:: SATURDAY, JUNE 21
Award ceremony. Also, don't miss the screenings of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Francois Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player.

:: FRIDAY, JUNE 20
Two films about escaping small town isolation: Jesus Freak, about life and visions of Jesus in Portales, New Mexico and Salt, an Icelandic film. There will be a free, fun screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory featuring a Sing-A-Long-Wonka at 8 pm.

:: THURSDAY, JUNE 19
Screenings of the Irish film Coney Island Baby and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973). Also, don't miss the documentary from Mexico, Gabriel Orozco.

:: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18
Showings of The Magdalene Sisters & Baghdad On/Off.

:: TUESDAY, JUNE 17
Meet Rodney Bingenheimer, the Mayor of the Sunset Strip, a fixture of the LA rock scene and Dr. Donald A. Reed, founder of the Count Dracula Society in My Life With Count Dracula.

:: MONDAY, JUNE 16
Screening of Unknown Pleasures, the new entry from Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke (Xiao Wu, Platform)

:: SUNDAY, JUNE 15
Showings of Mark Romanek's videos featuring Iggy Pop, Johnny Cash, Audioslave, Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth, Beck, No Doubt & more. Also, the documentary Lost Boys of Sudan, by Jon Shenk and Megan Mylan, about the journey of Sudanese orphans from refugee camps in Africa to Houston and Kansas City.

:: SATURDAY, JUNE 14
   The excited crowd filled up the DGA foyer to attend a diverse series of informal Coffee Talks with well-known producers, directors, actors and writers. Fans and filmmakers alike had the opportunity to talk with the likes of Jodie Foster and David Fincher at the Directors Coffee Talk, who spoke honestly about working with studios, while Mark Ruffalo and Darryl Hannah weighed in as actors in a casual chat, with Hannah offering some humorous insight on "Method actors" who want to sleep with their co-stars to fully get into the role.

Director, writer and actor Jennifer Elster's accomplished debut, the emotionally charged Particles of Truth was a definite highlight of the day, while Buffalo Soldiers a controversial black comedy about a U.S. Army specialist (Joaquin Phoenix) and the black market in Germany finished the night on a high note. Director Gregor Jordan was on hand to answer questions about the film in our post-Iraqi war times and the struggle to release a such a film in a period where emotions are running high and self-criticism is not really appreciated. Actors Ed Harris and Scott Glenn were also in attendance.

:: FRIDAY, JUNE 13
   The apocalyptic 28 Days Later by director Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland was the perfect way to round off the evening, playing to an edgy crowd at the Ford Ampitheatre.

:: THURSDAY, JUNE 12
   French director Clair Denis' realistic Friday Night screened early on Thursday afternoon, replete with seductive images of Parisian life (tabac and bistros, storefront windowns ) amid the stifling chaos of yet another strike. While the German production Kiki and Tiger about the friendship and underlying homo-eroticism between a Serb and an Albanian was disappointing, the short that preceded it Got Nothing, Give Nothing, about the long-standing mistrust and rivalry between two Polish brothers in an economically depressed small town, was a delightful surprise.

Rounding out the night was an only in LA event: open mike punk rock karaoke at Sunset Plaza, featuring moving punk versions of songs like "99 Red Balloons" and "Whip It". Following the show, cult classic Rock N Roll High School played on a big screen to the laid back crowd.

:: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11
   Opening of the festival with the showing of The Cooler at the ArcLight Hollywood Cinerama.