Hurray for Hollywood -- and the Rest of the World...

Although the American Film Institute's Film Festival takes place in the heart of Hollywood (screening in theatres across town), the program features cinema from around the world, not just Tinseltown. This year's AFI festival screens documentary, shorts, and full-length features, beginning with O Brother, Where Art Thou from Joel and Ethan Coen, the opening film on October 19.

The festival is divided into several sections, including: an International Competition, a New Directions section (sponsored by the Producers Guild of America), a documentary series, a shorts series, plus sidebars from Europe, Asia and Latin America. Among the films competing in the international competition are Blackboards, Bread and Tulips, and The Widow of St. Pierre. The European Film Section will feature the Cannes hit Harry, He's Here to Help, from French filmmaker Dominik Moll, while Amores Perros (aka Love's a Bitch, which won the Edinburgh fest) will headline the Latino Films Section. The Asian Cinema series will feature 6ixty9, which screened at Toronto and Taboo (Gohatto), which screened at Cannes.

Films in Official Competition will be eligible for the following prizes: the Grand Jury Prize (awarded to the Best Feature Film in Official Competition), the European Film Prize (awarded to the Best Feature Film in the European Showcase) the New Directions Prize (a $2,500 cash prize sponsored by the Producers Guild of America), the Best New Director (a $2,500 cash prize, sponsored by the Directors Guild of America), the Best New Writer (the $2,500 cash prize sponsored by the Writers Guild of America), the Best Actor (a $1,250 cash prize sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild) and the Best Actress Award (a $1,250 cash prize sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild). The Discovery Communications, Inc. is sponsoring the Documentary Film Award, while Slingshot/Trakker Technologies + partners is sponsoring the Best Film Editing Award. The festival will also bestow the Virtual Venue Audience Award (a $2,500 cash prize) for Best Short Film, to be determined by online tabulation from the "Virtual Venue." Last but certainly not least, Audience Awards to be decided are: Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short

Last year's Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Piccioni for Not of This World while the best European film was named Mifune from Danish director Soren Kragh-Jacobsen. The Best Feature Film in the New Directions section (worth $2,500 and sponsored by the Producers Guild of America) went to Bobby G. Can't Swim. Kipp Marcus won the best first-time screenwriter prize for Snow Days. The Best Actor was Michael Hayden from Charming Billy and the Best Actress was Ellen Muth from The Young Girl and the Monsoon. Each actor received a $1,250 cash prize sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild.

The American Film Institute was founded by President Johnson in 1965 as part of the National Endowment of the Arts. It was the first governmental non-profit organization dedicated solely to preserving the heritage of film and television. Today, the group boasts an acting conservatory, a series of workshops for directors and screenwriters, and a campus in Washington, DC.

AFI