In addition to the IFC Center, the film opened at imagenation in Harlem.

Just got a message from Mike at Film Forum, "...the publicist for the American Cinematheque noticed your post and wanted me to pass along info about the LA opening of THE POOL (the NuArt on Sept 19) and a double feature the Cinematheque will be presenting on Sept 11 -- AMERICAN MOVIE & THE YES MEN with Chris in person."

And please check out Chris Smith's early 4-minute "Twinkie Movie" from my original post. It is the cutest film you will ever see, and btw, not at all reflective of the director's feature film style.

You need to see all the films by Chris Smith. ALL OF THEM. I would classify them as sociological comedies.

"American Job" - Not a doc, but you think you're watching a doc
"American Movie" - A doc, but you cannot believe it's a doc
"Home Movie" - Again, a doc, but unbelievable
"The Yes Men" - A head-smacking stunt doc, no way this can be true
"The Pool" - I haven't seen this new one yet. Is it fiction? It's playing at Film Forum Sept. 3-16.

MoMA is having a CHRIS SMITH: AMERICAN ORIGINAL retrospective with all the above, from Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

Last January, I went to see the phenomenal Thai filmmaker, Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul, discuss his short films at a retrospective of his work at Anthology Film Archives. The soft-spoken writer/director said he sees himself more a "collector" of words and images than a storyteller.

His feature "Syndromes and a Century" ranked #4 in indieWIRE's 2007 Critics' Poll and "Tropical Malady" topped the charts in the previous year. His shorts, though less accomplished, are packed with jaw dropping images and head smacking whatsits.

Now screening at Anthology is another Thai film.

Truth-telling can be dangerous business. All around the world, reporters put themselves at risk to expose injustices and atrocities. The organization to support them, The Committee to Protect Journalists, co-sponsored Thursday night's screening of Eric Bergkraut's "Letter to Anna," about the 2006 assassination of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya.

This sold-out film at the Walter Reade could be a companion to "Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvinenko File," released earlier this year. Andrei Nekrasov, the director of "Poisoned," appears in "Letter" to express his infatuation and admiration for the fearless, determined human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict.

Like Macky Alston's "Family Name" (1997) and what I've heard about Godfrey Cheshire's "Moving Midway" (2007), Katrina Browne's "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North" investigates the filmmaker's family history of slavery.

After the Sunday night screening, audience members had much fuel for discussion-- the film's conclusion and the involvement of the Episcopal Church, Ivy League elitism, and the merits of slavery reparations.

On Tuesday, June 24, Browne's film will kick off the season for P.O.V. on PBS.

Out this week on DVD is Michel Gondry's joyful ode to filmmaking, "Be Kind Rewind." I talked with Gondry in February for a feature about the film and its companion gallery installation at Deitch Projects in Soho.

"The zany film follows a magnetically charged Jerry (Jack Black), who inadvertently erases all of the VHS tapes in a video store run by Mike (Mos Def). The two set out to remake the lost films—albeit crudely—with neighborhood folks (including rising star Melonie Diaz as Alma), a camcorder, and whatever happens to be on hand."

Can you believe it's been almost 15 years since Kevin Smith, at age 24, directed "Clerks," and opened the floodgates for young independent filmmakers across the nation? For all the latest, check out his overstuffed website.

The Q&A following tonight's 6:15pm screening of "My Winnipeg" had the audience roaring at the hyper-articulate director's humor-- full of film buff jokes-- like the suggestion of a 16-hour "Winnipeg Alexanderplatz."

We were escaping the 100 degree weather today in BAM Rose Cinemas, watching "Captain Abu Raed," a selection from the Sundance Institute's annual local series of Festival favorites. The film won Jordanian-American filmmaker, Amin Matalqa, the world cinema audience award last January in Park City.

Amman, the capital and largest city in Jordan, provides a breathtaking backdrop for the highly enjoyable comic-drama.

The film does not yet have a U.S. distributor. Arab language films are few and far between here, though "Caramel," which opened in February, has made over $1 million at the box office, and "Paradise Now," from 2005, made $1.5.

Speaking of Jordan, you should know that I'm a queen.

At the International Filmmaker Meet & Greet, the Aussies were in full force. Why so many? Because they party better than the rest of us? Turns out that after the UK and France, Australia has the most features in the festival (4), and all were represented by filmmakers, cast, and friends. Good things are bubbling up down under:

"Bitter & Twisted," a coming of age story by Christopher Weekes, has a most intriguing title.
"Dying Breed," by Jody Dwyer, puts a Tasmanian spin on bloody horror.
"Donkey in Lahore," a documentary by Faramarz K-Rahber, follows an unlikely romance.
"Newcastle," a surfing story by Dan Castle, has an ensemble of cute young actors.

In a new era of relaxed censorship, a groundswell of Egyptian filmmakers are breaking barriers, such as Yousry Nasrallah, director of “The Aquarium” (Genenet al Asmak). I caught up with Nasrallah at the festival on Monday and we chatted about the film and global politics. Most amusing was his anecdote on how difficult it was to "cast" the spotted fish in the aquarium.

Taking place around Cairo’s landmark grotto gardens, with maze-like caverns and hidden fish tanks, “The Aquarium” is a structural and narrative puzzle, echoing its labyrinthine setting. The complex story follows the parallel lives of two lonely singles who circle around life, in disconnection, and live through the suffering of others. Laila (Hend Sabry from “The Yacoubian Building”) hosts a late-night radio program where listeners confess their secrets. Youssef (Amr Waked from “Syriana”) is an anesthesiologist who moonlights in an illegal abortion clinic. Their paths cross after Youssef calls in to Laila’s program with details of his life. Twin specters of corruption and Islamist fundamentalism haunt their sophisticated world of nightclubs and sex. (Originally reported by me for "Downtown Express")