AMERICAN SHOWCASE Dinner and a Movie (director, Lisa Kors, USA, 85 mins.) Award-winning filmmaker and scriptwriter Lisa Kors makes her feature film directorial debut with this witty and original comedy about an idealistic filmmaker who is obsessed with creating the next Great American Documentary.

Ms Kors has described the film as 'Woody Allen on estrogen.' Hybrid (director, Monteith McCollum, USA, 93 mins.) Winner of the Best Documentary award at January's Slamdance Film Festival, McCollum tells the offbeat story of his 100-year-odl Iowa farmer grandfather, who doesn't know how to communicate with his family, but finds companionship in the whispers of rustling cornfields.

Maze (director, Rob Morrow, USA, 98 mins.) Starring Oscar nominated actress Laura Linney, and written, directed, produced and starring, Rob Morrow, it tells the story of Lyle (Morrow), a sensitive and charming sculptor who suffers from Tourette Syndrome. He is convinced he'll never find true love, but falls for his best friend's lover (Linney).

Passing Stones (director, Roger Majkowski, USA, 91 mins.) A comedic tale about Leon, a 30-year-old paperboy who lives at home with his mother and receives the "miracle'' of a mistakenly posted letter telling him about a bag of buried money.

Fighter (director, Amir Bar-Lev, USA, 86 mins.) A psychological adventure unfolds as two friends take a risky road trip into the past. Together they revisit scenes of romance and humour, of narrow escapes and life-or-death confrontations. But their journey home becomes a contentious clash of personalities that will ultimately take their friendship to the brink of collapse.

John John In the Sky (director, Jefferson Davis, USA, 101 mins.) Featuring country star Randy Travis, the film is about a man who takes a journey to take control of his life. Taking his son, he sets out on a visit to his childhood home, and arriving in Mississippi, he is transported back to the South of the 60s.

EUROPEAN SHOWCASE Loners (director, David Ondricek, Czech Republic, 104 mins.) A clever, hip comedy about a group of twentysomethingsin Prague, the film was a massive hit in the Czech Republic, where it had a successful theatrical run and its CD has gone gold. It stars Labina Mitevska, who appeared in the Oscar nominated, Before the Rain, and in Welcome to Sarajevo, by Michael Winterbottom.

Mamy Blue (director, Anette Skahlberg and Martin Lima de Faria, Sweden, 104 mins.) Making its North American premiere at BIFF 2001, Mamy Blue is set in a remote area near Uppsala in Sweden, and tells the story of a disturbed woman who loses her husband and children in a car accident and sets out to recreate her family.

With Great Joy (director, Lodewijk Crijns, Netherlands, 90 mins.) The film made its premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January, and was quickly snapped up by BIFF. It tells the story of two brothers who reunite after 15 years, much to the chagrin of the brother who was "lost'' all that time.

Jalla! Jalla! (director, Josef Fares, Sweden, 88 mins.) The Audience Choice Award winner at January's International Film Festival Rotterdam, Fares' directorial debut is a charming comedy in which love, sex, and cultural differences play leading roles. The charming cast fits in seamlessly with the filmmaker's light-hearted approach to the subject - love in the times of integration.

The Stranger (director, Gotz Spielmann, Austria, 97 mins.) Captivating and mysterious, Mercedes uses her charm and beauty to win at the games she plays. With her boyfriend, Ranier, she smuggles a kilo of cocaine into Vienna but is stuck when the drug deal goes sour. Can a taxi driver help? An original, intriguing mix of suspense, deceit and renewal.

WORLD CINEMA Innocence (director, Paul Cox, Australia, 91 mins.) Australian indy film legend Cox's 18th feature film swept the prizes at the Australian Independent Film Awards. A passionate film about reliving your 'first love' in old age, albeit with some complications, it has been a hit with festival audiences worldwide.

I was Born a Black Woman (director, Maisa Mendonca and Vicente Franco, Brazil, 44 mins.) The life of Benedita da Silva, the first Afro-Brazilian woman to be elected to Brazil's Senate, is chronicled in this compelling documentary. Filled with Afro-Brazilian music, poetry and dance, the film weaves a dynamic tale of black Brazil and one woman's victory over racism.

Who is Albert Woo? (director, Hunt How, Canada, 52 mins.) Filmmaker Hoe, whose Seducing Maarya was screened at BIFF 2000, returns to Bermuda with a thought-provoking film about the complexities of Asian male identity. He speaks to a cross-section of the Asian community including martial arts movie star, Jackie Chan.

Sandstorm (director, Jagmohan, India, 125 mins.) A rural low-caste woman, Sanwari, is gang-raped by upper caste men in her village after she speaks out against the custom of child marriages. Based on a true incident in Rajasthan, India, this film tells a fascinating and frustrating story of the 'isms' - sexism, chauvinism, feudalism and political opportunism.

Mama Africa Mama Africa is a short film initiative bringing together the fresh talents of six female directors and spanning the vast, diverse continent of Africa. Five of the finished films have their North American premiere at BIFF. These directors hail from Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Namibia, South Africa and Burkina Faso and have set out to portray, from a woman's perspective, what Africa is like to live in today. These films challenge the westernised idea of Africa and bare its true guts.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM Pandaemonium (director, Julien Temple, United Kingdom, 119 mins.) A passionate, pyrotechnic story of love, betrayal and the forces of creation, in which the stormy relationship between two of the world's finest poets, William Wordsworth (John Hannah) and Samuel Taylor Coolidge (Linus Roache), threatens to turn one man's genius into madness.

TRIBUTE TO MODERN IRISH CINEMA New Irish cinema embraces a very wide diversity of styles and of subjects: the rural and the urban, the contemporary and the ancient, the highbrow and the lowbrow, the "tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable or poem unlimited'' in Polonius' words. The Irish Film Board has made films from the traditional communities of agrarian Ireland to the Cork or Belfast working class, the different generations, cultures and classes that make up the island, including Irish-language films, which indicate the continuing vibrancy and its place in contemporary culture.

BIFF coup: Bermuda International Film Festival officials are highlighting the showing of "Innocence'' by veteran Australian Independent filmmaker Paul Cox.

The film, about reliving your first live in old age. swept the prizes at the Australian Independent Film Awards.