Reel World

Palestinian Pic—The “People Before Profit” film/lecture series returns on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. with a screening of Jenin, Jenin. The film is described as a riveting and troubling documentary account of the Israeli Defense Force's spring 2002 military invasion of the Jenin Refugee camp deep in the Palestinian West Bank. The night's speaker will be Ben Jones, who recently returned from a three-month tour in Jenin, Palestine, working with the International Solidarity Movement. The screening/lecture is free and open to the public and will take place at the Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center (202 Harvard SE).

Spanish Cinema—On Thursday, Feb. 5, the National Hispanic Cultural Center will present a screening of the 1981 film Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding). Carlos Suara's adaptation of the famed Federico García Lorca play is set in the world of Flamenco dance, and the film is considered an excellent cinematic look at Mexican folk dancing. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. The screening will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the NHCC Wells Fargo Auditorium (1701 Fourth St. SW). The screening is free and open to the public. Albuquerque, 246-2261.

Reel Girls—The WRC “Reel Girls Film Series” kicks off on Friday, Feb. 6, at the Women's Resource Center on the UNM campus. The first film will be Daughters of War, a documentary about Gabriela, a mother and gang leader who deals with the effects of war, drugs and poverty in Peru. The screening will take place from noon to 1 p.m. You can call 277-3716 for more information.

Southwest Premieres—The annual South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference is set to take place March 12-16 in Austin, Texas. Certainly one of the hippest, most exciting film festivals in the world, the SXSW Film Fest is the lead-in to the infamous Austin-based music showcase, the SXSW Music Festival (taking place March 17-21). Most notable among this year's guests, panel discussions, workshops and movie screenings is the premiere of Blind Horizon. This low budget thriller about an amnesiac man caught in an assassination plot stars Val Kilmer, Neve Campbell and Sam Shepard. The film was shot last year entirely in the state of New Mexico. If you're interested in checking out the film, this will be your earliest chance. Among the other special events will be the premiere of Michael Winterbottom's futuristic romance Code 46, a conversation with director John Landis (The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London) and the debut of the new political documentary Bush's Brain. Updated information and registration for the SXSW Film Festival and Conference is available online at www.sxsw.com. Register by Feb. 13, and you get a significant discount on passes.