auditions for a music video in Los Angeles, revealing the pressures and sacrifices demanded by the dance industry.

World Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Only You (USA)

Only-You
4:00 PM

Director: Lauren "LaLa" Robbins

PROGRAM B-12

Greg never thought much about the woman he went on a single date with—until he comes home to find Lily in his house, dressed to impress, dinner prepared, and a chilling belief that they are meant to be together.

What starts as an uncomfortable surprise quickly turns into a waking nightmare when he realizes Lily has planned everything down to the last detail, ensuring he won’t leave until he accepts her love. Bound and drugged, Greg is forced to play along in Lily’s delusional fantasy of domestic bliss while searching for a way to escape.

World Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Mantis (USA)

Mantis
4:00 PM

Director: George Ayvazyan

PROGRAM B-12

Haunted by a painful past that reshaped how she sees the world, Carmen lives by a strict moral code she crafted from survival, not idealism. She moves through the city with quiet intensity, seeing dangers others overlook and injustices most people choose to ignore.

Where the system has failed, she believes she must act, not out of vengeance alone, but from a fierce, protective instinct toward those who are vulnerable like she once was. Each decision weighs heavily on her, blurring the line between justice and obsession as she convinces herself the ends justify the means.

To some, she would be a criminal to others, an unseen guardian operating in the shadows.

Hollywood Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

Mature Audiences

Going for Home (USA)

going-for-home
4:30 PM

Director: Eric Simonson

After the devastating Eaton Canyon fire leaves Altadena families displaced, a Little League team becomes an unlikely anchor—carrying a fractured community through loss, recovery, and an improbable season.

Hollywood Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Namas Dei: The Tucker J. James Story (USA)

Namas-Dei
6:00 PM

Director: Yannis Zafeiriou

In this satirical look at the Hollywood industry, a clueless wannabe movie star and walking Instagram post, Tucker J. James chronicles on his vlog, his journey to fame and excess. #blessed

Alongside his best bro, Brendan, manager, Erin, and spiritual guru, Gardenia Windstorm, Tucker battles insecurity and a crippling need for validation with a heavy dose of toxic positivity. As Tucker juggles how much of himself to share with the world, he reaches the height of success, only to become his own worst enemy, and go viral for all the wrong reasons.

Best LGBT Film

Hollywood Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

The Weight of Silence (USA)

The-Weight-of-Silence
8:00 PM

Director: Misan Akiya

FILM PROGRAM C-12

Matthew, a burned-out psych-ward counselor, carries everyone’s pain but refuses to face his own. After a chaotic night helping Ruby through another emotional spiral, he returns to a shift where the seams finally split.

Kevin lashes out to mask a deeper wound, and Sophie breaks under the weight of her depression, forcing Matthew into a raw moment of connection he’s not prepared for. By morning, Matthew confronts a devastating loss he couldn’t prevent, and the silence he’s avoided becomes impossible to outrun.

North American Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

Mature Audiences

Pursue (USA)

Pursue
8:00 PM

Director: Ari Harmon

FILM PROGRAM C-12

In the throes of grief, a young, Jewish woman grapples with ending her life or going after the alt-right extremist who killed her grandparents. Pursue is Ari Harmon’s directorial debut and a proof-of-concept short adapted from a larger feature screenplay inspired by their own family’s history. Harmon’s work fearlessly explores themes of loss and moral ambiguity, and reflects a deep commitment to intimate, socially-rooted storytelling.

World Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Dull Boy (USA)

dull-boy
8:00 PM

Director: Armon Esfandiari

FILM PROGRAM C-12

A bromantic dramaedy about Benny & Jayden, two former best friends who couldn't be any more different now.

Benny, a stuck up tech bro in a shallow relationship, just got an impressive corporate tech job in the Bay Area at the ripe age of 25, while Jayden, a functioning stoner that can't hold a job or relationship longer than a month, instead pours his heart & soul into writing his poems about modern alienation.

An inevitable altercation leads the two of them to confront the aching gap in their friendship & the possibility that the bond that these two once shared is now irrelevant.

Festival Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Eat Prey... Love (USA)

Eat-Prey-Love-Poster
8:00 PM

Director: Ben Kuker

FILM PROGRAM C-12

A cannibal's dark secret is revealed as his wife arrives early from her business trip. As he is dealing with the fallout of his marriage his victim seizes the opportunity to try and escape.

Hollywood Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

Mature Audiences

Galvamander (USA)

Galvamander
9:00 PM

Director: Brandon Monty Williams

PROGRAM D-12

On the day of the 1st anniversary of his mother’s death, Matthew Norman is tasked to make a cake in honor of her.

He wants to grieve his loss and openly express his sadness, but the monster within him is keeping him from feeling it. So he faces an internal battle with his demon to accept his grief, and emotions that he had been repressing.

Hollywood Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

Brown Hare (USA)

BROWNHARE
9:00 PM

Director: MK McGehee

PROGRAM D-12

A pregnant young woman escapes from a dangerous cult with the help of her best friend (and the love of her life), but no matter how many miles she puts on her ’68 Mustang, through rolling farmlands and dry deserts, she’ll discover this group’s powerful allies won’t stop until they reclaim what they feel is rightfully theirs – her baby and her life.

Festival Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

General Audiences

The Trade (USA)

The-Trade
9:00 PM

Director: Stas Svetlichny

PROGRAM D-12

Feared across continents, Lia is a ruthless and untouchable human trafficker who answers to no one—until now.

She gets summoned by an anonymous, high-profile client. Lia soon realizes she's not in control. The client has orchestrated a sinister game—one that blurs the line between predator and prey.

Lia must confront a force more dangerous than herself… or become the hunted in a world she thought she ruled.

Festival Premiere

March 12, Regal Cinemas / LA LIVE

Mature Audiences