Longtime Film Journey readers know the UCLA Film & Television Archive is one of my usual beats, so I’m especially pleased to announce that they have recently hired me as their new web editor. We’re upgrading the reach and quality of their current website and will relaunch in the coming days. The Archive holds the largest moving image collection of any university in the world, and aside from the Library of Congress, the largest in the US.

So it’s especially timely for me to highlight this week’s film preservation blogathon, For the Love of Film (Noir), a fundraiser for the Archive’s restoration of The Sound of Fury, aka Try and Get Me (1950). I’ve always appreciated bloggers active in their local communities who contribute in practical ways to film culture, and this project seems especially worthy.

Related to both announcements is the fact that the UCLA Festival of Preservation happens March 3-27 and features many of the Archive’s recently restored films and television programs. This is a Festival that tours nationally, so keep an eye on your local venues in the coming months, where you might be able to see it.

Finally, Angelenos are invited to attend another one of my latest ventures, “Film Journeys” at the Echo Park Film Center (1200 N. Alvarado Street, Los Angeles), a monthly screening series, cine-club, and discussion group. Our first film last week was Pedro González-Rubio’s lyrical Alamar (2009), and our conversation was relaxed, engaged and very enjoyable. Our next screening (March 12) will be Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Millennium Mambo (2001), in which a narrator looks back ten years earlier to the film’s present day, making his vantage point 2011. It seems like a perfect time to revisit the film.

AFI FEST starts up today in Hollywood, and this year, I’m the Editor of the Festival blog, AFI FEST NOW, as well as an Associate Programmer. I’ll be introducing the screenings of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, A Screaming Man, Free Radicals, Kubrick’s Lolita, and the double feature of Kim Ki-young’s 1960 classic The Housemaid (which can be viewed for free in its entirety at MUBI, here) and Im Sang-soo’s new remake. I’ll also introduce the Hong Sang-soo double feature, HaHaHa and Oki’s Movie, and I’ll facilitate the Q/A with Hong.

All of these screenings are free, and if you haven’t already gotten your tickets, don’t forget that more tickets will be released online at 10:00 a.m. the day before each screening, and at the Festival box office the day of the screening. When not introducing films, I’ll be working at the Roosevelt Hotel’s AFI FEST press room. If you happen to see me, don’t hesitate to say hi.

• I’ve written the program notes for LACMA’s “20th Anniversary Tribute to the Film Foundation,” which starts today. I’ve also guest-blogged about it for my Save Film at LACMA partner, Debra Levine, at her blog, artsmeme.

• I’ve been working as an Associate Programmer (screening submissions) for this year’s AFI FEST (November 4-11) and I’m starting back up as the Editor of the festival’s website this year–AFI FEST NOW. Additionally, I’m always on the lookout for good writers, so if you’d like to contribute, please email me and let me know.

• I’ve also been screening films and writing notes for FESTWORKS, the consulting group behind this year’s inaugural Anaheim International Film Festival (October 13-17) and the Santa Fe Film Festival. The FESTWORKS team is superb at what they do, and any festival that enlists them will be richer for it.

• On top of all of this (plus freelance graphic design work), I’ve somehow managed to see Haile Gerima’s brilliant Teza (2008), a profound memory film that mixes radical activism in East Germany in the ’70s with political upheaval in Ethiopia during the ’80s and ’90s through the recollections of a shell-shocked doctor haunted by both. Gerima’s Sankofa (1993) was one of the first films I reviewed for this site back in 2003, and his new feature is a powerful and worthy follow-up. Check it out if it comes to your area.

Also, the new issue of Film Comment is coming out, and it names me as two of the Top Film Criticism Sites on the web for Film Journey and Masters of Cinema, the latter less a news source now than a specialty DVD label, but in its unfunded, pre-Web 2.0 days, it was something I was proud to edit.

Paul Brunick’s article prefacing the list, which is cross-published (with comments) at Slant–rightly takes to task Gerald Peary’s simplistic documentary, For the Love of Movies, and Thomas Doherty’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, two recent examples of critical histories that wax nostalgic about print criticism while suggesting that web criticism is nothing more than its undisciplined, amateurish cousin.

Regarding Brunick’s generous profile of Film Journey, I’d like to make a couple of minor corrections. The screening notes incident occurred at CSUN, not UCLA (though I was vague about it at the time), and just for the record, I’ve been blogging for eight years rather than six.

In the spirit of dialogue, I’d also like to suggest that while I am indeed a huge fan of Manny Farber’s writing, if I have a “critical idol,” it would probably be André Bazin (whom I cite in my About page). I also think any description of Film Journey would be remiss if it didn’t mention primary contributor Robert Koehler, whose globetrotting festival reports have long enriched the website.

I’ve championed AFI FEST the previous two years since Artistic Director Rose Kuo came on board and pushed the festival into becoming Los Angeles’ best survey of world cinema. And I’ve been even more excited this year due to the programming involvement of Robert Koehler, a bona fide cinephile, critic, and festival hound (and occasional contributor to this site).

So I’m especially pleased to announce today that I’ve been hired as the editor of the festival’s Daily News, a position that will begin in October and last through the festival itself, October 30 to November 7, 2009. (The Daily News site isn’t currently being updated, but will fire up shortly.)

AFI FEST released its first twelve titles today, and reiterated its progressive new policy of free tickets to every screening (in advance at AFI.com, at the Mann Chinese Theatre on October 26, or on the day of scheduled screenings via rush lines). You can also reserve seating by becoming a patron by purchasing a pass at AFI.com.

The first twelve titles:

THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL, NEW ORLEANS (USA)
Director: Werner Herzog
Set in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who is as devoted to his job as he is to scoring drugs — while playing fast and loose with the law. With the prostitute he loves, the couple descends into a world marked by desire, compulsion and conscience. The film also stars Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer.

BELLAMY (France)
Director: Claude Chabrol
A famous French detective (played by Gerard Depardieu) on vacation in Languedoc investigates a mystery man who approaches him claiming to have killed someone. The film also stars Clovis Cornillac and Jacques Gamblin.

EVERYONE ELSE (Germany)
Director: Maren Ade
Drama follows the volatile relationship resulting from the psychological and emotional ties between two young lovers.

THE LAST STATION (UK/Germany)
Director: Michael Hoffman
A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. The film stars Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer and Paul Giamatti.

LOOKING FOR ERIC (UK)
Director: Ken Loach
Eric, a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis, receives some life-coaching from a poster of the famously philosophical footballer, Eric Cantona.

MOTHER (Madeo) (South Korea)
Director: Bong Joon-ho
This thriller follows the investigation of a murder by a mother desperate to find the killer who framed her son for the crime.

POLICE, ADJECTIVE (Romania)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
This drama follows the impact on a young policeman’s life after he refuses to arrest another man for offering drugs to his friends.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE (USA)
Director: Lee Daniels
In Harlem, an overweight and illiterate teen pregnant with her second child and abused by her domineering mother is invited to enroll in an alternative school with the dream to move her life in a new direction. The film stars Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, and introducing Gabourey Sidibe.

A PROPHET (France/Italy)
Director: Jacques Audiard
A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.

RED RIDING (UK)
Directors: Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker
Three inter-connected films set in the years 1974, 1980 and 1983 trace the crime and corruption in West Yorkshire, England. The films star Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Paddy Considine, Andrew Garfield and Rebecca Hall.

TRASH HUMPERS (USA)
Director: Harmony Korine
A cinema verite look at a fringe cult-freak collective with a penchant for anti-social behavior and activities.

VINCERE (Italy/France)
Director: Marco Bellocchio
This drama tells the story of Mussolini’s secret lover, Ida Dalser and their son, Albino.

The Wall Street Journal published an article this weekend–“LACMA and the Cinéastes”–that provides a good account of the efforts of my colleagues and I during our previous five-week campaign to convince the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to reverse its decision to end its 41-year-old film program this October. At the moment, films have been announced for November, the program has been guaranteed to continue at least until next summer, and LACMA has promised to seek out large donors (with the help of Martin Scorsese and others) to fund the program on a long term basis. The museum also says it will upgrade the program from an underfunded public outreach to a genuine curatorial department.

While the program’s long term future is still hazy, the initial objectives we laid out for our Save Film at LACMA campaign have been met, and I can’t imagine the museum will step forward next year and announce that it just couldn’t find the funds after all–numerous public figures, journalists, and media have promised to hold the museum accountable to its pledge to seek donors; the public drubbing that would occur if it doesn’t would make the current outcry seem relatively minor.

In addition to the continuation of the LACMA program itself, I’m particularly pleased with the way the story has highlighted issues surrounding repertory and specialty cinema in Los Angeles in general; from the many venues that screen films to their potential vulnerability, to the role of the mainstream media in reporting the activities of the parallel universe of cinephilia thriving in our company town. I’ve often complained about the ailing community and lack of cohesion of Los Angeles, and social media may well provide a cure.

There is one aspect of the campaign (and resulting media coverage) that I haven’t seen highlighted very much, and that’s the basic spirit of the protest, the passionate voice of the thousands of working class Angelenos and international supporters who joined our Facebook group and signed our petition (often providing deeply felt memories). This may be a town of multimillionaire executives, but it’s also a town of technicians, artisans, and laborers who care deeply about the history of their craft. In a time when federal bailouts and corporate layoffs have promoted a kind of socialism for the rich, there has been an intensity to the Save Film at LACMA campaign that testifies to the widespread frustration with lavishly paid but remote CEOs around the country and their careless evisceration of personnel and services in order to maximize profits.

LACMA’s much beloved but modest film program, with its two friendly employees and spacious but aging Bing theater, epitomized the kind of high value/low cost labors of love that are increasingly being pushed to the edges of a financially desperate culture looking for larger than life solutions. Many felt this was their golden opportunity to rise up and make a difference for this one cherished program currently facing the corporate chopping block. (A related point, given equally little play: CEO Michael Govan may have his roots in the Guggenheim and Dia:Beacon, but we’re talking about the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; 30% of its budget comes from taxpayers who want their museum to continue to offer repertory and world cinema they can’t see anywhere else.)

In fact, it’s the spirit of making a difference that makes it difficult to get very excited about LACMA’s most recent idea, a Film Club that asks museum members ($90/year minimum) to donate $50 extra for priority ticketing/seating benefits and an e-newsletter. I commend those who want to join the Club, but given that the museum has made it crystal clear that the future of the program lies solely in the hands of large donors, I’m not sure how a few extra thousand dollars will help.

I wish the Film Club was designed to produce something concrete on behalf of its members that would enrich the program and increase awareness, something like a high-quality brochure that could be made available to the public at large. Once upon a time, LACMA printed such things as film calendars and programs, like the one pictured below that coincided with Ian Birnie’s nearly complete, four-month long Fritz Lang retrospective in 2001 (photos courtesy of Andy Rector). Is this too much to ask for again?

This is the first year in five that I’m not attending the Toronto International Film Festival–the falling US dollar, rising fuel costs, and necessary baby duties have conspired to keep me here in Los Angeles this year, which means I’m missing at least a dozen friends (most of them listed at right) but avidly reading their blogs.

Removing some of the sting, however, is last week’s AFI FEST announcement of a few of the films that will be playing here, October 30 through November 9. Once a ho-hum festival mostly comprised of Hollywood premieres and quirky American indies, the festival made a dramatically improved embrace of world cinema last year thanks to Artistic Director Rose Kuo, whose hand is equally clear in this PDF hint of what’s to come.

Among the notable titles, North American premieres of two Robert Koehler favorites from the Guadalajara Film Festival: Lake Tahoe, which he wrote about here at Film Journey (“something to hold onto, and keep close”) and The Desert Within, which he wrote about at Variety (“suggests a sister film to Bunuel’s Simon of the Desert”).

In addition to these, ten films from TIFF, including:

• A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin)
• Liverpool (Lisandro Alonso)
• Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman)
• Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt)

Not that I won’t miss strolling through a rainy Toronto, grabbing hot dogs from street vendors while rushing between screenings, and sharing copious amounts of coffee with friends I rarely see in person . . . bonne voyage, mes amis.

As a matter of fact, I’m attending a press screening of Kent Mackenzie’s The Exiles later today, and very much looking forward to it.  As you might imagine, the rediscovered film has special poignancy in its native Los Angeles, and UCLA Film and Television Archive will offer a rare week-long run next week from August 15 through 20.

I’m always proud of the resources Trond Trondsen and I provide at Robert-Bresson.com, and our latest project–years in the making–is an exclusive online Bresson Bibliography that uses Jane Sloan’s 1983 out-of-print bibliography and Shmuel Ben-Gad’s recent bibliographies as a starting point.

As we note on the page: “Users who want to correct or extend the bibliography, or report dead links, are invited to send their comments to Frank Blaakmeer. If you do, and if you agree, your name will be added to the list of contributors at the bottom of the bibliography and the community of Bresson scholars and aficionados will be sincerely grateful.”