FROM CHARLIE CHAN TO PANCHO VILLA:
MOVIE STEREOTYPES AND AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE
Presented by AFI PROJECT: 20/20
Burt Lancaster’s Indian in APACHE, happy plantation workers in SONG OF THE SOUTH, Paul Muni as Benito Juarez in JUAREZ, and Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa in VIVA VILLA are popular examples of ethnic characterizations gone awry. Do contemporary films like POCAHANTAS, THE COLOR PURPLE and THE GODFATHER help to eliminate stereotypes or continue to promote them? Can only ethnic filmmakers successfully depict their own culture?
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FILMANTHROPY - THE POWER OF FILM TO INSPIRE AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY
Presented by Philanthropy Project
America’s 68,000 foundations have had a profound effect on our nation’s quality of life over the past century. More than just charity, philanthropy passionately and intelligently commits time, talent or treasures towards worthy causes over a long period of time. Lately, film artists and power brokers have joined forces to educate us about global warming, health care and hunger. But can film move beyond education and enlightenment? Can-and should-film help to promulgate a culture of generosity, instill ingenuity in human beings and ultimately bring about global change?

A Reception hosted by the Philanthropy Project, including a special announcement, will follow from 4:00pm – 6:00pm More...

WHOSE REALITY IS THIS?
Presented by SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival

“You shouldn’t mix up fact and truth."  -  Werner Herzog

The best documentaries tell real-life stories with artistry, intelligence, and a unique vision. But how does a documentary filmmaker maintain the trust of his subject while capturing reality? Do filmmakers have a responsibility in a journalistic tradition to present a balanced perspective and clearly indicate all points of view? Is the filmmaker’s primary responsibility to the subject, to capturing an objective truth, or to her own artistic vision? More...

FROM AUTEURS TO COLLABORATEURS:
IS GREAT FILMMAKING THE PATH OF ONE OR MANY?
Presented by AFI PROJECT: 20/20
2007 has seen the passing of some of world cinema’s legendary auteurs-Antonioni, Bergman, Sembene, Yang-filmmakers whose styles were so distinctive that they were perceived as the film’s sole creators. While any of these geniuses would have surely been quick with kudos for their actors, cinematographers or production designers, has this auteur tradition been challenged by a new collaborative approach to cinematic storytelling? Often, writers, producers and editors do much of the heavy lifting when breathing life into a story and giving a film its unique voice, so why is it that the director is always presumed to be the originator of a cinematic vision? More...

JAMES ELLROY AND BRUCE WAGNER:
The esteemed authors read from their writings on film. More...

Teargas & Plateglass' experimental soundtrack and video re-imagines the horror of war and genocide in kaleidoscopic vision. More...

Edward Yang attempts in THE TERRORIZER a virtual dismantling of montage theory. One of Yang's most closely scrutinized films, it ends with a shot of a novelist vomiting — which would seem to be a none-too-subtle commentary on the process of creating fiction, Yang's included. But it's also just one more enigmatic element in what is Yang's most provocative and structurally challenging work. More...

Directed by Wayne Wang (SMOKE, CHAN IS MISSING), A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS is the story of Mr. Shi, a widower and a retiree from Beijing. When Yilan, his only daughter who lives in the U.S., has a divorce, he decides to visit her in the small town where she works as a librarian. His intention is to stay with her until he helps her recover from the trauma. More...

This is how Tom starts his day, he is going to school today. More...

In 1956, Hungary, a nation of 10 million, throws off the tyranny of the Soviet Union, a nation of 200 million, for 13 days.  Legendary cinematographer and AFI FEST 2007 Milestone Honoree Laszlo Kovacs and Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond shot some of the film’s footage while they were students.   Helmed by Endre Hules and Klaudia Kovacs (no relation) the film captures the hypocrisy and heroism of the historic events.  Interviewees include Henry Kissinger, Otto von Habsburg. More...

A whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art with cascading energetic animation. Over the same stirring Georgy Sviridov music that opened the Soviet regime's nightly newscast in the 1970s, Ushev highlights line, form and dynamic rhythms in place of volume and static mass. Drawing on the tower's design, the movement in the film draws us continually upwards towards a utopian summit. But in the end, all of the grandiose, futuristic forms that point to a glowing future wind up crashing under the weight of ideology. More...

Featuring startling and innovative visual design, starring Ellen Page as a teenager who wanders the streets of Winnipeg searching for her lost younger brother. THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS is a stirring 21st-century Catcher in the Rye, told in dazzling pop art fashion. Bruce McDonald pushes the boundaries of cinematic language by employing multiframe editing to startling effect. More...

In his struggle to survive beyond the walls of slum city, a man soon finds that he is no more humane than his animal friend. More...

Universally hailed as one of the Grand Dames of French cinema, Deneuve’s career in film has spanned forty years since her debut in 1957 in Jacques Demy’s THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. Since then, this elegant and radiant beauty has graced the screen in many unforgettable performances, including Roman Polanski’s REPULSION (1965), Luis Bunuel’s BELLE DE JOUR (1967), Francois Truffaut’s MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (1969) and THE LAST METRO (1980), an Academy Award“ nominated turn in INDOCHINE (1992), Regis Wargnier’s EAST WEST (1999), and Lars Von Trier’s DANCER IN THE DARK (2000).

A TRIBUTE TO CATHERINE DENEUVE will provide a rare glimpse into the world of this iconic and stylish performer through an on-stage conversation featuring a montage and clips, and will precede the acclaimed PERSEPOLIS, which features Deneuve’s voice-over work

Presented by the Skirball Cultural Center More...

Linney's film career began in the early 1990s with roles in LORENZO'S OIL (1992) and DAVE (1993). Following notable performances in PRIMAL FEAR (1996), ABSOLUTE POWER (1997) and THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998), Linney truly came into her own with her Academy Award“ nominated performance in YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000). Linney’s work has continued to shine in MYSTIC RIVER (2003), her second Academy Award“ nominated performance in KINSEY (2004), and THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005).

A TRIBUTE TO LAURA LINNEY, featuring film clips, anecdotes and an informal on-stage conversation with this singular performer, will precede the presentation of her latest film THE SAVAGES.

Presented by LA Weekly More...