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On Saturday, Alamo Kids Club is playing Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas on Saturday. It's free, but first come first seated so get there early.

Tuesday night is the night of Something For Everyone Who Likes Watching Movies. Austin Public Library's Polish Film Series is showing Borys Lankosz' The Reverse (Rewers) at the Howson Branch, and over at Twin Oaks Branch you can see Kung Fu Panda 2 (why yes that is a 2011 title). You can find out more about these films on the Apl website. Austin Film Society members (and those who are lucky enough to get tickets for the remaining seats) can see Two for the Road starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.

Movies We've Seen:

Project Nim -- Afs Selects returns with an encore limited engagement of James Marsh's Oscar-shortlisted documentary about a chimpanzee raised as a human. I found the occasional re-enactments melodramatic and diminishing.

We’re really excited about an upcoming event we’re doing, a series of Roman Polanski’s early short films with live musical accompaniment by Polish duo Sza/Za. Polanski is a master of his craft, one of the truly great filmmaking talents of our time, and these short films from the late ’50s and early ’60s demonstrate some of the same preoccupations and creativity that show up in his later work like Chinatown, Rosemary’S Baby, and The Pianist. These rarely seen, vintage 35mm prints are going to make for an awesome night at the Ritz.

That would be enough, but Sza/Za is going to be here to make the night that much better. If you don’t know their unique style, check this video out:

They also incorporate fun gags and theatrics during their performances that will never compete with the beauty of Polanski’s films but always complement them.

Moscow -- Director Marcel Rasquin's Venezuelan soccer player drama "Hermano" ("Brother") won the Moscow International Film Festival's top prize, the Golden George, as the fest's 32nd edition came to a close Saturday.

The festival's special prize, the Silver George, went to "Der Albaner" ("The Albanian"), a story of an Albanian immigrant living in Germany. The Albanian-German co-production was directed by Johannes Naber and also earned best actor honors for Nik Xhelilaj.

French director and producer Luc Besson presided over the festival jury.

Poland's Jan Kidawa-Blonski collected the Silver George for best director for "Rozyczka" ("Little Rose"), a drama set in Socialist Poland in the late 1960s. Czech actress Vilma Cibulkova was named best actress for her role in "Zemsky raj to na pohled" ("An Earthy Paradise for the Eyes").

Borys Lankosz's "Rewers" ("Reverse") topped the Perspective competition program as best film.

French director Claude Lelouch, whose "What Love...

"The Reverse," directed by Borys Lankosz, backed away with the grand jury prize at the 36th Seattle International Film Festival on Sunday.

In addition, Jeff Malmberg's "Marwencol" won the documentary grand jury prize, and Sara Colangelo's "Little Accidents" won the best narrative short award.

The fest, which began May 20, presented 408 films, including "The Extra Man," closing-night film "Get Low," "Howl," "Waiting for 'Superman,' " the Imax film "The Wildest Dream" and the 3D "Cane Toads: The Conquest." Boxoffice receipts were up 20%, breaking all previous Siff records.

The Fipresci Award for best American feature went to "Night Catches Us," directed by Tanya Hamilton. The grand jury prize for best documentary short was awarded to "White Lines and the Fever: The Death of DJ Junebug," directed by Travis Senger, and Beomsik Shim's "The Wonder Hospital" won the prize for best animated short.

The features "Turistas," directed by Alicia Scherson,...

Those compiling their best of the year lists would do well to consult the roll-call of gong-winners handed out by an august band of international critics

Any perspicacious film festival-goer or festival-watcher will have noticed that one of the prizes awarded at most festivals, in addition to the Golden Palms, Golden Lions or Golden Leopards etc, is the Fipresci (Federation International de la Presse Cinematographic) – aka the international film critics' award. In principle, this should be the most prestigious and sought-after prize of all, because the juries are made up of professional film critics (usually five, each from a different country) who are paid to tell the public what is good or bad and why.

Unfortunately, the Fipresci prize does not carry with it any money but, in theory, it does help the film gain a distributor. However, on one occasion, I remember that a director, who had just won the Fipresci prize,...

The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award's foreign-language film category has come and gone. According to IndieWIRE [1], The United Kingdom, which has predominantly submitted Welsh films over the years (if submitting at all), has surprisingly chosen the documentary Afghan Star as its 2009 submission for the Academy Awards. The last time the country received a nomination in this category was in 1999, when Paul Morrison's Welsh and Yiddish Solomon and Gaenor lost out to Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. Synopsis After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop Idol has come to Afghanistan. Millions are watching the TV series 'Afghan Star' and voting for their favorite singers by mobile phone. For many this is their first encounter with democracy. This timely film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk all to become the nation's favorite singer. But will they...