June marks the Return of the LA Film Festival. I have not attended any events since they based it around what was the Virgin record store up on Sunset. I saw a film with Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris called “Buffalo Soldiers” with a Q&A with I think Gregor Jordan. Apparently as I recall, the film was bought by Miramax and then 9/11 happened so it never got full distribution. The film is a bit negative on the US military life. Very powerfully done though and Phoenix gives an incredible performance. It also is visually stunning as I recall and with the final shot you get a sense of having come full circle.

I digress. I am here to list my picks for what I would like to see at this year’s festival so far, though there is no way I can see all of them. I know I really want to see “Green Lantern,” “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” (I love Del Toro), “Winnie the Pooh,” and “Mysteries of Lisbon” (which is Portuguese) because I have a love for period stuff.

On to the ones I may not see, but still would like to:

1. Letters From the Big Man (love the idea of a Sasquatch).
2. Life Happens (stars Kate Bosworth)
3. **Page One: Inside the New York Times (this one is up there to, and there is a Q&A on the 22nd, but I also want to do one of the talks at the same time- can I split myself in two).
4. Tyrannosaur (maybe- Brit film)
5. Salaam Dunk- love the idea of a documentary on a woman’s basketball team in Iraq.
6. The Bad Intentions (Spanish)
7. Familiar Ground (Canadian)
8. The Fatherless (Austria)
9. An Ordinary Family
10. Please Do Not Disturb (Farsi) Set in Tehran. I think we all need to see how the other side of the world lives because we are not all that different.
11. Christopher and His Kind (England) Set in the 1930s based on the memoir of Christopher Isherwood.
12. Eternity (Thai) Film of love.
13. Kawasaki’s Rose (Czech Republic)
14. Love Crime (France)
15. Positions Among the Stars (Netherlands)
16. **Self Made (England) Actually this one is up there too with I want to be there. Love the idea of a documentary on people responding to an ad “Would you like to be in a Film?”
17. Sidewalls (Spanish)
18. Habana Eva (Cuban)
19. Operation Peter Pan: Flying Back to Cuba20.
20. Suite Habana (Cuba)
21. Ticket to Paradise (Cuba)
22. The Night Watchman (Mexico)
23. The Tiniest Place (Mexico)
24. Wild River (1960s film- digitally restored)
25. Mr. Nobody (Belgium)
26. Paper Soldier (Russia)
27. Entrance (made not far from where I call home)
28. The Innkeepers

There are free community showings that I intend on writing more about. Two though I plan to attend for certain:

•   The Bully Project (Actually this too is on the top of the list- Documentary of the bullying epidemic- I think there are people in the industry even who could learn from this one.)
•   Project Nim-I like monkeys.

That is all for now.