THURSDAY, APRIL 3 (Opening Night)

United States, 2003

Drama

Indie goddess Christina Ricci headlines a cast of scene stealers (including John Hurt and Kyle MacLachlan) in this romantic thriller about a schlubby librarian (John Simm) who falls for Miranda (Ricci), a slippery con woman. (Edwards Big Newport, 7:30 p.m.)

FRIDAY, APRIL 4

Canada, 2002

Drama

The story of Lewis Poppy, an imaginative preteen who discovers a mannequin in his grandfather’s empty apartment . . . a mannequin that bears a strange resemblance to his own late mother. With the rest of his family in turmoil, Lewis uses his faith and imagination to try to bring back his mother. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 11 a.m.)

India/United States, 2002

West Coast Premiere

Drama

A family of Indian immigrants attempts to adjust to life in these United States when the daughter is accepted to an American university. (Lido Theater, 11 a.m.)

Okay, that title just hurts. The short films program includes Dietrich Johnston’s Blood Shot, about a vampire hit man who works for the CIA and teams up with a loner cop to rid LA of a dangerous terrorist cell. I knew America was resorting to some desperate measures to sniff out terrorists, but recruiting from the ranks of the undead? Truly, these are dark days indeed. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 11 a.m.)

Northern Ireland, 2002

World Premiere

Drama/Thriller

Father Brendan, a young, naive priest, is taken for his world-weary mentor and led to a remote house where an IRA group is preparing to execute an alleged informer. Brendan is told to give the informer his last confession and refuses to participate, forcing the terrorists to make the choice between letting him go and endangering themselves . . . or killing a priest. (Lido Theater, 1 p.m.)

A collection of short films including Martha Pinson’s Don't Nobody Love the Game More Than Me, featuring four aging guys contemplating dedication and pride on a New York basketball court. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 1 p.m.)

France/United States, 2002

West Coast Premiere

Documentary

The title simply screams dorky comedy, but this documentary is in fact serious stuff, introducing us to Sister Noella Marcellino, the cheese maker of her Connecticut abbey who became a world expert in micro-biology and whose research has put her at the center of a raging debate about the need to preserve bio-diversity. So, no Monty Python "blessed are the cheese makers" jokes, if you please. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 1:30 p.m.)

Japan/South Korea, 2002

World Premiere

Drama

In ’50s Japan, a group of postwar Korean immigrants make a precarious living by selling the scrap metal from a bombed-out munitions factory. Amid these desperate surroundings, a desperate love blooms between Yoshio, a young man from the slums who seems to be on the run, and Hatsuko, a beautiful girl who sells her body for food. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 3 p.m.)

United States, 2002

Comedy/Drama

A group of quietly desperate Detroit salesmen journey to Long Beach for a tedious sales conference in the shadow of the Queen Mary. One of them would do anything to cheat on his wife but finds no takers; even the hookers won’t have him. The other wants only to be faithful to his own wife, but finds his will buckling when a seductive blonde waitress improbably begins throwing herself at him. We’re drawn into the plight of both men and we’re just as surprised as they are when the picture takes a sharp turn into dark farce. (Lido Theater, 3 p.m.)

Just another one of many shorts programs on the bill with a painfully wacky name, this batch features Robert Crossman’s twisted crime short Cockroach Blue and Neal Sopata’s romance Autumn. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 3:30 p.m.)

United Kingdom, 2000

Documentary

An hour-long portrait of Randolph Duke, one of those people who designs the gowns the celebrities wear to the Oscars. While it’s tempting to hate him for all of the endless hype and hoopla attached to this nonsense, we must bear in mind that even if he was struck down, five more would just rise up to take his place. (Lido Theater, 5 p.m.)

Germany/Canada/Poland, 2001

U.S. Premiere

Drama

An unhappy mother named Julia up and walks out on her son’s daddy and takes to following Alexis--a mystic-healer type with throngs of devotees--around the globe. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 5:30 p.m.)

Vietnam, 2002

U.S. Premiere

Drama

Thang, a young math professor, argues with his dean over the theory of singular mathematics and finds himself expelled for his trouble. Things look grim enough already when his research is used to benefit an unwholesome waste-management project, forcing Thang to try and regain control of his work. (Edwards Island Cinemas, 6 p.m.)

United States, 2002

Southern California Premiere

Documentary

Hawaiian legend Rell "Kapolioka’ehukai" Sunn died in January 1998 of breast cancer at the age of 47, following a lifetime of women’s professional surfing; this documentary looks at her brief existence and its continuing impact on Hawaii. Note: preceded by the Surfing documentary Swell. (Lido Theater, 6:30 p.m.)

The Newport fest organizers get crazy with the double-entendres yet again, bunch of rascals that