Fests and events, 3/9.

"The film of the season, if not the year, is a Southern California slice-of-life from 1977 that hasn't aged a day," writes Nathan Lee, introducing the Voice's preview of the season. "Critics have long hailed Killer of Sheep, a stirring and sophisticated evocation of working-class Watts, as one of the great debuts in American cinema and a landmark of independent film."

In London? Genet on Sunday. Owen Hatherley has details.

The Melbourne Underground Film Festival has sent out a call for entries; Matthew Clayfield has details.

"Less than 24 hours after the Oscars capped the remarkable year of the so-called 'three amigos' by handing out three awards to Pan's Labyrinth and one to Babel, I boarded a plane bound for Mexico City and the fourth edition of the Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival (February 21 - March 4)," writes Scott Foundas in the LA Weekly. "One week later, as I am writing this, I'm happy to report that film culture is alive and well south of the border, despite the recent assessment of Variety editor Peter Bart that the country's top filmmaking talent is fleeing to Hollywood for fear of being kidnapped."

AJ Schnack has the full list of 83 films screening in competition at the Full Frame Film Festival (April 12 through 15).

The Belgrade Film Festival "is warmly welcoming and an excellent place to view a whole range of recent movies from the region as well as the best from other fests," writes Ronald Bergan in the Guardian.

David Byrne: "Went to see Miranda July's performance piece at The Kitchen last night and it was terrific. Just amazing."

J Hoberman's preview of the week ahead for New Yorkers opens with a bit of rare Maysles.

Joel Heller has a fine overview of the the True/False Film Festival at Docs That Inspire. More from Agnes Varnum at indieWIRE.

Spencer Morgan previews the indieWIRE: Undiscovered Gems series (related interview: Choking Man director Steve Barron) for the New York Observer, where Andrew Sarris celebrates the return to Film Forum on March 16 of, well, not just an old favorite: "When people have asked me to name the greatest film of all time - in my humble opinion, of course - my instant answer has been unvarying for the past 30 years or so: Max Ophüls's Madame de... (1953)." Through March 29.

Bay Area goings on? Brian Darr covers the waterfront.

Susan King in the Los Angeles Times: "The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica takes on a Gallic flavor this weekend when it pays homage to Luc Besson, the iconoclastic, influential French director, producer and writer."

Charlotte Cripps has a brief preview of the traveling Bradford International Film Festival at the Independent.

The European Independent Film Festival: March 16 through 18 in Paris.

"Scars from decades of socialist oppression, and the escapism and magical realism they ruefully evoke, dominate the works of Eastern European filmmakers these days," writes Clare Aigner in the LAT. "evolutions, war and genocide frame new films from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania that were shown recently at the Berlin film festival."

"SIFF Cinema certainly isn't leaving commercialism behind. The new venue is intended to provide a year-round source of income for the voracious behemoth known as the Seattle International Film Festival," notes Annie Wagner in the Stranger. "It's a tricky proposition."

Posted by dwhudson at March 9, 2007 11:36 AM