After 25 years, the Valley Film Festival is saying goodbye

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- After 25 years, the beloved Valley Film Festival is saying goodbye.

This year will be the last year for the independent film festival, which has been a long-running tradition in the San Fernando Valley.

Valley Film Festival Founder and Director Tracey Adlai said it's been a joy to be a part of something so special for so many years but admits it's time to move on.

"I think I will always sort of be involved in a festival. I just don't think I need to run a film festival myself right now, in L.A., anyway," she said.

When Adlai started the VFF, there were only a handful of film festivals in Los Angeles and none in the San Fernando Valley.

That's changed over the years, but before she moves on to helping filmmakers on a smaller scale, there's one last hurrah!

"We choose our features first and how they complement each other and how they complement the San Fernando Valley because that's always my priority is my love for the 818," said Adlai, "Then we factor in short films to sort of match the theme and vibe of the feature films."

Speaking of "818 vibes," the festival features a film called "Clown-N-Out (in Valley Village)."

That movie and the other cinematic offerings will be screened over five days in North Hollywood at the Laemmle NoHo7.

The festival kicked off with "Dorothea," a dramatic thriller made in the Valley and inspired by the true story of Dorothea Puente, a serial killer from California dubbed the "Death House Landlady."

The Valley Film Festival runs through Sunday, September 21. The closing night film is "The Prospect," which was also made in the 818.

For more information, visit the Valley Film Festival's website.