The ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles have prompted the Mammoth Film Festival to postpone the 2025 event originally scheduled for February 20-24 in Mammoth Lakes, California.
“The devastating and unexpected wildfire tragedies in the state have not only impacted the region’s environment and infrastructure but have also affected the travel and attendance capabilities of potential festival-goers,” the festival, which launched in 2018, said in a statement obtained by Reuters. Hollywood Reporter.
The Mammoth Festival in California’s Sierra Madre Mountains is accustomed to dealing with blizzards and high winds, but historic devastation from wildfires in Los Angeles County has heightened the event’s logistical challenges.
Raging fires in Southern California have killed at least 11 people, with more than 12,000 structures burning since the fires began on Tuesday. The fire burned about 56 square miles.
Festival organizers’ concerns in securing independent filmmakers, actors, directors, writers and producers and their work for the 2025 event also include film buyers from Los Angeles, including those representing major broadcast companies, who would likely be unable to attend the event to see independent films and obtain titles from the films in the lineup. Official.
A new date for the 2025 event has not been announced. Festival organizers also said that “expenses associated with hosting events at Mammoth Lakes have increased significantly,” which was another factor in the decision to postpone this year’s festival dates.
“We pride ourselves on providing an unparalleled platform for independent filmmakers and creatives, and this postponement will allow us to maintain the high standards that have defined the Mammoth Film Festival experience,” festival co-founders Tanner Byrd and Tomek Mansouri added in their own statement.
Many Hollywood events, including awards season ceremonies and premieres, were canceled or postponed due to the fires, most notably the Critics’ Choice Awards announcement and the Oscar nominations announcement, both of which were postponed.
Several entertainment industry figures revealed that they lost their homes in the fires, including Anthony Hopkins, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson, Jeff Bridges, Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Paris Hilton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Diane Warren and Cary Elwes.
