Like many other people in Los Angeles, Jon Bangle and Andrew Pack are two hospitality employees who have an interest in the film industry. While working in Messhall Kitchen, a restaurant in Los Feliz, they decided to host a film festival, with shorts created by both the staff and the customers and filmed in the restaurant. Here’s more about the event:
The Idea
Bangle, server, writer and filmmaker and Pack, actor and bartender, are the ones who came up with the idea. They thought that a festival would be a great way of linking both their passions. Once the owner of the restaurant, Anthony Ko, approved the project, it was only a matter of how and when.
They created eight short films that were produced in eight weeks, by staff members and regular customers. Some of the Los Feliz residents involved in the production work in late-night TV or sitcoms like “New Girl” with Hollywood star Zooey Deschanel.
“The aim of the festival is to build a stronger bond between not only the employees but also some of our regulars, and it does build a family-like community”, Pack claims. “Ecstatic” is maybe the best word that even comes close to describing the feeling. This doesn’t happen without the community Messhall has built. There were a lot of yeses that we needed to make this happen, and they just kept on coming”, Bangle adds.
When And Where
The MessHall Film Festival had a premiere event on Nov. 9, with several public showings planned later on, with the 28 and 30th of November as the closest dates. Located at 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard, a special menu is available during the showings, with special drinks and food.
