Didn’t make it to Sundance? Next Fest brings a slice of it to L.A.

Continuing what has fast become an annual highlight of the local summer movie season, Sundance Next Fest on Wednesday announced its upcoming program. Culled from films that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, the main program will run Aug. 7-9, with the announcement declaring the event “a celebration of the renegade spirit of independent artists.”

The event is in its third year and will be held for the second time at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. Taking advantage of the venue’s ability to both screen movies and host live performances, some movies are paired with a specially curated musical artist.

A screening of Noah Baumbach’s “Mistress America,” starring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke, will be followed by a performance by Sky Ferreira. Rick Alverson’s “Entertainment,” starring Gregg Turkington as a struggling comedian, will pair with a performance by Sharon Van Etten. The post-apocalyptic adventure film “Turbo Kid,” directed by Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell, will be followed by a performance by Neon Indian and Toro Y Moi.

As with last year, some films will be followed by an extended conversation with a guest who was an inspiration to the filmmakers. Last year, Werner Herzog, Bret Easton Ellis and Nicolas Winding Refn appeared. This year’s guests are still to be announced.

“Finders Keepers,” a documentary on a legal battle over a severed leg, will be followed by a conversation with directors Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel. “Cronies,” a story of childhood friendships strained while advancing to adulthood, will be followed by a conversation with Michael J. Larnell.

The weekend before the program at the Theatre at Ace, there will be an Aug. 2 outdoor screening of “Cop Car” with Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Starring Kevin Bacon as a small-town sheriff, “Cop Car” recently made news when director Jon Watts was announced as director of the upcoming installment of the “Spider-Man” franchise.

John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival said in a statement, “Los Angeles is home to a huge audience of people on the cutting edge of what’s new and next in film and music. Our Sundance Next Fest was born as an experiment to showcase this and offer L.A. audiences a slice of Sundance in the summer.”

The festival celebrated the program announcement with a planned screening Wednesday night of Sean Baker’s “Tangerine” at the Ace. Tickets for Next Fest are on sale Wednesday for Sundance Institute members and go on sale to the general public on Thursday. For more information, go to sundance.org/next

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