Mar. 2: “The Garden” (Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008). Oscar-nominated documentary about the plight of the farmers who created and worked on a 14-acre community garden in South Central L.A. in the wake of the 1992 riots--a site the city later sold to a wealthy developer. 7-8:30 p.m.

Mar. 18: “Prom Night in Mississippi” (Paul Saltzman, 2009). Award-winning documentary about the 2008 senior prom at Charleston (MS) High School, which actor Morgan Freeman funded after the school board--which had rejected an identical offer in 1997--agreed the prom would be racially integrated. Followed by a discussion led by director Saltzman. For adults & teens in grade 9 & up. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Mar. 20: “Journey into America” (Craig Considine, 2009). Award-winning documentary about Akbar Ahmed, a prominent American University Islamic studies professor who sets out with a team of researchers to explore post-9/11 America by visiting more than 70 cities and 100 mosques. 2-3:45 p.m.

48th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival. Tickets: $95 (students & members, $80) for the entire festival & $55 (students & members, $45) for weekend passes in advance at ticketleap.com, and $9 (students, seniors, & members; $7) per evening show at the door. 995-5356. Michigan Theater (unless otherwise noted), various times. The festival also sponsors an interactive program at the library. aafilmfest.org

Mar. 23: Opening Night. The oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in North America kicks off tonight with an gala reception (6 p.m.; $30; members, $20; screening only, $9) with an open bar, food, and music spun by DJ Juziuk. Followed by screenings of independent short films TBA (8-10 p.m.).

Mar. 24: “Ben Russell.” Short films by this festival judge. FREE. 1-4 p.m. “Time Machine.” Interactive media performance by filmmakers Bill Brown and Sabine Gruffat. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium (525 S. State). FREE. 5-6 p.m. “Films in Competition.” The competition showcases new experimental and independent 16-mm, 35-mm, and digital films and videos in a wide range of genres and of generally high quality--past contributors have included Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Brian De Palma. 7 & 9:30 p.m. “Daniel Barrow.” Live animation projected onto the big screen by this Winnipeg artist whose emotionally intense work evokes children’s book illustrations. 7:30 p.m. “LUX.” New European avant-garde short films. 10 p.m.

Mar. 25: “Tomonari Nishikawa.” Short films by this festival judge. FREE. 1 p.m. “Film Jam.” Short films by local amateur filmmakers. FREE. 3:30 p.m. “Films in Competition.” See above. Tonight: short LGBT films (7 p.m.), short films TBA (9:30 p.m.), and a feature-length narrative film TBA (10 p.m.). “Nicky Hamlyn.” Retrospective of work by this internationally renowned experimental filmmaker. Followed by a Q&A with Hamlyn. 7:30 p.m.

Mar. 26: “Chick Strand.” Retrospective of work by this pioneering ethnographic filmmaker who died last year. Introduced by festival judge Irina Leimbacher. FREE. 1 p.m. “Tomorrow’s Obsolescence.” Panel discussion about short film distribution in the digital age. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium (525 S. State). FREE. 3:30 p.m. “Music Video Showcase.” Music videos in competition. UMMA (see above). FREE. 5 p.m. “Heaven and Earth Magic.” California hip-hop artist Flying Lotus performs live to a background of 1950s animation. 7 p.m. “Films in Competition.” See above. Tonight: films TBA (7:30 p.m.) and animated shorts (9:30 p.m.). “Naomi Uman.” Screening of films from this experimental filmmaker’s Ukranian Time Machine series of 16-mm documentaries that explore the quotidian experiences of Ukrainian villagers. Followed by a Q&A with Uman. 10 p.m. “The Room” (Tommy Wiseau, 2003). Dark comedy about a successful banker who’s about to be married, until he finds out the horrible truth about his fiancée. State Theatre. $6. Midnight.

Mar. 27: “Kid-Friendly Films in Competition.” Shorts appropriate for kids age 6 & over. Also, a silent Frank Pahl film with a live music sore. 11 a.m. “Films in Competition.” See above. Today: shorts and/or feature-length films TBA (1, 3:30, 5, 7:30, 9:30, & 10 p.m.). Also, a film program TBA (12:30 p.m.). “Pavel Medvedev.” Program TBA. 3 p.m. “Kenneth Anger.” Tribute screening, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, of works by this legendary avant-garde filmmaker known for his surrealism and erotic and occult themes. Followed by a discussion with Anger. 7 p.m. “The Room.” See above. Midnight.

Mar. 28: “What the Hell Was That?” Screenings of experimental films from this year’s competition. Discussion. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium (525 S. State). FREE. Noon. “Films in Competition.” See above. Today: feature-length films (1 & 3 p.m.). “Chick Strand.” See above. 1:30 p.m. “Kenneth Anger.” See above. 3:30 p.m. “Awarded Films Program.” Screening of the festival competition winners. 6 & 8 p.m.

Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. $5 suggested donation. 327-0270. 704 Airport Blvd., 8 p.m.

Mar. 13: “Spiritual Cinema.” Screening of a feature film or several shorts TBA with spiritual themes. Followed by discussion.

Jewel Heart Buddhist Center. FREE. 994-3387. Jewel Heart (1129 Oak Valley Dr. between Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. & Ellsworth), 7 p.m. Mar. 26: “What the Bleep Do We Know?” (William Arntz and Betsy Chasse, 2004). Quasidocumentary fantasy about a young woman who is introduced to the fantastical Wonderland of quantum physics as her quotidian identity unravels. Roger Ebert likens it to a “collision in the editing room between talking heads, an impenetrable human parable, and a hallucinogenic animated cartoon.” Followed by discussion. Food concessions.

Michigan Theater Foundation. Unless there is a live show in the main theater, 2 or 3 different films are shown, usually twice, almost every night. For complete, updated schedules, see michtheater.org or call 668-TIME. Tickets (unless otherwise noted): $9 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $7; MTF members, $6.50; Wed., $6). Michigan Theater, times TBA unless otherwise noted.

Through Mar. 11: “The Last Station” (Michael Hoffman, 2009). Biopic about Tolstoy’s final year and his troubled marriage. Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren.

Mar. 1: “Pather Panchali” (Satyajit Ray, 1955). A rural 1920s Bengali family struggles to overcome poverty. Bengali, subtitles. 7 p.m.

Mar. 3: “Bridging the Gap: the Joe Dulin Story” (2008) Documentary about the recently retired Ann Arbor school administrator, filmed over a 3-year period at Roberto Clemente High School. 7 p.m.

Mar. 7: “An American Tail” (Don Bluth, 1986). Animated musical about immigrant Russian Jewish mice that believe there are no cats in America. Kids age 12 & under, FREE. 1:30 p.m.

Mar. 8: “The 39 Steps” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935). Classic thriller about an innocent man pulled into a spy ring. 7 p.m.

Mar. 10: 2nd Annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival. Several days of film screenings (for complete schedule, see a2palestinefilmfest.org.) begin tonight with “Pomegranates and Myrrh,” Najwa Najjar’s 2008 drama about a Palestinian dancer who struggles to keep up with her dancing after her husband is imprisoned in an Israeli jail for refusing to give up his land. $9, 7:30 p.m.

Mar. 12-18: “Fish Tank” (Andrea Arnold, 2009). British drama about a 15-year-old girl whose world changes when her mom gets a new boyfriend.

Mar. 15: “Wild Strawberries” (Ingmar Bergman, 1957). An elderly academic is plagued by dreams about his past that expose the emptiness of his life. Swedish, subtitles. 7 p.m.

Mar. 17: “Amistad” (Steven Spielberg, 1997). Gripping tale of the legal battle over a mutiny on a slave ship. Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins. Sponsored by the U-M Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. FREE. 6 p.m.

Mar. 19: “Millers Creek Film Festival.” Short films by local residents that detail the connection between people and Millers Creek, which runs to the Huron River south from Thurston Pond and is called “the smallest and most dramatic creek in the Huron River system.” Homemade cookies. FREE. 4:30 p.m.

Mar. 19-22: “A Town Called Panic” (Stephane Aubier & Vincent Patar, 2009). Animation about plastic toys who travel to a parallel underwater universe where panic is a permanent feature of life.

Mar. 22: “The Bicycle Thief” (Vittorio De Sica, 1948). Classic drama about a poor Italian worker and his young son who spend a day desperately searching for the stolen bicycle on which they depend for their livelihood. Italian, subtitles. 7 p.m.

Mar. 29: “The Rules of the Game” (Jean Renoir, 1939). Classic romantic comedy with a satiric edge. French, subtitles. 7 p.m.

Mar. 29-31: “Red Riding Trilogy” (Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, and Anand Tucker, 2009). Three thrillers about a serial killer set in northern England in the 70s and 80s.

Mar. 31: “Concrete, Steel & Paint” (Cindy Burstein & Tony Heriza, 2009). Documentary about prisoners in an art class who collaborate with crime victims to design a mural about healing. Sponsored by the U-M Prison Creative Arts Project. $8. 7 p.m.

Projectorhead/U-M Screen Arts & Cultures. FREE. 615-0445. U-M Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State, 7 p.m.

Mar. 18: “Roger and Me.” Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore-- best known for his controversial left-wing documentaries Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, screens and discusses his 1989 documentary about the disastrous economic impact on Flint of the closure of a GM plant.

U-M Center for Chinese Studies. Chinese Documentary Film Series. FREE. 764-6308. Angell Hall Auditorium A (entrance at the Fishbowl on the east side of the bldg.), 7 p.m. Mandarin, subtitles.

Mar. 13: “Morning Sun” (Carma Hinton, Geremie Barme, & Richard Gordon, 2003). Documentary about the Cultural Revolution as seen through the eyes of members of the generation that came of age in the 60s.

Mar. 20: “Two Million Minutes” (Chad Heeter, 2008). Documentary about 6 engaging students--from China, India, or the U.S.--as they work through their final year of secondary school.

U-M Center for the Education of Women. FREE. Preregistration required at cew.umich.edu. 764-6005. SSWB Educational Conference Center (1080 South University), 3 p.m.

Mar. 22: “Passing the Torch.” Documentary narrated by Lily Tomlin about Detroit area feminists active during the women’s movement of the 60s and 70s.

U-M Center for Faith and Scholarship. FREE. 668-7421. Campus Chapel, 1236 Washtenaw Ct., 8 p.m.

Mar. 27: “Star Trek” (J.J. Abrams, 2009). Fantasy sci-fi flick that chronicles the early days of the starship Enterprise.

U-M Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. FREE. 764-0350. 1636 SSWB, 1080 South University, Noon.

Mar. 8: “Caught Between Two Worlds” (Simin Farkhodeh & Persheng Sadegh-Vaziri, 2007). Documentary about Iranians living in the U.S.

Mar. 15: “The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud” (Elli Safari, 2006). Short documentary about an African American Muslim woman who shocked the Islamic world by leading a mixed-gender prayer service.

Mar. 22: “The Letter” (Ziad Hamzeh, 2003). Documentary about the Lewiston, ME, mayor who sent a letter to recently arrived Somali refugees asking that no other Somalis move to the city.

Mar. 29: “Lunch with Bokara: The Heart of Islam” (Stephen Olsson, 2005). Short documentary in which journalist Bokara Legendre interviews a Moroccan Sufi about Sufi beliefs and practices, including justice, the veil, and “divine intoxication.”

U-M Center for South Asian Studies. FREE. 615-4059. 1636 SSWB (1080 South University), 6:30 p.m.

Mar. 11: “Videsh: A Heaven on Earth” (Deepa Mehta, 2008). Drama about an Indian immigrant to Canada who fantasizes about an ideal husband when she finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage. Punjabi, subtitles.

Mar. 18: “Sita Sings the Blues” (Nina Paley, 2008). Animated retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana with a feminist spin.

U-M Japanese Animation Film Society. U-M campus admission policy: No one under 18 admitted without an adult. FREE. umichanime.com. MLB, 812 E. Washington at Thayer, 10 a.m.-midnight.

Mar. date TBA: “Animania.” Monthly anime-a-thon of feature films and episodes from TV series.

U-M Library. FREE. 615-7876. 100 Hatcher Graduate Library (enter from the Diag), 7 p.m.

Mar. 17: “The Ghost Army” (Rick Beyer, 2009). Screening of a rough cut of this documentary about WW II soldiers whose mission was to deceive the Germans about the location and strength of American troops using inflatable tanks and sound effects records. Followed by a talk by the director.

UMMA. FREE. 763-8662. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State, different times.

Mar. 5, 7, 12, 19, 21, 26, & 28: “Herb and Dorothy.” Documentary about postal clerk Herb Vogel and librarian Dorothy Vogel, who built a huge contemporary art collection with their modest income. In conjunction with the current exhibit The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States. 3 p.m. (Sun.) & 9:30 p.m. (Fri.).

WCBN-FM. FREE admission. 763-3500. Arbor Brewing Company (114 E. Washington), 8:30 p.m. Mar. 10: “Magical Mystery Tour” (Bernard Knowles & the Beatles, 1967). The Beatles’ whimsical TV musical.

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