Seattle International Film Festival

-- The Seattle International Film Festival is held simultaneously at the Egyptian, Harvard Exit, Neptune, and Broadway Market Cenemas (opening night only is at the Paramount). Here is an alphabetibal listing of this year's movies, with locations and times of showings, and ticket prices. A full calendar of films and events is on page 6-7. --------------------------------------------------------------- A A A ------- `ABOVE THE MOUNTAINS'

Netherlands Director: Digna Sinke Cast: Roos Blaauboer, Catherine ten Bruggencate

-- A road movie on foot - something of a "Big Chill" as well - with six friends out on a cross country hike, from the north of Holland to the south in search of the mountains. Shot in luminous black and white, moving gradually into a realm freer and freer from the ordinary world, "Above the Mountains" is a journey through their past and future. (107 mins.) May 17, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50; May 20, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`ADAM'S RIB'

Russia Director: Viatcheslav Krichtofovitch Cast: Inna Tchourikova, Sveltano Riabova

-- Three generations of women share both a crowded flat and a healthy disdain for the opposite sex in this wry comedy set in contemporary Moscow. Nina, a self-sufficient, twice-divorced woman, lives in a small apartment with her two grown daughters and her acerbic, bed-ridden mother. Her eldest daughter has been carrying on an obsessive affair with a callow married man, while Nastia, her

younger daughter, has her hands full with the nonconformist boy from work she's been seeing. Nina herself has lately taken up with a new man, but he's not exactly Mr. Right. The movie explores the daily routines of this all-female household, as each woman's romantic situation gets progressively more complicated. Ultimately, the film develops into a pointed statement about the role of women in a rapidly changing Russian society. (75 mins.) June 6, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 7, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`THE ADJUSTER'

Canada Director: Atom Egoyan Cast: Elias Koteas, Arsinee Khanjian

-- "The Adjuster" is director Atom Egoyan's latest blackly comic parable about the search for love and happiness in our wealthy, technologically advanced society. Its colorful group of eccentric-neurotic characters includes an insurance adjuster who consoles the victims of disaster in his own bed, a censor captivated by the extremes of violence and pornography, and a wealthy businessman who devotes all his resources to helping his wife fulfill wild sexual fantasies. Like Egoyan's other films, "Speaking Parts" and "Family Viewing," "The Adjuster" is unfailingly witty and stylish (here using bold CinemaScope imagery). (102 mins.) May 29, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 31, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`ADORABLE LIES'

Cuba Director: Gerardo Chijona Cast: Isabel Santos, Luis Alberto Garcia

-- This social satire/romantic comedy observes the ups and downs of love affairs and the illusions that sustain them. A would-be screenwriter meets and falls for a beautiful woman who dreams of being an actress. They create glamourous mythic personae for themselves and they each fall in love with the image the other has created. (108 mins.) June 2, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 3, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`ALBERTO EXPRESS'

France Director: Arthur Joffe Cast: Sergio Castellito, Nino Manfredi, Jeanne Moreau, Marie Trintignant

-- This new French comedy moves at breakneck speed as its desperate hero tries to raise 30,000,000 lira while meeting a cast of eccentrics on the overnight train from Paris to Rome. Nino Manfredi, star of "Bread and Chocolate," turns up in a key role at the finale. (98 mins.) May 15, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 16, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`AMERICAN ORPHEUS'

U.S.A. Director: Rick Schmidt Cast: Jody Esther, Karen Rodriguez U.S. Premiere

-- Independent filmmaker Rick Schmidt has for 19 years made low-budget movies that have won national and international acclaim. A recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest, he shot this new film in Port Townsend last summer. Giving the Orpheus legend a contemporary twist, here the central bond, the love that reaches beyond death, is not between a young man and woman, but between a single mother and her small daughter. Schmidt encouraged his actors to draw upon their own lives in developing their characters. (93 mins.) June 1, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

B B B ----- `THE BACHELOR'

U.S.A./Italy Director: Roberto Faenza Cast: Keith Carradine, Miranda Richardson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sarah-Jane Fenton, Max von Sydow

-- Based on a richly ironic novel by Arthur Schnitzler ("La Ronde"), "The Bachelor" is a mixture of romantic story-telling, picturesque European settings and lush period costumes. Keith Carradine stars as a middle-aged physician who explores the unfulfilled possibilities of his life with three very different and desirable women. Also in the cast: Kristin Scott Thomas ("A Handful of Dust"), Miranda Richardson ("Dance With a Stranger") in two roles, and Max Von Sydow ("Pelle the Conqueror") as an opera star. Giuseppe Rotunno's photography and Ennio Morricone's score enhance this recreation of a world both more innocent and more repressed than our own. (105 mins.) May 30, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 3, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`LE BAL DE CASSE-PIEDS'

-- See "Opening Night" on Page 2. May 14, 7:30 p.m., Paramount, $25.

`BECAUSE YOU ARE A WOMAN'

South Korea Director: Kim Yu-Jin Cast: Won Mi-Kyung, Lee Young-Ha, Shon Sook, Lee Kyung-Young U.S. Premiere

-- Winner of the Korean Oscars for best film, actor and actress, this feminist drama concerns the plight of an attempted rape victim debased by government authorities and the judicial system. (105 mins.) May 26, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 30, 2:15 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`BEST OF THE FEST: SHORTS PROGRAM'

-- A collection of shorts that have been voted the best of the festival by the audience. (100 mins. approximate) June 7, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`BETTY BLUE L'INTEGRAL'

France Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix Cast: Beatrice Dolle, Jean-Hugues Anglade

-- This brand new director's cut of the steamy "Betty Blue" adds an hour of never-before seen footage to the original version. Included are several completely new characters and sequences that give more logical progression to this story of love, passion and madness. The film's heroine is a sexy, impulsive young woman who becomes tragically convinced her new lover has the makings of a great writer. (180 mins.) May 28, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`THE BEWILDERED KING'

Spain Director: Imanol Uribe Cast: Maria Barranco, Joaquin DeAlmeida, Laura Del Sol, Gabino Diago

-- This wry comedy of manners gently skewers both church and state in what is perhaps the first comic farce based on the Spanish Inquisition. It is the beginning of the 1600s. The King of Spain awakens one morning in the arms of Marfisa, the most gorgeous harlot in town. His friend Count Pea Andrada, with whom the king has spent a night of debauchery, comes upon the king staring dumbfounded at the exquisite nude form of the sleeping Marfisa. By church dictate, it is strictly forbidden to countenance the naked body, and the king is literally stupified by his first viewing of naked female flesh. Having recently married, the king requests that he be allowed to view his queen in the altogether. A battle ensues between the Crown and the Inquisition forces. (110 mins.) May 16, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 18, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`THE BIG WISH AND OTHER SHORT TALES'

-- "THE AIR GLOBES" (U.S.A./Brazil, director Patricia Cardosa) A little girl sends her Christmas wish heavenward with a balloon, then connives to make sure she gets the gifts she wants. -- "THE BIG WISH" (Australia, director Ebsen Storm) A comic adventure featuring fairies, goblins, seven wishes, young love, and a music video. -- "THE BIKE" (U.S.A., director Gary Soto) This first film by poet and children's story writer Gary Soto deals with Chicano kids in a small California town, highlighting the magic possibilities of everyday life. -- "THE BALLOON" (Great Britain, director Ken Lidster) This animated contemporary fairy tale tells the story of a red balloon, a little girl, and a juggler. -- "EVERY DOG'S GUIDE TO THE PLAYGROUND" (Canada, director Les Drew) A delightful animated fable about a dog whose owners want to take part in a fitness competition - but all he wants is to protect the family. (87 mins.) May 23, noon, Harvard Exit, $3.50-$5.

`BIX'

Italy Director: Pupi Avati Cast: Bryant Weeks, Emile Levisetti, Romano L. Orzari, Matthew Buzzel, Julia Ewing.

-- An English-language chronicle of the last few years of legendary jazz cornet player Bix Beiderbecke (portrayed by Bryant Weeks), who flourished during the '20s and died at age 28 in 1931. Avati tells the tale from the viewpoint of Italo-American violinist Joe Venuti, who performed with Beiderbecke. (111 mins.) May 20, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 21, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`BLACK HARVEST'

Australia Directors: Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly

-- When a Papua New Guinea highland tribe tries to join the modern world by investing in a coffee plantation, tragedy ensues. At first success looks likely, but the distant vagaries of commodity prices and the all-too-immediate ferocity of inter-tribal warfare intervene. (90 mins.) May 19, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 27, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`THE BODY SNATCHER'

U.S.A. Director: Robert Wise Cast: Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell, Bela Lugosi, Edith Atwater, Russell Wade

-- Robert Wise began his career as an editor, earning fame on "Citizen Kane." "The Body Snatcher," a classy thriller with a notable period atmosphere and intelligent use of the macabre, was one of his first films as director. Adapted from a Robert Louis Stevenson story, it stars Boris Karloff as a sinister cab driver who delivers corpses for anatomical study to an idealistic doctor. (77 mins.) May 16, noon, Egyptian, free.

`BOILING POINT'

Japan Director: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Masahiko Ono, Yuriko Ishida, Johnny Okrua, Takeshi Kitano U.S. Premiere

-- Another outrageous film from "Beat" Takeshi, whose "Violent Cop" ignited audiences last year. Beat's latest film is a David and Goliath tale involving a small-time baseball team going up against the might of the yakuza. (96 mins.) May 20, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 22, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME'

U.S.A. Director: Errol Morris

-- Errol Morris, whose brilliant, iconoclastic films "Vernon, Florida," "Gates of Heaven" and "The Thin Blue Line" have enlivened and popularized the documentary format, has created another entertaining nonfiction work with this exploration of the life and theories of Stephen Hawking. Juxtaposing an exploration of Hawking's physics theories with an insightful overview of his life, Morris uses techniques similar to those he employed in "The Thin Blue Line," including unusual editing rhythms and a score by Philip Glass. The result won the jury prize for best documentary at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. (83 mins.) May 22, 5 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50; May 24, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY'

Taiwan Director: Edward Yang Cast: Zhang Guozhu, Elaine Jin, Lisa Yang, Zhang Zhen

-- Hailed as a masterpiece at several festivals, this four-hour epic is set in 1960sTaiwan and concerns gangs of school kids searching for their identity. Based on a real-life incident, the film is an evocative chronicle of a time and place. (240 mins.) May 21, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 23, noon, Broadway Market, $4.50.

`BROTHERS'

Tadzhikistan Director: Bakhtiyar Khudoynazarov Cast: Timur Tursonov, Firuz Sabzaliev

-- A road movie, by rail, actually, through a land of newfound freedoms. Two brothers, 17 and 11, leave their mother to visit their father, a doctor in a far off town. Twenty-six-year-old Khudoynazarov, in his debut film, has crafted a warm and loving portrait of this new land. Grand Prize, Turin Festival of Young Cinema. Grand Prix, Mannheim Film Festival (100 mins.) May 26, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 29, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`BROTHER'S KEEPER'

U.S.A. Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

-- Fifty-nine-year-old Delbert Ward and his three bachelor brothers had lived all their lives in a decrepit shack with no indoor plumbing on their dairy farm. Shy and barely literate, they kept to themselves - until the morning when Bill Ward was found dead in the bed he shared with Delbert. Declaring death by murder, the police arrested Delbert and soon had a signed confession from him. But surprisingly, the rural community that had left the Ward "boys" alone for so long rallied to Delbert's defense. (117 mins.) May 16, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 18, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`BUTTERFLY WINGS'

Spain Director: Juanma Bajo Ulloa Cast: Sylvia Munt, Fernando Valverde, Susana Garcia, Laura Vaquero, Txema Blasco, Alberto Martin U.S. Premiere

-- "Butterfly Wings" enfolds as an alternately cruel, touching, funny and sordid tale of an obsessive and wildly dysfunctional family. The story opens on 6-year-old Ami (Susana Garcia), a quiet child living a carefree existence, enamored of drawing. Her mother, Carmen (Sylvia Munt), however, has become obsessed with having a male heir. In an ever-escalating series of events triggered by Ami's bid for freedom, the film builds to an outrageous denouement reminiscent of Luis Bunuel. (110 mins.) May 19, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 23, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

C C C ------- `CAIRO STATION' and `CAIRO'

Egypt Director: Youssef Chahine Cast: Youssef Chahine, Hind Rostom, Farid Chawki

-- Youssef Chahine is Egypt's foremost living film director. He has been making films for more than 40 years in a variety of styles ranging from neorealist to Hollywood-style epic. In "Cairo Station," his 1958 classic, Chahine himself plays the lead role of Kinawi, a crippled newspaper vendor who is in love with a beautiful lemonade seller, Hannouma. Also on the program is a short, "Cairo - As Told by Youssef Chahine/Nemaoiara Bi Ahlaha" (1991), a documentary love letter to the city that has inspired him. (94 mins.) May 24, 7 p.m, Neptune, $6.50; May 27, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`THE CASE OF THE WITCH WHO WASN'T'

Canada Director: Jean Beaudry Cast: Marie-Stefane Gaudry, Kesnamelly Neff.

-- A heartwarming story which combines some quiet observations on race relations, the love of animals and the meaning of friendship. Two young girls share a special vacation, and a determination to put the words of the fox in "The Little Prince" into practice: "One becomes responsible for everything one establishes ties with." (95 mins.) May 31, 10 a.m., Metro, $3.50-$5.

`CAUGHT LOOKING: THE FILMS OF CONSTANTINE GIANNARIS'

Great Britain Director: Constantine Giannaris Cast: Louis Seldwyn

-- One of the true discoveries for us this year, these three films by Constantine Giannaris offer a wry look at the gay life. "Caught Looking" follows a young man as he makes his way through an interactive video dating game. `North of Vortex" is a beautiful black-and-white road movie wherein two men and a woman play out their romantic and sexual fantasies. `"rojans" is a very personal inquiry into the life of Constantine Cavafy, a homosexual and Greece's most famous poet. (97 mins.) May 28, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 31, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`CHILDREN OF NATURE'

Iceland Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson Cast: Gisli Halldorsson, Bruno Ganz

-- One of this year's nominees for the best foreign film Oscar, "Children of Nature" is a drama about coming to terms with old age. An old farmer and his sweetheart run away from the retirement home they've been sent to, beginning a road trip adventure with touches of the fantastic (Bruno Ganz makes an appearance as an angel in an overcoat). In the same vein as last year's prize winner, "Strangers in Good Company." (85 mins.) May 15, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 19, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`CLOUD'

Portugal Director: Ana Luisa Guimaraes Cast: Alfonso de Melo, Rosa Castro Andre U.S. Premiere

-- Ana Luisa Guimaraes' directorial debut begins in heightened film-noir fashion and subtly turns a typical genre story into a poetic fable. On a dark Lisbon night, Tomas (Alfonso de Melo) in trying to maintain control over his gang accidentally kills a young man. He suspects that Laura (Rosa Castro Andre) may have witnessed the killing. As he attempts to intimidate her, she begins to fall in love with him. (100 mins.) May 26, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 30, noon, Broadway Market, $4.50.

`CLOUD-PARADISE'

Russia Director: Nikolai Dostal Cast: Andrei Zhigalov, Sergei Batalov, Irina Rozanova, Alla Klioeka, Anna Ovsiannikova U.S. Premiere

-- One of the freshest, brightest films to come out of Russia in many years. Young Kolia, a happy-go-lucky motor mouth with not much to do or say, announces to a friend that he's leaving their sleepy town and heading east for Siberia. At once, the town erupts with activity. Everyone prepares for a grand send-off, and Kolia - who had no real intention of leaving - must now go through with his promise. (79 mins.) May 15, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50; May 17, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`CONFESSING TO LAURA'

Colombia/Cuba/Spain Director: Jaime Osorio Gomez Cast: Gustavo Londono

-- On April 9, 1948, in Bogota, Colombia, presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, head of the Liberal Party, was assassinated. His death marked the beginning of a violent and costly civil war that left over 200,000 dead. Jaime Osorio Gomez sets his intimate tale amid this conflict and its aftermath. (90 mins.) May 26, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 28, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`COWS' (`VACAS')

Spain Director: Julio Medem Cast: Emma Suarez, Carmelo Gomez, Ana Torrent U.S. Premiere

-- Spanning a century from 1836 to 1936, "Cows" chronicles the lives of three generations of two neighboring rural families. Central to Julia Medem's passionate debut feature is Aizkolari culture, the tradition of the Basque woodsmen. (96 mins.) June 4, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 6, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`THE CREATION'

South Korea Director: Im Kwon-Taek Cast: Lee Duk-Hwa, Lee Hye-Young, Kim Myong-Gon. U.S. Premiere

-- "The Creation," which swept the Korean "Oscars," is set in the 19th century, a confusing time for Koreans when the defeat of China following the Opium Wars and other factors led to anxiety about Korea's future. A movement opposing the growing influence of Western civilization sprang up to lead the people to a "new world" with the maxim Man is Heaven, meaning man can attain virtue by following humane values. (146 minutes) May 31, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 3, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`CREATURES OF THE SEASONS' Japan

AND `PRIMITI TOO TAA' Canada

-- This IMAX double bill is made up of a Japanese film about landscape and animals through the seasons, and a three-minute Canadian short. (40 mins.) May 17, Eames/IMAX Theater, 10 a.m., $3.50-$5; May 31, IMAX, 10 a.m., $3.50-$5.

`CUP FINAL' Israel Director: Eran Riklis Cast: Moshe Ivgi, Muhamad Bacri, Salim Dau, Basam Zuamut

-- A portrait of the political conflicts and personal struggles among a small group of desperate fighters enmeshed in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Among this group of desperate men, the instinct for survival turns what could have been a predictable war story around. (110 mins.) May 20, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 23, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

D D D ------- `DADDY AND THE MUSCLE ACADEMY'

Finland Director: Ilppo Pohjola U.S. Premiere

-- This visually inventive documentary traces the career of artist Tom of Finland with a particular focus on the ways in which his iconography and mythical male images have had a profound effect on the way gays see themselves and on gay consciousness in general. (55 mins.) May 27, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 29, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`DANZON'

Mexico Director: Maria Novaro Cast: Maria Rojo, Tito Vasconcelos

-- Danzon (a native Cuban dance popular in Vera Cruz, Mexico) and bolero rhythms set the tone for this joyful, passionate story of a telephone operator whose life takes an unexpected turn. Her ensuing adventures bring her into contact with people she never dreamed of: Russian sailors, prostitutes, a transvestite nightclub performer, a young tugboat captain. (120 mins.) May 23, Harvard Exit, 7 p.m., $6.50; May 25, Neptune, 2:15 p.m., $4.50.

`THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL'

U.S.A. Director: Robert Wise Cast: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal

-- Robert Wise's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is one of the best and most beloved science fiction films. The robot, Gort, has been dispatched to earth to warn its leaders they must mend their warring ways. Michael Rennie plays the eloquent, Christ-like alien, and Patricia Neal is the courageous heroine. (92 mins.) May 30, noon, Egyptian, free.

`DAYS OF BEING WILD'

Hong Kong Director: Wong Kar-wai Cast: Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau

-- Winner of almost every Hong Kong film award, "Days of Being Wild" (incidentally, the Chinese title for James Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause") follows a group of restless youth in 1960s Hong Kong and Manila. Beautifully photographed, with a unique style, mood and pace, the film stars some of the biggest names in Asian cinema. (100 mins.) May 24, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 26, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`DAYS OF MAN'

Latvia Director: Yevgeny Paskevich Cast: Lyubomiras Lauciavicus, Vitali Skvorkin U.S. Premiere

-- Two-part film about a man's relationship with his mother, and its subsequent affect on his affairs with women. Shot throughout with gold and blue, reminiscent of Tarkovsky, this first feature from Lithuania offers a sexy look behind the curtain, set in the 1950s and 1970s. (178 mins.) May 24, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`DEADLY CURRENTS'

Canada Director: Simcha Jacobovici -- "Deadly Currents" is a provocative documentary illuminating the underlying causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by focusing on the West Bank. The director and cameraman Mark Mackay have interwoven a powerful series of interviews with participants on both sides in their homes, streets, hospitals, camps - and war zones. What emerges is a balanced documentary bound to invite both controversy and acclaim. (100 mins.) May 21, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 23, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

THE DIRECTORS' PLACE: `I DREAMT I WOKE UP'

Great Britain Director: John Boorman U.S. Premiere

AND

`KYOTO: MY MOTHER'S PLACE'

Japan Director: Nagisa Oshima

-- Two great directors take a very personal look at their roots. In "I Dreamt I Woke Up," John Boorman's alter ego John Hurt explores the particular hold of Ireland upon Boorman. In "Kyoto: My Mother's Place," Oshima meditates on his mother's life in the Japanese city of Kyoto. (94 mins.) May 24, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 26, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`THE DISCREET' (`LA DISCRETE')

France Director: Christian Vincent Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Judith Henry

-- An arrogant young writer, angry at a girlfriend whohas left him, plots an elaborate revenge. He will seduce a complete stranger, win her heart, and then cruelly drop her. He intends to record his successful execution of this plan in an erotic diary he will then publish- the only thing he doesnot count on is falling in love with his victim! Winner of the Critics'Prize at the 1990 Venice Film Festival. (98 mins.) May 16, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 17, 2:15 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

`A DREAM IN THE ABYSS'

Venezuela Director: Oscar Lucien Cast: Erich Wildpret, Frank Spano U.S. Premiere

-- Oscar Lucien's directorial debut is the story of two Venezuelan youths and their dream of scaling Mount Everest. The story revolves around their attempts to raise money and draw national interest in their project. Their uphill struggle becomes an indictment of bourgeois complacency. (98 mins.) May 31, 7 p.m., Neptune; June 2, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian; $6.50 at both.

`DREAMING FILIPINOS'

Philippines Director: Manny Reyes Cast: Adrian Ramirez, Ren Silayan

-- Manny Reyes, in his first full-length film, has crafted a humorous look at the special relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines, examining the attitudes between colonizer and colonized. It's a satirical look at young Filipinos who dream of becoming Americans and who define their identity by American perceptions and ideals despite 45 years of independence from the U.S. (92 mins.) May 27, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 30, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

E E E ------ `EASTERN CONDOR'

Hong Kong Director: Samo Hung Cast: Samo Hung, Haing S. Ngor

-- Another martial-arts epic from Samo Hung ("Pedicab Driver"), about a secret rescue mission during the Vietnam War. Then the mission is canceled - as they're parachuting out of a plane. (94 mins.) June 6, midnight, Egyptian, $5.

`EIGHT BALL'

Australia Director: Ray Argall Cast: Matthew Fargher, Angie Milliken World Premiere

-- From the director of "Return Home." A small-time car thief, newly released from prison, returns home to his 8-year-old son, Douggie, intent on becoming the father he has never been. Douggie, wounded by neglect, believes a broken home is all he'll ever have. Enter Charlie, a workaholic, who's always gained his greatest happiness through what he creates. But Charlie no longer knows what he feels; he's lost his spark, and now the woman who loves him is going away. (90 mins.) May 30, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 1, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'

Czechoslovakia Director: Jan Sverak

-- One of this year's Oscar-nominated foreign films, about childhood pranks in a post-war Czechoslovakian elementary school. (100 mins.) May 15, Harvard Exit, 7 p.m., $6.50; May 16, Harvard Exit, 2:15 p.m., $4.50.

`ENCHANTED APRIL'

Great Britain Director: Mike Newell Cast: Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright

-- The star and director of "Dance With a Stranger" are reunited in this British comedy of manners about bored married women who leave their husbands in London and take off to Italy in the 1920s. What ensues when the husbands arrive turns everything and everyone around. (101 min.) May 16, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 17, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`THE END OF THE GOLDEN WEATHER'

New Zealand Director: Ian Mune Cast: Stephen Fulford, Stephen Pappas, Paul Gittings, Gabrielle Hammond

-- Like many of the best films about childhood, this one looks upon an adult world through the eyes of a bright, imaginative and somewhat precocious young boy. Twelve-year-old Geoff has a goal in life: he wants to become a famous writer. He fully believes in miracles, and witnesses them every day on the beach where he lives. (103 mins.) May 23, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit; May 30, noon, Harvard Exit, $3.50-$5.

`THE ENQUIRERS'

U.S.A. Director: Rick Barnes Cast: Toni Cross, Brian Finney, August Kelley, Andrea Hays, Stephen Lohrentz, Rick Barnes World Premiere

-- Continuing in the tradition of highlighting home-grown talent, SIFF offers this amusing concoction of Elvis impersonators, hard-boiled standup comics, would-be writers and aliens in a wry satire where tabloid culture comes to life on the silver screen. The basic premise of "The Enquirers" is: What if all those Elvis sightings were real? (100 mins.) June 1, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`EQUINOX'

See "Closing Night" on Page 2. June 7, 7:30 p.m., King Cinedome, $15.

`THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO MY DEATH'

Canada Director: Bill Robertson Cast: Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laurie Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus

-- Winner of the prize for best Canadian screenplay at the 1991 Vancouver International Film Festival, this is a truly original film from promising new director Bill Robertson. Angus, 21, has one serious problem: He has inherited from his suburban psycho-family an inability to dance. Having survived Dad's obsessive golfing, Mom's re-upholstery project from hell and the death of the family dog, Angus still seems unable to open up with Julia, his girlfriend. (89 mins.) May 22, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 24, noon, Harvard Exit, $4.50.

F F F ------- `THE FAVOR, THE WATCH AND THE VERY BIG FISH'

Great Britain/France Director: Ben Lewin Cast: Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum, Natasha Richardson, Michel Blanc

-- This offbeat romantic comedy stars Bob Hoskins as a struggling photographer of religious art who must find a model to pose as Jesus or be fired. Jeff Goldblum plays a jealous pianist just getting out of jail, whose intense look and unkempt beard inspire Hoskins to hire him for the part. Things soon get out of hand as the pianist begins to take his new-found divinity far too seriously. (89 mins.) May 23, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 25, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

`FIRE' (`TA DONA')

Mali Director: Adama Drabo Cast: Fily Traore, Djemeba Diawara

-- "Fire" follows the journey of Sidi (Fily Traore), a young forestry engineer living in a small village, whose search for a plant known for its seven healing powers takes him to the unknown and mystical heart of traditional Bambara culture. (100 mins.) June 1, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 3, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`FIVE GIRLS AND A ROPE'

Taiwan/Hong Kong Director: Yeh Hung-fei Cast: Chang Shih, Yang Chieh-mei, Nang Yue-wen, Wu Pei-yu

-- Banned in both Taiwan and China, this harrowing indictment of the patriarchal system is a period film relating the different tales of five friends, each of them suffering at the hands of the men in their lives. Photographed in rural China, the film is a plea to end the oppression of women everywhere. (123 mins.) May 22, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 24, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`FLIRTING'

Australia Director: John Duigan Cast: Noah Taylor, Nicole Kidman

-- Set in rural Australia in 1965, "Flirting" is the story of an awkward adolescent (Noah Taylor) who is sent to a boys-only boarding school across the lake from a similar school for girls. In this setting, Danny feels very much the outsider. At the girls college on the other side of the lake, Thandie, a young Ugandan girl, has her own problems. Directed by John Duigan ("Romero," "The Year My Voice Broke"), it won the top prize at the Australian Film Awards. (96 mins.) June 6, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 7, noon, Egyptian, $4.50.

G G G -------- `GALAXIES ARE COLLIDING' U.S.A. Director: Stanley Wilson World Premiere

-- Adam is so upset by the state of the planet in general, he has lost all interest in normal human pursuits. His fiancee Beth has pulled out all the stops in an attempt to snap Adam out of it in time for their wedding day. But Adam disappears, his bombed-out car is found in a Mojave Desert Air Force target range and everyone assumes the worst.(105 mins.) May 29, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 2, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`GAS, FOOD, LODGING'

U.S.A. Director: Allison Anders Cast: Brooke Adams, Fairuza Balk, Ione Skye

-- This moving film about a family of women living in a small New Mexican town was the lone American Independent film to grace the prestigious Competition Section at this year's Berlin Film Festival. As the film opens, Fairuza Balk, playing a teenager growing up in the shabby, dust-blown town, leaves a screening of one of her favorite Mexican melodramas newly inspired by her heroine, Elvia Rivero. "She gave me an idea of what was missing in my life. A man - not for me - but for my mother." Brooke Adams plays her mother, long divorced and working as a waitress. (100 mins.) May 16, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 17, noon, Harvard Exit, $4.50.

GAY SHORTS

-- This program presents a selection of short films, in a variety of styles: Narrative, poetic, imagistic, rigorously formal and just short and sweet. They deal with the issues of love, desire, gay sensibility, and AIDS. Jerry Tartaglia's "1969" is a strangely moving essay on the changes that have happened since the early days of gay pride. "Resonance" by Stephen Cummins and Simon Hart is a beautiful balletic piece where images of violence are subverted into a dance of affirmation. John Birninger's "The Weight of Oceans" creates a dreamlike vision of male desire. "The Cost of Love," a photo romance, and "Proust's Favorite Fantasy," dealing with a hotel, a gendarme, and a chicken are by UK filmmaker Richard Kwietniowski. Mark Christopher's "Dead Boys' Club" is a traditional narrative that is part "Red Shoes" and part "Longtime Companion." And a personal and graceful tribute to one lost completes the program in Laurie Lynd's "R.S.V.P." (83 mins.) May 18, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 22, 5 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

`GET THEE OUT!'

Russia Director: Dmitri Astrakhan Cast: Otar Megvinetukutessy, Yelena Anissimova

-- Centered on the plight of a Jewish family in turn-of-the-century Russia, this debut film is an indictment of racism and a portrait of a time gone by, of village life and traditions from what now seems the distant past. (90 mins.) May 21, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 22, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`GOODBYE, BOYS'

Russia Director: Mikhail Kalik U.S. Premiere

-- This long-suppressed 1966 film deals with the friendship of three boys who grow up in a small seaside town and go through a life-changing experience in the army. (97 mins.) May 27, Harvard Exit, 7 p.m., $6.50; May 30, Neptune, 2:15 p.m., $4.50.

`THE GULF WAR . . . AND AFTER'

Tunisia Directors: Borhane Alouie, Nouri Bouzid, Mostfa Darkaoui, Nejia U.S. Premiere

-- The Gulf War is seen from the Arab perspective in this collection of six short films, some fantasy, some documentary, produced under the leadership of Achmed Attia ("Halfaouine - Boy of the Terraces," SIFF '91). (102 mins.) May 18, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 20, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

H H H -----

`THE HAIRDRESSER'S HUSBAND'

France Director: Patrice Leconte Cast: Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena

-- From the director of "Monsieur Hire" (SIFF 1990) comes another film about sexual longing and romantic obsession. Antoine (Jean Rochefort) has dreamed of marrying a hairdresser ever since he was 12 and caught a glimpse of the breast of the woman cutting his hair. At age 50 he finally achieves his dream by proposing to a lovely hairdresser he has just met, who accepts. (90 mins.) May 22, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 24, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'

Germany Director: Doris Dorrie Cast: Hansa Czypionka, Ozay, Doris Kunstmann, Lambert Hamel, Omer Simsek

-- The hero of "Happy Birthday!" is private eye Kemal Kayankaya, a Turk who, orphaned and raised by German foster parents, speaks no Turkish. He's a hard drinker with a sense of humor and a knack for uncovering the truth. Battling a hangover and police obstruction, he's on the trail of a missing husband that leads to murder, corruption and greed. (109 mins.) May 15, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 16, 2:15 p.m. Neptune, $4.50.

`THE HAUNTING'

U.S.A. Director: Robert Wise Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom

-- Two women are part of a small team of researchers gathered to investigate the unsavory reputation of a house that is supposedly haunted. This atmospheric 1963 classic based on the Shirley Jackson story will be shown as part of the festival's tribute to Robert Wise, who will attend the screening and discuss his career. (113 mins.) May 21, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`HIGHWAY PATROLMAN' (`EL PATRULLERO')

Mexico Director: Alex Cox Cast: Roberto Sosa World Premiere

-- Alex Cox, director of "Repo Man" and "Sid and Nancy," returns with a tale of corruption and redemption set in the northern deserts of Mexico. A young officer in the highway patrol slowly, despite his best intentions, finds himself drawn into the corruption and compromise that surround him. (103 mins.) May 31, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 4, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME'

U.S.A. Director: Joel Hirshman Cast: Adrienne Shelly, Max Parrish, Sean Young, Diane Ladd, Andrea Nashak, Ania Suli, Bella Lehoczky, Timothy Leary World Premiere

-- Eli (Max Parrish) has just accidentally shot his domineering "fatal attraction" fiance (Sean Young doing a self-parody) in a shotgun wedding. He flees with her $200,000 and ends up hiding in a trailer park in California until he can get false ID to get him out of the country. Director/writer Joel Hirshman has stacked his trailer park with an assortment of oddball characters, played by Adrienne Shelley, Andrea Naschak, Ania Suli, Diane Ladd and her real-life mother. Strong language and suggestive scenes. (96 mins.) May 30, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 1, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`HOMEWORK'

Mexico Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Cast: Maria Rojo, Jose Alonso

-- This farce utilizes one stationary camera and two droll characters to explore a sexual cat-and-mouse game. Virginia has invited Marcelo, a former lover, to her apartment with the promise of love and tittillation. Unknown to Marcelo, she sets up a hidden video camera to record the events of the evening, and proceeds to act as if all is normal. Full frontal nudity. (85 mins.) May 17, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 18, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`THE HOURS AND TIMES'

U.S.A. Director: Christopher Munch Cast: David Angus, Ian Hart, Stephanie Pack, Robin McDonald

-- This debut film takes as its focus the relationship between a young John Lennon and Beatles manager and friend Brian Epstein. The film concentrates on one long weekend the pair spend together in the spring of 1963, during which they fly to Barcelona for a break after a grueling tour. (60 mins.) May 22, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 24, 2:15 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

I I I ------- `I WAS ON MARS'

Germany Director: Dani Levy Cast: Maria Schrader, Dani Levy

-- The story of a woman who draws bad luck like a magnet, and who shamelessly learns to revel in it. Like most of her countrymen, Silva dreams of leaving her small village in Poland for the glamour and luxury of the West. Somehow she manages to reach America, where she finds herself standing with a large suitcase and not a word of English in the middle of New York City. In the days that follow, the few dollars she has brought with her slip through her fingers. Alio, a charmer and con artist, steals what's left. (86 mins.) May 30, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 2, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`IDENTIFICATION OF DESIRE'/`LORD OF FLIES'

Tajikistan, Kazakhstan Directors: Tolib Khamidov, Vladimir Tyulkin Cast: Sharaf Khabinov, Dshamol Dadashanov U.S. Premiere

-- Double bill from two former Soviet republics. In "Identification of Desire," three boys "buy" themselves the mother of a fourth, one of their best friends. A film on youth and their aspirations, a mixture of Oriental values and Christianity, "Lord of Flies" is a documentary on Kyril Ignatiyev, a man who has decided to help mankind by the universal extermination of flies. Silver Prize, Nyon Documentary Film Festival (108 mins.) June 1, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

IMAGE FORUM SHORTS

Japan

-- Tokyo's Image Forum has been distributing and screening experimental film and video art since 1971. The Image Forum maintains a cinematheque and film library, and also publishes a monthly magazine. It has become the most important venue for avant-garde film in Japan. In this program are included a wide range of filmmakers. Junici Okuyama's "Shutter's Chane" falls in the pure formalist camp, whereas Mouhiro Aihara's "Mask," Toshio Matsamoto's "Engram" and Jun Miyaki's "Vacuum Ice" mix formalistic imagery with expressive texts. Makoto Tezuka's "Mokeikugenkkyo" is a dadaist piece that calls on the viewer to abandon all cinematic conventions for "the tender luminescence of nonsense." Keita Kurosaku's "Adventure of Haruko," an animated tale of phantoms in a 1950s apartment block, and Takashi Ito's "Satani's Wiring Plan" both deal with a fear that the modern city of Tokyo is an uncontrollable animate being. (92 mins.) June 5, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`IN THE ALLEYS OF LOVE'

Iran Director: Khosro Sinaie Cast: Medi Ahmadi, Ali Galehdari, Reza Pazhuhi, Abdolreza Baghban

-- A young refugee from the Iran/Iraq war returns home to find total devastation. He wanders through town reminiscing about the carefree days of his childhood, encountering those who stayed behind to suffer tragedies and seeing children playing amid the rubble. (83 mins.) May 26, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 28, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`IN THE SHADOW OF THE STARS'

U.S.A. Directors: Irving Saraf, Allie Light

-- This year's Academy Award winner for best feature-length documentary, "In the Shadow of the Stars" puts the spotlight on the usually anonymous members of the opera chorus. It reveals the ambitions and hopes of the chorus singers, who must meet demanding artistic standards yet receive little glory. Highlights from performances, such as the appearance of the witches in Verdi's "Macbeth," give the flavor of the highly dramatic world of opera - from an unusual point of view. (93 mins.) May 15, 5 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50; May 16, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`INSIDE MONKEY ZETTERLAND'

U.S.A. Director: Jefery Levy Cast: Steve Antin, Katharine Helmond, Patricia Arquette, Sandra Bernhard, Rupert Everett, Sofia Coppola World Premiere

-- A dark comedy from Jefery Levy (winner of the Venice Critics' Prize for his debut movie, "Drive"), focusing on "Monkey" Zetterland, a would-be Hollywood scriptwriter, and his rather eccentric family. A refreshing look at LA and LA types, including an all-star cast: Katharine Helmond ("Soap," "Brazil"), Rupert Everett ("Another Country"), Patricia Arquette ("The Indian Runner") and Sandra Bernhard in one of her best roles since "The King of Comedy." (89 mins.) June 5, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 7, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

J J J ----- `JERICO'

Venezuelan Director: Luis Alberto Lamata Cast: Francis Nueda, Alexander Milic

-- Coming in advance of this year's 500th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Americas, "Jerico" offers a sumptuous, revisionist view of the age of the conquistadores. First-time director Luis Alberto Lamata spins the tale of Friar Santiago, an idealistic Dominican monk who accompanies a 16th century expeditionary force in search of the fabled South Seas passage.(90 mins.) May 24, 2:15 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50; May 25, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`JOHN LURIE AND THE LOUNGE LIZARDS'

U.S.A. Director: Garret Linn Cast: The Lounge Lizards, John Lurie U.S. Premiere

-- For more than a decade, John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards have been producing some of the most provocative music heard in the age of late capitalism. Lurie's style has since developed into a mix of musics, mingling reggae and salsa, Middle-Eastern modalities with free jazz and tarantellas with shuffle music. The film fuses three different performances at Berlin's Quartier Latin. (90 mins.) May 23, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 25, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`JOHNNY SUEDE'

U.S.A. Director: Tom DiCillo Cast: Brad Pitt, Catherine Keener

-- Tom DiCillo's ironic, comic fantasy focuses on a dreamy young man (Brad Pitt) who rejects reality and, after a pair of suede shoes literally drops on his head, adopts the name Johnny Suede, setting out to be a pop star, using the late Ricky Nelson as his model. (97 mins.) June 6, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 7, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

L L L ------- `LACENAIRE: THE ELEGANT CRIMINAL'

France Director: Francis Girod Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Jean Poiret, Jacques Weber, Francois Perrier

-- Many will recall the character of Lacenaire in "Les Enfants du Paradis": sinister dandy, failed playwright, petty thief, cynical seducer, ruthless killer. He was, in fact, a real person - an astonishing character who seemed irresistibly drawn to the guillotine. Daniel Auteuil ("Jean de Florette") brings this complex and magnetic personality to life. "The next masterwork of French cinema." - Variety. (125 mins.) May 17, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 19, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`THE LEGEND OF A MASK'

Mexico Director: Ricardo Buil Cast: Hector Bonillo, Damian Alcazar

-- One of the wildest and most enduring aspects of Mexican popular culture is the cult of the masked wrestler. Ricardo Buil's first feature introduces el Angel Enmascarado (The Masked Angel, played by Mexican superstar Hector Bonillo, last seen in "Red Sunrise," SIFF 1991). In homage/parody of "Citizen Kane," "The Legend of the Mask" opens with the Masked Angel lying dead on the floor of his apartment. Olmo Robles (Damian Alcazar) plays the hard-boiled, alcoholic sportswriter who is sent to investigate the mysterious circumstances that surround the star's death. Interviewing the hero's wives, publisher, film producer and manager, a tawdry private life is revealed: not even his wives saw him unmasked. (95 mins.) June 4, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`LESSONS IN DARKNESS'

Germany Director: Werner Herzog U.S. premiere

-- A haunting haiku of black poetry, Werner Herzog's latest documentary is a journey into the living hell of Kuwait following the invasion of Saddam Hussein. A trip into the dark recesses of man's destructive instincts, "Lessons of Darkness" is full of a horrifying beauty, images from Satan's scrapbook. (50 mins.) June 5, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian. $4.50.

`THE LIVING END'

U.S.A. Director: Gregg Araki Cast: Mike Dytri, Craig Gilmore, Darcy Marta, Mary Woronov, Johanna Went, Paul Bartel, Scot Goetz

-- Shaping up as one of the most controversial films of the year, "The Living End" is being hailed as the gay "Thelma & Louise." Giving the conventions of thebuddypicture another rude twist, writer-director Gregg Araki tells the defiant story of two HIV-positive gay men who go on a cross-country sex and crime spree. (92 mins.) May 23, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 24, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

`LOVE ON A SLICE OF BREAD'

Indonesia Director: Garin Nuguroho Cast: Tio Pakusadewo, Adjie Massaid U.S. premiere

-- This handsome film from Indonesia portrays a road trip through the interior of Java, where a young couple run into an old college friend. It recalls the early works of the French New Wave, especially "Jules and Jim." (100 mins.) May 22, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 24, noon, Broadway Market, $4.50.

`LOVERS'

Spain Director: Vicente Aranda Cast: Jorge Sanz, Victoria Abril

-- Based on a true story, Vicente Aranda's film deals with an uncertain young man who has finished his service in post-war Spain and wants to marry his former commander's housemaid. Victoria Abril plays the pretty widow who rents him a room in her flat (the performance won her a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival this year). Being her only tenant, and a virile and handsome one at that, he quickly becomes her bedmate as well. (105 mins.) May 30, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 3, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`THE LUNATIC'

Jamaica Director: Lol Creme Cast: Paul Campbell, Julie T. Wallace

-- A raucous comedy about the ribald adventures of Aloysius, the lovable, eccentric "mad man" of a small village on the northern seacoast of Jamaica. Aloysius communes with the forces of nature - literally. Cows chat with him about movies, the bushes scold him for his religious backsliding, and his best friend, the huge, gnarled tree under which he sleeps, carries on endless philosophical conversations with him. One day, Aloysius's life takes a startling turn when he encounters Inga, a Rubenseque German tourist with a voracious sexual appetite. (93 mins.) May 24, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50; May 27, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

M M M ------- `MAD AT THE MOON'

U.S.A. Director: Martin Donovan Cast: Hart Bochner, Mary Stuart Masterson World premiere

-- In director Martin Donovan's first feature-length theatrical film since "Apartment Zero" (SIFF best picture winner, '89), Mary Stuart Masterson plays a young woman who loves a gambler (Hart Bochner) but marries a farmer (Stephen Blake). Also on the program is the world premiere of Hart Bochner's short, "The Buzz." (95 mins.) May 30, Egyptian, 9:30 p.m., $6.50; May 31, Egyptian, 2:15 p.m., $4.50.

`MAMA'

China Director: Zhang Yuan Cast: Qin Yan, Huang Haibo, Pan Shaquan

-- Banned by Beijing, China's first independent film offers a unique look into a China we've never seen. Interweaving footage of children's mental homes with interviews with the children's mothers (including screenwriter and actress Qin Yan), this is Zhang's first film. (80 mins.) June 3, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 4, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`MARTHA AND I'

Germany/France Director: Jiri Weiss Cast: Marianne Sagebrecht, Michel Piccoli, Vaclav Chalupa, Ondrej Vetchy

-- Marianne Sagebrecht, the heroine of "Bagdad Cafe," "Sugarbaby" and "Rosalie Goes Shopping," plays Martha, the warm-hearted German bride of a kindly Jewish doctor in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia. The story revolves around Emil, a young boy who is sent by his mother to live with her brother's family in Prague after being discovered in a compromising position with a family servant. (106 mins.) June 5, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 6, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`MISSISSIPPI ONE'

France Director: Sarah Moon Cast: Alexandra Capuano, David Lowe, Linda Macquet, Suzanne Moncur, Isabelle Moly U.S. Premiere

-- This haunting film heralds a fresh new voice in cinema. A young girl is abducted from a Paris square by a stranger, who may be her father (though she doesn't know it). As the two travel together a strange sympathy develops between them, and her efforts to escape become half-hearted. (90 mins.) June 1, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 4, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`MONSTER IN A BOX'

U.S.A. Director: Nick Broomfield Cast: Spalding Gray

-- Funny, unpredictable, stimulating talk is the specialty of raconteur extraordinaire Spalding Gray ("Swimming to Cambodia"). His new monologue film concerns his huge autobiography, which he finds many excuses to put off finishing - it sits in a box by his elbow. (88 mins.) May 17, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 19, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`MONTREAL SEXTET'

Canada Directors: Denys Arcand, Michel Brault, Atom Egoyan, Patricia Rozema, Paul Leduc, Lea Pool -- On the occasion of Montreal's 350th anniversary, six directors have created a stunning portrait homage to a city "where you can taste sensuality in the air." Patricia Rozema's section deals with a Toronto housewife on a weekend fling in Montreal. Paul Leduc's offers a historical vignette. Michel Brault's film juxtaposes a hockey game against a couple's divorce trauma. Atom Egoyan adds another portrait of modern alienation to his canon. Lea Pool's film represents Montreal through a woman, struck by a car, her life flashing before her and our eyes. And Denys Arcand wraps up the show with a sendup of a consul-general. (120 mins.) May 29, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 30, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`MOONRISE'

New Zealand Director: David Blyth Cast: Al Lewis, Justin Gocke

-- Al Lewis, Grandpa Munster on "The Munsters" TV series, plays a mischievous eccentric who happens to be a 600-year-old vampire. His American teenage grandson comes to New Zealand for a vacation, only to discover his grandfather is actually a Grampire. (95 mins.) May 16, noon, Harvard Exit, $3.50-$5; May 17, 10 a.m., Factoria, $3.50-$5.

`MY NEW GUN'

U.S. Director: Stacy Cochran Cast: Tess Harper, Stephen Collins, Diane Lane U.S. Premiere

-- The director's first feature (her short film "Another Damaging Day" was part of last year's festival) is a quirky morality play/suburban melodrama. A man's purchase of a handgun horrifies his wife, who becomes obsessed by the weapon and it sets off a series of events that change her life. (100 mins.) May 22, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 23, 2:15 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

N N N ------- `NAKED MAKING LUNCH'

Great Britain Director: Chris Rodley Cast: William Burroughs, David Cronenberg, Judy Davis, Peter Weller

-- One of the most unusual "making of" documentaries ever produced, this is a behind-the-scenes look at David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch," including interviews with William S. Burroughs, Judy Davis, Peter Weller and Cronenberg, outtakes and an insider's look at the film's unusual special effects. (70 mins.) May 30, noon, Neptune, $4.50; June 3, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`NIGHT ON EARTH'

U.S.A. Director: Jim Jarmusch Cast: Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Rosie Perez

-- Jim Jarmusch's giddy, laid-back brand of existential comedy ("Stranger Than Paradise," "Mystery Train") gets the perfect set-up in this rondelay of five deadpan tales. Each story centers on a late-night taxicab encounter between a driver and his or her fare; each takes place in a different city, and all of the stories coincide in time and space. (130 mins.) May 15, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 17, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`NOAH'S ARK'

U.S.A. Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery, Myrna Loy

-- Made just as sound was taking over, "Ark" is part-silent, part-talkie, providing a fascinating demonstration how moviemakers on both sides of the cameras were adjusting to the radically changed medium. Directed by Michael Curtiz ("Captain Blood," "Casablanca") the film is particularly renowned for its recreations of the Tower of Babel, the exotic temples of Akkad, the ark with its menagerie of animals and, of course, the climactic flood. (98 mins.) June 6, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`NORTH OF PITTSBURGH'

Canada Director: Richard Martin Cast: Viveca Lindfors, Jeff Schultz U.S. Premiere

-- Set in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1975, "North of Pittsburgh" is a road story with plenty of detours. Tony, growing up in a town where young men aspire to jobs in a steel mill, wants more and sees running pot from Pittsburgh to the Canadian border as an opportunity. (98 mins.) May 23, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 24, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`NORTHWEST FILMMAKERS' SHORTS PROGRAM'

-- The SIFF's annual potluck for Northwest artists to share the fruits of their labor continues with this gathering of work in the short film format. Drawing off personal experience, director-writer-actor Larry Madden's "A Shade of Orange" offers a heart-wrenching inquiry into the death of a Vietnam veteran's young daughter. "Northern Exposure's" Rob Morrow presents a kid's eye view of parental indiscretion in "Silent Alarm." "The Addict" takes on Seattle's over-saturated espresso culture in a noirish sendup of coffee addiction. Tacoma-based Steven Camerano's "Little Zealot" is a wryly humorous, sometimes terrifying take on growing up Catholic, about a boy who is chosen to play the role of Judas for a Last Supper play. (67 mins.) June 1, Neptune, 5 p.m., $4.50.

`NOT MOZART'

Great Britain Directors: Peter Greenaway, Jeremy Newson and Pat Gavin, Barrie Gavin, Margaret Williams, Anthony Garner, Ernst Granits U.S. premiere

-- Seven directors meet six composers in six musical dramas which, by being a lot, but not Mozart, add an unusual and irreverent contribution to the celebration of the Mozart bicentennial. (180 mins.) May 25, noon, Broadway Market, $6.50. (Big-screen video presentation.)

O O O ------ `ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN' Belgium Director: Marion Hansel Cast: Carmen Maura U.S. premiere

-- The story of a single newspaper reporter who decides to have a baby by herself. The baby decides it doesn't want to be born into this world. She has a dialog with the child regarding the situation. (80 mins.) May 26, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 27, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA'

Hong Kong Director: Tsui Hark Cast: Jet Li, Yuen Biao

-- Another fast-paced kung fu movie, shot in 'Scope and directed by Tsui Hark, whose "Chinese Ghost Story" and "Swordsman" have delighted SIFF audiences. Set in 1875, a time when Western influences were encroaching on China, the film concerns the legendary hero, patriot and martial arts master Wong Fei Hung in a slam-bang action epic. (134 mins.) May 16, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 18, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`ONE FULL MOON'

Great Britain Director: Endaf Emlyn Cast: Dyfan Robers, Tudur Roberts U.S. Premiere

-- Ghosts of the troubled past haunt the shadowed Welsh village where a boy and his mother live in poverty. She expects little joy or comfort in this life and is sustained by her deeply held religious belief that peace and salvation await beyond the grave. Influenced by his mother, the boy becomes obsessed by the symbols and rituals of Christianity. May 22, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 23, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

P P P ------ `PARIS AWAKENS' (`PARIS S'EVEILLE')

France Director: Oliver Assayas Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Judith Godriche U.S. Premiere

-- Clement (Leaud) is a writer with an impulsive lover half his age named Louise (Godriche) and an errant son on the run from the police. When the son turns up at his father's house, the initial antagonism between him and Louise turns to desire. (95 mins.) June 4, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 6, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`PATH OF THE BRAVE'

Thailand Director: Euthana Mukdanasit Cast: Narin Thongkum, Thisawam Suwanpho, N-Hatai Pichitra U.S. premiere

-- Japa, an ambitious Hill tribesman, learns about the legend of the hero Jomu-a and dreams to walk the path of the brave. Soon he discovers that the path is paved with bad intentions. He will walk over other people, destroy the ones he loves, and strike fear into the hearts of humans and animals. (133 mins.) May 28, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 31, 2:15 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`PETER PAN'

U.S.A. Director: Herbert Brenan Cast: Betty Bronson, Mary Brian

-- Rarely seen today, this 1924 silent version was the first screen adaptation and one of its most enchanting incarnations. Betty Bronson, who at one time threatened the popularity of Mary Pickford, was author J. M. Barrie's personal choice to play Peter and she makes a charming, mischievous Pan. Featuring live organ accompaniment by Robert Israel. (100 mins.) May 31, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

Q Q Q ---- `A QUESTION OF ATTRIBUTION'

Great Britain Director: John Schlesinger Cast: James Fox, David Calder, Prunella Scales

-- In 1984, screenwriter Alan Bennett ("Prick Up Your Ears") and director John Schlesinger collaborated on the brilliant "An Englishman Abroad," a portrait of gentleman spy-defector Guy Burgess in exile in Moscow. Now in "A Question of Attribution" they team up again to tell the story of Burgess' fellow spy, Sir Anthony Blunt. (70 mins.) May 15, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 16, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

R R R ------- `RAMPAGE'

U.S.A. Director: William Friedkin Cast: Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur,

-- Academy award-winner William Friedkin ("The French Connection," "The Exorcist") once again explores the dark side. A vicious mass murderer with a religious fixation is captured and put on trial after a killing spree. The district attorney in charge of the case (Michael Biehn) must wrestle with the moral conflicts involved in whether the killer is sane and what his punishment should be. (97 mins.) May 29, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 30, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`REACH FOR THE SKY'

Romania/Canada Director: Elisabeta Bostan Cast: Izabela Moldovan, Alina Izvoranu

-- An uplifting story about a Romanian gymnast who "reaches for the sky" in her quest towards the Olympic Games. What is stressed here, though, is the message that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, that the accomplishment is as important as winning a medal. Roughly based on the life of Romania's Nadia Comaneci. (90 mins.) June 7, 10 a.m., Metro Cinemas, $3.50-$5.

`THE RED AMERICAN' (AMERICAN ROSSO)

Italy Director: Alessandro D'Alatri Cast: Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Burt Young U.S. Premiere

-- It's the carefree summer of 1934. Vittorio, a handsome provincial Don Juan, works at his uncle's matrimonial agency, but is fired for messing around with the boss' wife. Penniless, he leaves town; but in a stroke of unexpected luck, he meets up with a red-haired American (Burt Young) who has come to Italy seeking the wife of his dreams.(98 mins.) June 5, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 7, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`REVENGE OF BILLY THE KID'

Great Britain Director: Jim Groom Cast: Michael Balfour, Norman Mitchell, Samantha Perkins U.S. Premiere

-- When frisky farmer Gyles Macdonald, uncouth and alcoholic, has a torrid liaison with the farmyard goat, little does he know of the horrific consequences that will ensue. May 30, midnight, Egyptian, $5.

`RIFF-RAFF'

Great Britain Director: Ken Loach Cast: Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt,

-- This new film from Ken Loach ("Hidden Agenda," "Family Life") examines a Scottish laborer just out of stir who comes to London looking for work. He finds a job on a construction site converting a dilapidated ex-hospital into luxury apartments, where his co-workers are breaking every regulation in the book and running scams on the side. (98 mins.) May 22, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 24, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`ROAD TO THE RACETRACK'

South Korea Director: Jang Sun-Woo Cast: Kang Soo-Yeon, Moon Sung-Gun U.S. Premiere

-- Audiences have called it "postmodern" and "pornographic"; some think it's a comedy, others a tragedy. In director Jang's treatment of the war between the sexes, a couple split up after living in France for three years. When they meet again in Seoul, he desires her; she'll have none of it but neither will she leave him alone. (128 mins.) May 28, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 31, noon, Broadway Market, $4.50.

`ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS'

Italy Director: Luchino Visconti Cast: Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori,

-- Available for the first time in its original, uncut 1960 version, "Rocco" was the talk of the most recent New York Film Festival. Working with the great cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno and composer Nino Rota, director Luchino Visconti tells the epic tale of a Sicilian familythat moves to the northern industrial city of Milan in pursuit of a better life. (182 mins.) May 17, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`ROY ROGERS, KING OF THE COWBOYS'

Netherlands Director: Thys Ockersen Cast: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers Jr., William Witney U.S. Premiere

-- Opening in the 1950s with a group of boisterous Dutch children at a Saturday matinee featuring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (suitably subtitled in Dutch) in yet another exciting installment, "Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys" jumps to the 1990s and director Thys Okersen's obsession with his childhood hero, and with cowboy culture in general. His passion takes him on a pilgrimage to America in search of Roy Rogers. (80 mins.) May 17, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50; May 20, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

S S S ---- `SAMANTHA'

U.S.A. Director: Stephen Larocque Cast: Martha Plimpton, Dermot Mulroney, Hector Elizondo, Mary Kay Place, Ione Skye

-- A poignant comedy about coming to terms with who we are. On the morning of her 21st birthday, Samantha Stigg (Martha Plimpton) receives the biggest surprise of her life. She discovers she is adopted.(100 mins.) May 31, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 2, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`SCENE BY THE SEA'

Japan Director: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Kurodo Maki, Hiroko Oshima U.S. Premiere

-- Almost wordless, touching tale of two deaf people overcoming the odds to find each other. Shigeru, a garbage collector, rescues a broken surfboard which sets him on a course to master the waves, overcoming physical and social obstacles. (101 mins.) May 24, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 25, noon, Harvard Exit, $4.50.

`THE SCORPION'S GARDEN'

Russia Director: Oleg Kovalov

-- Spellbinding compilation film culled from footage recently unearthed and never before seen in the West, edited into a 1955 feature "The True Case of Sgt. Kotchetkom" - a Russian version of our Red Scare fare of the 1950s. The collection of images includes the 1956 Hungarian uprising, documentaries on dinosaurs and the space race, Khrushchev and Sinatra. (96 mins.) May 28, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 30, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`THE SECRET FACE'

Turkey Director: Omer Kavur Cast: Zuhal Olcay, Fikret Kuskan, Savas Yurttas, Sevda Ferdag U.S. Premiere

-- Haunting tale about a photographer hired to take pictures of people's faces for a mysterious woman, who then picks one of those photographed and runs away. The obsessed photographer follows her into a mysterious land of the unconscious. (118 mins.) May 19, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 23, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`SECRETS'

New Zealand/Australia Director: Michael Pattinson Cast: Beth Champion, Malcolm Kennard, Dannii Minogue U.S. premiere

-- Set in 1960s Australia, "Secrets" is the story of five teens, unknown to one another, who are determined to do everything in their power to see the Beatles close-up and make their way into the basement of the Fab Four's hotel, where they spend an eventful night. With Beatles footage from the time and a soundtrack featuring several of their hits. (98 mins.) May 29, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 31, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`THE SET-UP'

U.S.A. Director: Robert Wise Cast: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter

-- One of the most distinctive examples of film noir from the late 1940s, "The Set-Up" portrays the raw, cruel world of the over-the-hill boxer. Robert Ryan (who actually was a fighter) gives an impassioned performance as the film's underdog hero, sold out to take a fall by his manager. Adding to the film's tension and authenticity, director Robert Wise skillfully plays out his taut, keenly observed story in real time. (72 mins.) May 23, noon, Egyptian, free.

`SEX AND ZEN'

Hong Kong Director: Johnny Mak Cast: Amy Yip -- A ribald retelling of a traditional Chinese folk tale/ghost story, about a magician who transplants a horse's sexual member onto himself. (88 mins.) May 16, midnight, Egyptian, $5.

`SHADOW ON THE SNOW'

Hungary Director: Attila Janisch Cast: Miroslaw Baka, Josef Kroner,

-- A man standing in line at the post office witnesses a robbery gone wrong and ends up with the loot. He flees from the scene of another's crime, and tries desperately to cover up his deed, even to the point of throwing away the money. A study in paranoia, strikingly filmed in black-and-white CinemaScope. (76 mins.) June 4, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; June 6, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`SKINLESS NIGHT'

Japan Director: Rokuro Mochizuki Cast: Kin Ishikawa, Yasuko Yagami

-- A porn filmmaker has a crisis: he seeks to make a small, personal film, which his backers of course have no interest in producing. A provocative look into the Japanese world of erotica and a poignant examination of an ordinary man awakening to larger concerns. (105 mins.) May 17, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 19, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50.

`SNOW AND FIRE' (`LA NEIGE ET LE FEU')

France Director: Claude Pinoteau Cast: Vincent Perez, Geraldine Pailhas

-- An epic in the grand manner, this story of a platoon of young men who fought for the liberation of France in 1944-45 mixes spectacular battle scenes with more intimate moments. Two childhood friends separated by class both love the same woman (Geraldine Pailhas). Director Claude Pinoteau drew upon his own experiences as a soldier to create this vivid and involving saga. (125 mins.) May 20, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 23, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME'

U.S.A. Director: Robert Wise Cast: Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Sal Mineo

-- Paul Newman delivers a star-making performance in his second film, a 1956 account of Rocky Graziano's rise from smalltime hood to middleweight champ of the world. The inexperienced actor was helped by the perceptive direction of Robert Wise, who understood how to encourage his special gifts and insights. (112 mins.) June 6, noon, Egyptian, free.

`SOUTH'

Great Britain Directors: Le Trac, Tian Zhuang Zhuang, Jean Marie Teno U.S. Premiere

-- A marathon collection of short films from England's Channel 4, bringing the voices of the South to audiences in the North. Every filmmaker is from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa or Asia. The programs' subjects run the gamut from music and dance, to social and political issues, sports, and everyday life - from the wry and satirical to the horrified and irate, from the humorous to the profane. (433 mins.) May 25, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $10. (Big-screen video presentation.)

`SPOTSWOOD'

Australia Director: Mark Joffe Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Ben Mendelsohn

-- This droll comedy tackles the paradox inherent in the relationship between humanity and the human endeavor involved in business. Anthony Hopkins shows a different side to his acting talents in the role of Errol Wallace, an efficiency expert brought in by the aging boss of an old-fashioned shoe factory to put the company back on the path to prosperity. (97 mins.) May 23, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 25, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`THE STATION'

Italy Director: Sergio Rubini Cast: Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy

-- A fresh departure from traditional Italian cinema, "The Station" concerns the uneventful life of a station master who works the night shift in the south of Italy. One evening a new light is cast on his existence when a girl who has escaped from a party bursts into his office and announces she wants to leave on the next train. (92 mins.) May 25, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 27, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50.

`THE STRANGER'

India Director: Satyajit Ray Cast: Mamata Shankar, Deepankar Dey

-- The last film by the late Satyajit Ray, the Indian master who received a special Academy Award this year, is a simple but affecting moral tale. Anila receives a letter from her long-lost uncle, who went overseas in 1955, and hasn't been heard from since. Her husband, immediately suspicious, thinks the uncle must be after their money or even an impostor; nevertheless he agrees to allow him to stay for a week as requested. When the uncle arrives he seems strange and unworldly, but also a man of considerable wisdom and courtesy. (120 mins.) May 17, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 19, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`THE SUSPENDED STRIDE OF THE STORK'

Greece/France/Switzerland/Italy Director: Theo Angelopoulos Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau

-- From the director of "Landscape in the Mist" (SIFF 1990) comes this contemporary story about a northern frontier town, over-crowded with refugees and exiles, and the television journalist who arrives to cover their plight. One face stands out: a man who looks like a famous Greek politician who mysteriously disappeared several years earlier.(94 mins.) May 24, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 25, 2:15 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.

`SWORDSMAN IN DOUBLE FLAG TOWN'

China Director: He Ping Cast: Gao Wei, Zhao Mana

-- China's first "Western," a fun-filled, action-packed wide-screen homage to the late Sergio Leone, complete with the lone stranger (a young sword-slinger nicknamed Pigtail), high-noon showdowns, the one-horse town, the maiden in distress, cowering townsfolk and ruthless baddies in black. Sardonic commentary on American Westerns, or a new approach to Chinese folk-myth? (95 mins.) May 25, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 27, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

T T T ------ TBA

Director: Unknown Cast: Unknown

-- Toward the end of the festival, movies the directors have been trying to book sometimes become available at the last minute. These special screenings of unannounced films are often high points. Two years ago, one of the TBA films, "Pump Up the Volume," won the Golden Space Needle for best film of the festival. This year there will be three TBA shows: May 25, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; June 2, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; and June 5, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`THIS LAND IS OURS'

Nigeria/Great Britain Director: Saddik Balewa Cast: Umaru Uba Gaya, Sani Muhammad Shira

-- This spectacular-looking film was shot on location in northern Nigeria, where its first-time director was born. It's the story of a group of poor villagers battling a powerful enemy who wants to steal their valuable land. (84 mins.) May 25, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 28, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`THREE DAYS'

Lithuania Director: Sarunas Bartas Cast: Katerina Golubeva, Rima Latypova

-- This road movie concerns two Lithuanians on their way to Kaliningrad who pick up a couple of stranded Russian girls. Their three days together in the half-devastated city result in a film that recalls Antonioni and Tarkovsky, but is clearly the work of an original filmmaker. (80 mins.) May 27, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50; May 31, noon, Neptune, $4.50.

`THE TOMBS' (`LAS TUMBAS')

Argentina Director: Javier Torre Cast: Norma Aleandro, Federico Luppi, Eduardo Saucedo

-- The story of Pollo (Eduardo Saucedo), a brutalized 13-year-old orphan living in state institutions, smolders with a severe and profound intensity. He escapes one institution only to be captured and placed in another. Here he meets Maria (Norma Aleandro), a stern reformatory warden who attempts to show Pollo generosity and loyalty. (87 mins.) May 26, 5 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50; May 28, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

U U U ----- `THE USUAL'

U.S.A. Director: Eric Tretbar Cast: Lisa Todd, Steve Epp

-- Is Minneapolis soon to be discovered as the hotbed of American independent filmmaking? This Berlin Film Festival entry from Minneapolis focuses on Claire, a farm girl fresh to the big city with a man behind her and a new one ahead of her, juggling them both while waitressing at Lyle's cafe. A film influenced by Jim Jarmusch and Spike Lee, but clearly the work of a unique voice from the heartland. (80 mins.) May 24, 7 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 25, 2:15 p.m., Harvard Exit, $4.50.

V V V -------- `VEGAS IN SPACE'

U.S.A. Director: Phillip R. Ford Cast: Doris Fish, Miss X

-- "Vegas in Space" is the quintessential low-tech, cheese-o-rama, musical-sci-fi tour-de-drag. Starship Captain Dan Tracy and the all-male crew of the U.S.S. Intercourse race across the cosmos on a secret mission to the Planet Clitoris, where men are forbidden to touch down. (85 mins.) May 23, midnight, Egyptian, $5.

`VINCENT AND ME'

Canada Director: Michael Rubbo Cast: Nina Petronzio, Christopher Forrest

-- The adventures of 13-year-old Jo, a talented, budding artist who is fascinated by Vincent Van Gogh. While studying at art school, Jo encounters a mysterious European art dealer who buys a few of her drawings and commissions her to do more. (100 mins.) May 16, 10 a.m., Factoria, $3.50-$5; June 6, noon, Harvard Exit, $3.50-$5.

`VIRGINA'

Yugoslavia/France Director: Srdjan Karanovic Cast: Miodrag Krivokapic

-- A European co-production about Yugoslavia's treatment of cursed families who have no male babies and raise their daughters as men. Near the Adriatic Sea, one Serbian family names their third daughter "Stephen" and her father teaches her to act like a man, but she resists. (100 mins.) June 3, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 4, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

W W W ------ `WAITING'

Australia Director: Jackie McKimmie Cast: Noni Hezelhurst, Deborra-Lee Furness

-- The event which the four women at the center of this irreverent comedy are "waiting" for is the birth of Clare's child. Actually the child will belong to her best friend, Sandy, and her womanizing husband, Michael. Also on hand for the birth is would-be filmmaker, Therese, who is determined to hit the big time with an expose on malpractice and childbirth. (90 mins.) May 24, 7 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 25, noon, Egyptian, $4.50.

`THE WATERDANCE'

U.S.A. Director: Neal Jimenez, Michael Steinberg Cast: Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, Bill Forsythe, Helen Hunt, Elizabeth Pena

-- Based on his own experiences, Neal Jimenez (screenwriter of "River's Edge") brings surprising humor to this story of a young man's struggle to adjust to sudden permanent paralysis. The film won the audience prize for best drama at this year's Sundance Film Festival. (106 mins.) May 16, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

`THE WEDDING'

Germany Director: Ismaet Elci Cast: Oguz Tunc, Asli Altan U.S. Premiere

-- Metin, a Turk living in Berlin, receives a telegram that his mother is dying. He rushes to his Turkish village to find her in perfect health. Everyone seems to be preparing for a wedding - his wedding, though he is already engaged to a girl in Berlin. (91 mins.) May 26, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit, $6.50; May 28, 5 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`WHERE THE DAY TAKES YOU'

U.S.A. Director: Marc Rocco Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lara Flynn Boyle, Balthazar Getty, Sean Astin

-- A tough and haunting look inside the lives of homeless runaways. Though money, glamour and fame have long drawn teenage runaways to the streets of Hollywood, the grim realities encountered there - crime, drugs, prostitution - have long been ignored, allowing the idyllic myth to survive. (92 mins.) May 30, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; June 2, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`WHO KILLED THE BABY JESUS'

U.S.A. Director: Douglas Stefan Borghi Cast: Tuesday Knight, Billy Wirth World Premiere

-- A moral film about some very immoral people. Set in the desert of L.A., the story centers around a tough, beautiful and deadly mother (Rende Rae Norman) and her equally beautiful and thoroughly manipulated daughter (Tuesday Knight), their stormy relationship with each other, and their plan to pull off a heist that will keep them on easy street for a very long time. Please note: This film contains material that may be too disturbing for some viewers. (92 mins.) May 23, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 25, 4:30 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`WISECRACKS'

Canada Director: Gail Singer Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Phyllis Diller, Sandra Shamas, Paula Poundstone, Jenny Jones, The Clichettes, Kim Wayans

-- Today's top female comics do their favorite routines. Nothing is taboo (PMS, feminine napkins, premature ejaculation). Archival footage from 60 years of female comedy sets the historical context, with choice moments from Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett. (90 mins.) May 29, 5 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50; May 31, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50.

`A WOMAN'S TALE'

Australia Director: Paul Cox Cast: Sheila Florance, Norman Kaye, Gosia Dobrowolska, Chris Haywood

-- Director Paul Cox ("Man of Flowers," "My First Wife") focuses his attention on a remarkable woman, 78-year-old Martha (Sheila Florance), who is physically succumbing to her advanced years even as her character personifies all that is modern and spirited. Refusing to accept the constraints society places upon the aged, Martha fights back with humor and compassion, offering her love and wisdom to all and fighting to remain independent. (93 mins.) May 17, 7 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; May 18, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50.

Z Z Z ------- `ZAZAMBO'

Japan Director: Fumiki Watanabe Cast: Fumiki Watanabe, Kei Ito U.S. Premiere

-- This fact-based controversial Japanese film, still unreleased in Japan, deals with an investigation into the apparent suicide of a retarded student in a rural village. No one in the community seems to care why the child killed himself - except his teacher. (100 mins.) May 31, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Market, $4.50; June 2, 7 p.m., Broadway Market, $6.50.

`ZEBRAHEAD'

U.S.A. Director: Anthony Drazan Cast: Michael Rapaport, N. Bushe Wright, Ray Sharkey, Deshonn Castle, Ron Johnson

-- Winner of the Filmmakers' Trophy for best dramatic feature at the most recent Sundance Film Festival, "Zebrahead" is a provocative study of racial bigotry. The film focuses on the troubled love affair of a pretty black girl and a Jewish boy who is obsessed with black culture. The young actors made contributions to the script. The music is by Taj Mahal. (100 mins.) June 6, 9:30 p.m., Neptune, $6.50; June 7, 2:15 p.m., Neptune, $4.50.

`ZENTROPA'

Denmark Director: Lars Von Trier Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Lawrence Hartman

-- A young American's adventures in a Kafkaesque postwar Germany are recounted with hypnotic verve and black humor. Max von Sydow's narration immediately transports the audience to the artificial and nightmarish postwar landscape that is Germany, 1945. Leo Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr), a young American of German descent and limitless idealism, arrives in Germany to work for the railroad company, Zentropa. His training for the position of sleeping-car conductor serves as the backdrop for his adventures with a woman (Barbara Sukowa) who may be involved with the "Werewolves" - right-wing terrorists who change under Allied control. (114 mins.) May 15, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian, $6.50; May 16, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian, $4.50.