Recognized as one of the top regional international film festivals in the US, the 9th edition is presenting some 100 films over 11 days from around the world including features, documentaries and shorts. According to Artistic Director Phyllis Kaufman, over 50% of the films in this year’s line-up have no U.S. theatrical distributor. Among the noted screenings are Suzhou River, Grand Prize winner at Rotterdam and Paris; The Charcoal People; Journey to the Sun; The Opportunists, recently screened at Cognac Thriller Festival; Crane World, winner at the Toulouse Latin American festival; Juan, I Forgot I Don’t Remember; Legacy and George Washington, screened at Berlin.
PFWC 2000 opens on April 27th with two screenings of a film shot entirely in the Philadelphia region. Alison Maclean’s intense, edgy, yet hilarious chronicle of a lost man who finds himself among the forgotten, Jesus’ Son, starring Billy Crudup (Best Actor at the Paris festival), Samantha Morton, Holly Hunter and Dennis Hopper. Opening night will also include the presentation of the winners of the annual "Set in Philadelphia" Screenwriting Competition (SIP) and the Irene I. Parisi Awards.
A landmark premier program created in collaboration with The Bit Screen, Streaming Cinema is presenting the Internet festival program featuring 20 interactive creations for the Internet from eight countries. To further garnish the lavish program, the 15th edition of the Festival of Independents with a series of 4 programs featuring 16 works created by regional film and video makers, two outdoor weekend screenings, panel discussions, and a retrospective of 7 films in conjunction with PrideFest America and the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.