The Los Angeles Film Festival announced the world premiere of Richard Linklater’s Bernie as the opening night film for the 2011 Festival.

Richard Linklater’s Bernie will kick off the Festival on June 16 at Regal Cinemas Stadium 14 L.A. LIVE.  The film is written by Skip Hollandsworth and Linklater, stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey.  Black plays Bernie, the beloved mortician in a small Texas town.  MacLaine is the town’s richest, meanest widow, and even she adores him.  You can’t get anybody to say a bad word about Bernie—even after he commits a very nasty crime.

Returning to downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. LIVE, the Festival will run from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 26.