The American Film Institute’s Film Festival began on November 1-11. During the 11 days, filmgoers and film professionals gained a healthy dose of independent films from many countries. Most of the filmmakers, writers, and actors attended the screenings for question and answer sessions after their films screened at Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood.

   The Belgian-financed Sam Garbanski-directed film, Irina Palm, with star Marianne Faithfull, is about a middle-aged widower who tries to help her ailing grandson by working as a “hostess” at a debauched establishment. The film had its share of ironic and detached moments, and the sexiness of the film is tempered by its vulnerable characters.

   It’s Better if Gabriela Doesn’t Die is a story of a shady policeman obsessed by Spanish telenovelas, and his attempts at blackmail to the TV show’s writer. The film’s satiric tone is omnipresent throughout, as the 'real world' of the film transforms into fantasy with various plot-twists. The film is both a knowledgeable satire as well as a black comedy that touches on human emotion and human frailty.

  Alex Cox’s, Searchers 2.0, is a Roger Corman financed film. The story follows Mel and Fred who are two actors who spent their careers in American Westerns. When they discover that legendary screenwriter, Fritz Frobisher, is appearing at a special screening in Utah’s Monument Valley, they decide to take a road trip from L.A. to the legendary site of John Ford’s westerns. Their purpose is to seek revenge on the screenwriter.

   Andrea Kreuzhage’s, 1000 Journals, is about an experiment involving a San Francisco artist who attempts to discover when he will receive all of his blank journals he had sent out to random artists throughout the world. Each journal returned, hand-stamped and numbered, bears the tale of its journey. The director located many of the journal-recipients and her aim is to locate all 1,000 of them.

   John Sayles’s, Honeydripper, features a tremendous cast including Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, and Mary Steenburgen. It’s about rural Alabama during the Jim Crow laws. Glover plays Tyrone, a juke-joint owner who is desperate to keep his business alive. He hatches a last ditch plan to recruit an out-of towner to play rock and roll. The film plays with the audience’s fore-knowledge of Jim Crow south with vibrant musical numbers and gorgeous cinematography.

   Henry Bean’s, Noise, starring Tim Robbins depicts a lawyer who can’t stand the fact that Manhattan is a place where it’s too noisy. He becomes a vandal. The film is a thoughtful comedy that hints at political satire, yet also stays content within the film to keep its audience entertained and amused.

   AFI Film Festival began with a lavish Gala Screening and a red carpet for Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs. Its primary stars, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, and Redford, were in attendance. The festival ends with a massive premiere of Love in the Time of Cholera on November 11.

   AFI is an independent non profit organized by National Endowment for the Arts and was established in 1967.

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