Bernardo Rondeau at LACMA

I’m still trying to post some reviews from AFI FEST, but my baby has been in the hospital for “minor” surgery this week and everything else has been put to the side.

In the meantime, I was able to attend a few Festival screenings with the LACMA film program coordinator Bernardo Rondeau, which became a highlights of my Festival experience, and he has just posted a “Best of AFI” write-up at the LACMA blog, Unframed.

Los Angeles is famous for its diversity and dispersal, and while its film culture doesn’t benefit from the kind of concentrated public transit and integrated community of, say, New York City, it is home to many dedicated cinephiles who are less interested in the Hollywood machine than the latest art house screenings that flitter through our network of indie theaters. Bernardo and LACMA’s film program director Ian Birnie consistently provide one the city’s oases of film culture.

AFI FEST repeats


The Class

In case you missed some of the higher profile films at AFI FEST this week, here’s a list of some of the films that will have upcoming screenings or distribution in Los Angeles:

• Slumdog Millionaire (LACMA preview on 11/11; Landmark release on 11/12; Laemmle release on 12/21)
• Gomorrah (American Cinematheque screening on 11/11; Laemmle release on 12/19)
• A Christmas Tale (Landmark release on 11/14; Laemmle release on 11/14)
• Lion’s Den (American Cinematheque screening on 11/22)
• Hunger (Nuart release on 12/5)
• Wendy and Lucy (Laemmle release on 12/12)
• The Wrestler (LACMA preview on 12/12; UCLA preview on 12/14; Laemmle release on 12/26)
• Waltz with Bashir (Laemmle release on 12/25)
• The Class (Laemmle release on 12/25)
• Tokyo Sonata (release 3/13/09)

Stay tuned for some summary reviews from this year’s Festival…