Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Coaxial, Los Angeles
For August, Shadow Kitchen presents a special 10th anniversary screening of L FOR LEISURE (2015), the cult 16mm comedy by Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn. Set across the 1992–93 school year, L4L follows a group of over-intellectual grad students as they drift through beachside getaways, pickup sports, and dreamlike musings on metaphysics and lifestyle. Featuring a sundrenched synth score by John Atkinson, the cast includes non-professional actors such as filmmakers Mati Diop (DAHOMEY) and Gabriel Abrantes & Benjamin Crotty (VISIONARY IRAQ). Part Hal Hartley, part Éric Rohmer, L FOR LEISURE is a wry, atmospheric portrait of 90s-era innocence, slackerdom, and the contradictions of intellectual life. Shot over four years during real holidays, its low-budget, episodic style embraces DIY filmmaking at its most inventive. Join us August 21st for this screening, followed by a special live performance and Q&A with co-director Lev Kalman [@lforleisure]. Don’t miss this chance to revisit (or discover) L FOR LEISURE! L FOR LEISURE 2014. 74 min. Color 16mm. Film by Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn Special Affects Films Thursday, 8/21/25 7:30PM Doors, 8:00PM Show Coaxial Arts 1815 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90015 $10 Donation (No one turned away for lack of funds!) SOCIALS: @lforleisure on instagram @shadowkitchen_la on instagram BIO: Lev Kalman has been making films together with his collaborator Whitney Horn since 2003. Their distinctive style blends lo-fi 16mm photography, dreamy electronic music, philosophical musings and steady bursts of absurdist humor. Their feature films "Blondes in the Jungle," "L for Leisure" and "Two Plains & a Fancy" and "Dream Team" have played at festivals including International Film Festival Rotterdam, BFI London Film Festival and the LA Festival of Movies. "L for Leisure" was named among “The 100 Best Films of the Decade” in Little White Lies magazine. Since 2012, Kalman has been based in San Diego. He is on staff at the UC San Diego Media Teaching Lab, and is a programmer at the Otherwise Film Festival and the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Lev is currently planning the release of a new short film, "Twin Snakes." This summer, he is beginning the Low Residency MFA program at School of the Art Institute of Chicago. [https://www.specialaffectsfilms.com/](https://www.specialaffectsfilms.com/)