Eight years after it began, the Kash Hovey & Friends Film Block returns to downtown Los Angeles on November 7, bringing soap opera veterans and scrappy independent filmmakers under one roof at Regal LA Live & 4DX. The showcase kicks off at 9 p.m. at the theater's address on 1000 West Olympic Boulevard, folding in short films, a world premiere and a companion screening of a romantic comedy shot entirely outside the studio system.
According to a press release distributed through The Des Moines Register, this year's Film Fest LA installment is hosted by actor and producer Kash Hovey alongside producer Michelle Beaulieu, who has worked in entertainment since her early years with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Beach Boys: A Celebration Concert, plus collaborations with Elvis Presley Enterprises. Hovey and Beaulieu previously teamed up on Jack and Cocaine and on Hovey's own interview series, On Air with Ka$h, per the same release.
The lineup draws several familiar faces from daytime and primetime television. General Hospital's Carolyn Hennesy, The Young and the Restless actress Kate Linder, Pacific Blue star Darlene Vogel and Emmy-winning producer and The Bay actress Kira Reed are all set to appear, according to the release detailed by EIN Presswire. The release also lists special guests Elizabeth Guest and Nicholas Guest among those attending the block.
A Premiere, a Companion Screening and an AI Love Story
Headlining the night is a world premiere of Rad Hair Robbie, a short film from filmmaker Jake Purfield, the release notes. Film Fest LA is also pairing the block with a companion screening of A Unified Theory of Love, a romantic comedy written, directed and produced by, and starring, Valerie Brandy, which the release describes as following a cynical neural engineer whose own experimental AI matchmaking technology ends up testing her romantic future. The film also stars Richard Karn, Kash Hovey and Eric Isenhower, and according to a listing on FilmFreeway, it was completed entirely outside the traditional studio system.
The short-film slate stretches well beyond that single premiere. Shqipe/Eagle, written and directed by Vilma Zenelaj and starring Greta Zenelaj, is based on historical events in Albania, the press release states. Della, from filmmaker Alessandro Gentile, and Jamie Is Alone, directed by Allison Reyes and featuring Brett Kelly, round out the dramatic shorts, while Mercy comes from filmmaker Jim Towns.
Documentary Hauntings and Handmade Corsets
On the nonfiction side, What the House Still Holds: A Conjuring Documentary was directed by Jeff Ezell with cinematography by Gary Robinson and features Patti Negri, per the release. A different kind of transformation plays out in Will It Corset?, presented by fashion designer Jax Malcolm and director Gary Robinson, which the release says follows Malcolm turning unconventional materials and everyday objects into one-of-a-kind wearable corsets.
Music gets its own moment in the program too, with video presentations from recording artists Reese Warren, Mason McNulty and Dominique Ilie built into the block. Organizers are also including a sizzle reel celebrating interviews from On Air with Ka$h, the talk show Hovey created and hosts, which the release says has featured Tim Burton, Paula Abdul, Rob Lowe, Mikey Madison, Whitney Cummings, Beverly D'Angelo and Terry Crews over its run.
A Show Still Chasing Its Own Honors
On Air with Ka$h isn't just padding for the sizzle reel. The series won Film Fest LA's Best Variety Talk Series, Podcast or Entertainer award, according to a prior release carried by CBS42, which at the time described the Film Block as being in its seventh year — a tally that has since grown to eight in this year's materials. That same report noted Hovey was named head of PKA Agency's newly launched Voiceover Department, and listed his acting credits as including The Hit, Plastic Daydream, Undateable John, Jack and Cocaine and Rebound.
Los Angeles Production and Festival Context
FilmLA reported 23,480 on-location shoot days in Los Angeles in 2024, down 5.6 percent from the prior year. Its report on July through September 2025 recorded a 13.2 percent year-over-year decline in on-location production in Greater Los Angeles. These regional figures, reported by FilmLA and in its third-quarter report, do not count the films in this showcase or measure independent production specifically.
The Los Angeles festival landscape has also changed: Film Independent says it discontinued its LA Film Festival in October 2018 and restructured some elements into standalone events. That was a different festival, run by a different organization, from the Kash Hovey & Friends Film Block, according to Film Independent.
Hovey has reflected publicly on how the event came together. “The magic of Kash Hovey & Friends has always been the people and the stories they bring to the screen,” he said, according to the release.
Getting Into the Screening
For anyone planning to attend, ticketing details are handled through FilmFreeway, which notes that VIP day passes provide access to all screenings and that all tickets will be honored as day passes. The platform also specifies that every ticket holder must present a printed ticket or a downloaded FilmFreeway copy at the check-in security area before entering the lobby elevator at Regal LA Live & 4DX.
