Melvin Van Peebles received a standing ovation walking into the theater after How To Eat Your Watermelon In White Company (And Enjoy It) screened. Directed by Joe Angio, this engrossing documentary traces the larger-than-life Van Peebles, from his beginnings working on a cable car in San Francisco to his life as a writer and filmmaker in Paris in the sixties who would go on to make Sweet Sweetback's Baaadassss Song, which ushered in the era of Blaxploitation films (though his intention was revolution, and certainly not romanticizing the drug dealer). Angio and producer Michael Solomon spent seven years making this documentary and their attention to detail and nuance shows. Whether he's directing his latest cast in the French countryside or singing a bluesy version of "Achy Breaky Heart", Van Peebles is a character and one of those people simply pursues his interests and creates art in the process, be it working with a pornographer, as a Wall Street trader, playwright, musician or filmmaker. At the same time, his work, whether onscreen or in a theatre, connects with an audience and empowers (or frightens in some cases), for his social commentary is not just about education, but action. Interviews with his children and former flames round out his personal life and a morning jog is revealed to be so much more as we learn that his run includes stops to several women along his route, satisfying desires all around. As he urged the audience to follow their dreams, his next career path might well include being a motivational speaker for indie filmmakers, because as one of the first he more than understands the struggle to bring something to the big screen.

In Everyone Their Grain of Sand filmmaker Beth Bird chronicles the struggle of the residents of Macluvio Rojas, a small town on the outskirts of Tijuana, for their right to electricity, water and education. Mexican authorities have long denied them these basic necessities in their quest to push them out to make room for a highway that will directly benefit large multinational companies. Though they live in squalor, they are sitting on a goldmine. And instead of waiting for government assistance, they build their own school out of donated garage doors from the States and tap into the river to provide water for their residents. They set up their own market to provide jobs and are constantly battling authorities. Community organizers have been jailed without being charged as residents continue their fight for a better lot in life. While more judicious editing would have provided a more complete view of this struggle (even a map of Tijuana and Macluvio Rojas would have provided perspective, along with more detailed interviews), Everyone Their Grain of Sand offers a glimpse into a harsh world that is mere miles away from Southern California.

Written, directed by and starring Miranda July, Me, You and Everyone We Know brings a neighborhood to life with love, humor and some hilarious insights on both adult and adolescent sexuality. July plays a performance artist/driver who falls for a recently separated shoe salesman (John Hawkes) as she tries to get her artwork into a museum. Hawkes struggles with the new changes in his family as his two sons express their sexuality in surprising ways. Excellent performances, from the neighbor girl obsessed with her hope chest and kitchen products to the scene stealer whose online chatting about sexual desire leads to an encounter that is really quite beautiful. What blossoms in July's film is the need for love and acceptance and the beauty inherent in that when someone "gets" you. One memorable scene is July's walk down the street with Hawkes; it's not just a walk but their life together until death that they describe in detail until they part ways at the corner. Poetic scenes, from trying to save a goldfish trapped on the hood of a car to July's voiceover art work

Maid in America, a documentary about Central American women who leave their families behind to take care of families here in the Los Angeles area, screened for free to a full house on Saturday morning. The after party, several hours later, took place at La Mano Press Gallery in downtown L.A., which features the woodcuts of Artemio Rodriguez. Local band Azufre, helmed by Javier Amaro, delighted the crowd with their sulfurous blend of humor and social commentary.

Family night was definitely Saturday night at the Ford Amphitheatre. Momma penguins, papa penguins and baby penguins stole the show in March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet and narrated by Morgan Freeman. From the stunning cinematography of Antarctica above and below water to the most tender moments among penguins that are reminiscent of human families, this documentary engrossed all in attendance with its vivid descriptions of one of earth's most brutal places. And to think that penguins will suffer all of this for true love—how can you beat that?

:: SATURDAY, JUNE 25
   Closing Night Gala with the screening of Don Roos's Happy Endings.

:: SUNDAY, JUNE 26
   Catch Jim Jarmush's Broken Flowers and 2046, the sequel of In the Mood for Love.

:: FRIDAY, JUNE 24
   Must-see: Gus Van Sant's Last Days, based on the life of Kurt Cobain.

:: THURSDAY, JUNE 23
   The Henri Fonda Theatre was packed for the screening of Night Watch, a Russian Fantastic/Horror flick, which proved to be fun but slightly undigestable toward the end.

:: TUESDAY, JUNE 21
   Screenings of centerpiece Nine Lives and Sally Potter's Yes.

:: MONDAY, JUNE 20
   Artist Mirand July's Me and You and Everyone I Know is showing.

:: SUNDAY, JUNE 19
   The screening of Murnau's masterpiece, The Last Laugh, accompanied by a live DJ set from J Rocc, was another great original moment that only the L.A. Film Festival can create: the jazzy-electronic soundtrack brought rhythm and humor to Murnau's silent work.

:: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22
   Screening of November and RZA spins a soundtrack for cartoons at the Ford Theatre.

:: SATURDAY, JUNE 18
   New York Doll, a documentary about Killer Cane, the bassist of the New York Dolls who became a Mormon, proved to be the rock highlight of the festival, attracting a colorful crowd of washed up and up-and-coming figures of the LA rock scene. While exciting, this documentary was amateurish and biased, lacking contemporary interviews of emblematic figures of that era and emphasizing the Mormon dimension of Cane's life.

:: FRIDAY, JUNE 17
   One of the first entries, the Russian film 4, is probably one of the most contrasted and rough films of the festival, voluntarily creating a love/hate relationship with the audience.

:: THURSDAY, JUNE 16
   Opening night red carpet gala of the festival at the ArcLight Hollywood Cinerama with Down in the Valley by David Jacobson.