Dr. Parnassus previews at AFI, November 14

As part of this year's EU Film Festival, the American Film Institute has a real treat for filmgoers – a surprise premiere of Terry Gilliam's latest flight of fantasy, "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." There will be one showing at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 15. 

The film's gotten a lot of press over the past year for being the last film starring Heath Ledger. The production had just taken a break after filming the real world scenes in London when Ledger returned home to New York for the last time. Director Gilliam, known as much for his oft-troubled productions as for his brilliant imagination and his work with Monty Python, then enlisted Johnny Depp to fill in for Ledger in the fantasy sequences. When Depp's schedule wouldn't allow him the time to complete the project, Gilliam asked Colin Farrell and Jude Law to help out. Tom Waits plays Mr. Nick, the devil, with Christopher Plummer as Dr. Parnassus. The reviews from Europe have been mixed, but I can't imagine this screening won't sell out - get your tickets now or plan to wait until Christmas when it opens nationally.

Dr. Parnassus at AFI

Fall Film Festivals, part 1

At a quick glance, it seems like Washington, D.C. has more and more film festivals every year. But what's really happened is that any time a theater or interest group strings together three films from the same region or about the same subject, they label it a "festival" and market it that way. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. "Festival" has merely joined "exclusive," "sale," and "VIP" on the list of misused and overused English words.

That said, we still have quite a few exciting and worthwhile film festivals to choose from in and around the District. For the next few posts, I'm going to highlight a few festivals that I've attended and recommend.

Right now, AFI in Silver Spring is hosting their annual Latin American Film Festival, which runs until October 12. This year, they're showing 30 films from Latin American countries, Spain, and Portugal, and they're doing something new – they're taking a few films on the road to Baltimore, Frederick, and Easton. Pretty cool idea. A lot of these films have won awards and are definitely worth your time, so check out the program guide online to find something that suits your interests.

AFI offers festival passes and combo discounts if you plan to see 6 or more films. And every Thursday and Friday evening during the festival, they're having a Happy Hour with complimentary snacks courtesy of local restaurants, Latin American drink specials, and music from 5:30 to 7:00.

30 films! Now that's a festival.

http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/2009/v6i4/latin09.aspx

Silverdocs at AFI

By now, anyone with a newspaper in this city (apparently a disappearing demographic) knows that the annual Silverdoc Festival is happening right now at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring. So why mention it? Because it's one of the film festivals in town that actually gets and deserves international attention. With over 100 films from 60 countries, this film festival is huge. Screenings start around 11:00 a.m. each day and run until midnight so this is perfect for film nuts, people on vacation, or anyone taking a break from job-hunting.

I'm glad to see that documentaries are finally getting the publicity they deserve. Whether that's thanks to Michael Moore's films, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," or a greater desire for an honest look at the world around us, doesn't really matter. More and more people are seeing documentaries and more of them are playing in our theaters.

Last night I saw a wonderful film called "Old Partner" at Silverdocs. This Korean film looked at the relationship between an elderly farmer, his wife, and the ox the family has used for the past 40 years to work the family farm. I know . . . on the surface this sounds corny and I was braced for a little schmaltz. But I was surprised - the film gave us a glimpse into the disappearing way of life of farmers who use work animals to support their families. As they say in the film, thanks to the ox, the farmer was able to raise his nine children and put them through college. The film also movingly showed how the aging and aching farmer (age 79), his complaining wife (age 76), and the dying ox continued to work each and every day together, as always. Just watching the farmer and his wife crawling, planting, and harvesting in the rice fields also reminded me how hard some people in this world work. Maybe that is a bit corny, but it's something I'll think about as I get up and groan after a hard day at the keyboard.

Silverdocs runs through next Monday, June 22. If you're thinking about going, order tickets in advance. Most shows sell out. http://silverdocs.com/