:: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
Ferpect Crime, the new work from the always fun and outrageous Alex de la Iglesia, was the most viciously fun moment of the festival. After the screening, the director joined the audience for an entertaining Q&A. Hong Kong director was also present to introduce his emblematic trilogy, Infernal Affairs, which last chapter was the undeniable lowest point, following the original and its strong prequel.

:: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
R/X an indie flick about the trip-turned wrong of a trio of LA teenagers going south of the border to score some drugs premiered. If the subject of this road movie isn't that mesmerizing, the nervous direction, great cinematography and talented young cast are making it worth the trip. Chrystal, a gloomy and literary-style piece set in redneck Arkansas and starring Billy Bob Thorton also premiered. The film, which is quiet haunting and original, is certainly one of the stronger entries in the festival, despite a rather dissatisfying ending.

:: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11
After seeing so many Mexican films about crimes or poverty, Duck Season, a comedy about a group of kids letting lose, alone in an apartment for the weekend, was a real treat. This hilarious comedy, smart and sometimes edgy, will certainly satisfy Jim Jarmush's fans.

:: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
The tender but tedious Bosnian film Days and Hours by Pjer Zalica, who offered the film Fuse at AFI 2003, took a look at post-war Sarajevo. As a family struggles to move on with their life after the war, Zalica cuts them open to expose the nuances of the heart and the grief it carries for those who have lost a loved one.

:: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Shot on location during the filming of The Passion of the Christ, The Big Question tries to figure out what God is through interviews with the cast and crew of Mel Gibson's film. Nicely shot, without taking itself too seriously, this documentary offers a vision of the divine through different cultures and social classes and proves to be both fun and interesting at the same time. Monday's event—and so far the festival's cinematic highlight—was the premiere of Asia Argento's The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. The film, a superb and raw experience, attracted the festival's weirdest audience, a reflection of LA's fauna, which was certainly disappointed when it was announced that cult icon Asia couldn't make it as planned because of shooting delays. After the screening, author J.T. LeRoy, who penned the autobiographical book on which the film is based, still managed to provide a hint of bizarreness, hidden under a blond wig and big sunglasses.

:: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7
After the martial art flick Ong Bak: Thai Warrior, thus far the most painful entry in the festival, the subtle Aftermath showed, with sensitivity and humor, how to cope with the accidental death of a child. Meanwhile, Pedro Almodovar introduced his latest film, Bad Education explaining that the film title referred to the education of guilt he received at the hands of Catholic priests in the 1960's. His real education at that time was Hollywood cinema, and the film reflects both his upbringing and his passion for Hollywood film noir thrillers. The film's transvestite star, Gael Garcia Bernal, was also in the audience, as were Almodvar's muse Penelope Cruz, Olivier Martinez and Rosario Dawson. Almodovar also stopped by the New Faces of European Cinema party to introduce 10 new European talents (filmmakers & actors).

:: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss provided a great look at the struggle between love, tolerance and beliefs while Jean-Luc Godard's Notre Musique was too heavy handed and self-involved to really make a valid point about world politics. Rather than onscreen, the "real" entertainment was watching the audience as nobody would dare leave the theater once the credits started to roll, as if the most important thing was "being seen" at a Godard screening. After the B-movie Crichton-like The Deal, the much anticipated Venezuelan entry Secuestro Express proved to be a rather dull transposition of the—already uninspired—kidnapping subgenre.

:: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Friday Night's main event—at the level of both glamour and theme—was undoubtedly the screening of The Woodsman starring Kevin Bacon—in a powerful performance—as a pedophile trying to get back to normal life after a 12-year stint in jail. Kevin Bacon and Benjamin Bratt introduced the film while Kevin Costner and Cuba Gooding Jr. were in the audience. Without ever trying to give an excuse to its protagonist, The Woodsman offers an in-depth and destabilizing look at the struggle of a damaged soul and advocates a chance for redemption. Frozen, a British film about a young woman haunted by the disappearance of her sister was an interesting but sometimes unfocused surreal voyage between reality and the afterlife.

:: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4
The Opening Night Gala featured the US Premiere of Kevin Spacey's Beyond The Sea.