lAFI is considered one of the top festivals in the US for movie buffs to see works from new directors as well as acclaimed international ones. This year's New Directions section screens 10 films from hot new American directors, seven of which are world premieres. Also on the lineup is Kenneth Lonergan You Can Count on Me, which tied for the top prize at Sundance along with Karyn Kusama's Girlfight. The festival kicks off with Joel and Ethan Coen's O Brother Where Art Thou and closes with Quills from Philip Kaufman, who will be feted with a separate retrospective.

International Competition

Before the Storm by Reza Parsa (US Premiere)
The Big Animal by Jerzy Stuhr (US Premiere)
Blackboards by Samira Makhmalbaf (US Premiere)
Gangster No. 1by Paul McGuigan
His Wife's Diary by Alexey Uchitel (US Premiere)
Odd Little Man by Stein Leikanger (US Premiere)
Spring of Life by Milan Cieslar (US Premiere)
Bread and Tulips by Silvio Soldini (US Premiere)
The Widow of St. Pierre by Patrice Leconte (US Premiere)

New Directions of American Independents

Alcatraz Avenue by Tom Edgar (World Premiere)
Chump Change by Stephen D. Burrows (World Premiere)
Everything for a Reason by Vlas Parlapanides (World Premiere)
Maze by Rob Morrow (World Premiere)
The Opponent by Eugene Jarecki (World Premiere)
Postmark Paradise by Thompson E. Clay (World Premiere)
Something Sweet by Olivia Pi-Sunyer (World Premiere)
Songcatcher by Maggie Greenwald
Very Mean Men by Tony Vitale
You Can Count on Me by Kenneth Lonergan

Documentary Series
The Alcohol Years by Carol Morley (US Premiere)
Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment by Peter Wintonick
Gaea Girls by Kim Longinotto, Jano Williams
Havanna Mi Amor by Uli Gaulke
Homeland by Jilann Spitzmiller, Hank Rogerson
Jazz Episode 4: The True Welcome by Ken Burns
Loyalties by Lesley Ann Patten
Me & Isaac Newton by Michael Apted
Naked States by Arlene Donnelly
Street Love by Asa Faringer (US Premiere)

European Film Showcase

Brighter Than The Moon by Virgil Widrich (US Premiere)
Flick by Fintan Connolly (US Premiere)
Harry He's Here to Help by Dominik Moll
House by Julian Kemp (US Premiere)
The Hundred Steps by Marco Tullio Giordana (US Premiere)
Innocence by Paul Cox
Krampack by Cesc Gay
Peppermint by Costas Kapakas
Sun Alley by Leander Haussmann
Total Loss by Dana Nechushtan (US Premiere)
Tsatsiki Mum and the Policeman by Ella Lemhagen (US Premiere)

Latin Cinema Series

Breath of Life by Luis Ospina
Love's a Bitch (aka Amores Perros) by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
A Paradise Under the Stars by Gerardo Chijona
Bread and Roses by Ken Loach
Terminal Rite by Oscar Urrutia Lazo (US Premiere)
Waiting for the Messiah by Daniel Burman (US Premiere)

Asian Cinema Series

6ixty9 by Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Chunhyang by Im Kwon Taek
Little Cheung by Fruit Chan
The Mission by Johnnie To Kei-Fung
Reef Hunters by Marilou Diaz-Abaya
Suzhou River by Lou Ye
Taboo(Gohatto) by Nagisa Oshima
A Time for Drunken Horses by Bahman Ghobadi

AFI