Hello folks! I’m back from a couple trips out of town
(family stuff, without my computer) so I could not blog for a while. But now
that I’m back in town, I can catch the second half of the AFI Festival in Los
Angeles, which runs through Nov. 10. Screenings are free! – though of course
you still need a ticket, available at http://www.afi.com/AFIFEST/.

For more on AFI, check out today’s article in the LA
Times, “Finding Passion for Film,” featuring an interview with AFI Fest
Director Jacqueline Lyanga, at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-lyanga-20111106,0,5250811.story

I wondered why the AFI Film Festival is featuring so many
films that have already debuted at festivals like Cannes, Toronto or New York.
Another LA Times article on Nov. 3 answered that by quoting the festival's head of
programming, Lane Kneedler: "But ultimately we feel like if a film plays
at, say, the New York Film Festival, it's not going to affect our audience that
much. If it's a great film, why should we give up that slot for another movie
just because it hasn't played anywhere?" Read it at http://theenvelope.latimes.com/news/la-et-afi-fest-20111103,0,7170699.story.
And see you at the movies! – Deirdre