Fests and events, 8/23.

"While hundreds of new independent festivals commence every year around the United States - some as economic boons for their communities, others as the equivalent of art-house substitutes in small markets - New York is saturated, with niche events often carved inside other niches," writes ST VanAirsdale. Nonetheless, as he reports in the New York Times, Tom O'Malley and Luke Szczygielski, having decided that New York "needed a home for modest American independents overlooked by mainstream monoliths like Tribeca and smaller festivals with more thematic or international interests," are giving it a go, launching the American Cinematic Experience this weekend.

And for Michael Cieply, Toronto's lineup shows "a skew toward markedly somber topics among Hollywood's offerings... During the last decade, the festival, now in its 32nd year, has emerged as the unofficial beginning of a six-month movie-awards cycle that culminates with the Oscar ceremony in late February.... This time around, the opening notes are a bit intense."

"Today marks opening day of the 2007 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films & Short Film Market, also known as ShortFest," notes Lisa Rosen in the Los Angeles Times. "Running until Aug 29, the fest features more than 300 shorts from 40 countries, and 50 programs with themes ranging from romance to horror."

The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival opens today and runs through Sunday. Neil Morris and Kathy Justice have a backgrounder and preview in the Independent Weekly.

Brian Brooks files from the Sarajevo Film Festival for indieWIRE: "Now entering its teens, SFF may not have yet reached the cache of some of its older and richer Western European brethren in Berlin, Edinburgh or San Sebastian, but for a city that only a little over a decade ago emerged from a three year siege that left thousands dead in its wake, SFF has amassed a world class event luring top-notch filmmakers and others for its relatively young 13th outing."

From Edinburgh, it's Nick Dawson at Filmmaker on a couple of late night screenings. Shrooms "takes five American college students and their English friend in an eerie wood in a deserted corner of Ireland, adds some near lethal mushrooms, inbred locals and some seriously pissed-off ghosts and has a lot of fun with the situation." Weirdsville "is much more unconventional than Shrooms but has a sweet-natured, offbeat charm that I personally found irresistible."

Joe O'Connell tracks local goings on for the Austin Chronicle.

Focusing on depictions of women in the Middle East, Cathleen Rountree previews three Bay Area festivals, the Arab Film Festival (October 18 through November 4), the United Nations Association Film Festival (October 24 through 28). and the Global Lens film series (in November).

Posted by dwhudson at August 23, 2007 2:33 PM