Indies and film fests make the summer cooler

While blockbusters and marquee names hurtle toward the multiplexes for the start of summer, Boston's repertory theaters, film festivals, and specialty venues offer the antidote to mainstream fare. For an early escape from the slick and the schlock, on May 21 the Coolidge Corner Theatre opens "Coffee and Cigarettes," the new release from indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. The booking of his new film is in advance of Jarmusch's appearance at the sixth annual Provincetown International Film Festival (June 16 to 20), which this year fetes the "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Down by Law" director as its "Filmmaker on the Edge." Jarmusch will be attending the festival with longtime partner Sara Driver, who produced many of his films. Perennial PIFF guest John Waters will present one his favorite films, "Dog Days," and there will be a screening at the Wellfleet Drive-In of the classic "Tea and Sympathy."

Not to be outdone are two other popular summer film fests that regularly provide plenty of celebrity sightings and challenging films. The 13th annual Woods Hole Film Festival, program to be announced, runs from July 31 to Aug. 8, offering numerous panels, parties, and premieres. The schedule will be posted on the festival website, www.woodsholefilm

festival.com, in the coming weeks. Charlie Kaufman, the two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter of "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," will be presented with a tribute at the 2004 Nantucket Film Festival. The annual festival, which celebrates the art of screenwriting, takes place June 16 to 20. More information will be announced in the coming weeks at www.nantucketfilm

festival.org. And for film buffs in the mood for something closer to home, the sixth annual Roxbury Film Festival (Aug. 18 to 22) promises its usual lineup of films, panels, workshops, and special guests. Films will be shown at Northeastern University, the Massachusetts College of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts.

BROOKLINE'S BEST: In addition to "Coffee and Cigarettes," the Coolidge's summer lineup includes "Story of the Weeping Camel" (June 18), about a nomadic family in a desert world facing the 21st century. Audiences cheered the film when it had a sneak preview at the Coolidge during First Night festivities.

Historian, author, and activist Howard Zinn is the subject of a new documentary, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (June 25). Zinn is also featured in "The Corporation," a lively, Michael Moore-esque documentary by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott about the rise of corporations and their influence around the globe. It opens July 16 and features interviews with Zinn, Moore, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and others.

Looking for something to do on Father's Day? The Coolidge hosts a reprise June 20 of its "Fiddler on the Roof" singalong with costumes, grab bags, and MCs Tony V. and Steve Calechman.

THINK PINK: One of the first big events of the upcoming season is the Museum of Fine Arts' annual Gay and Lesbian Film/Video Festival, which opens Wednesday and runs to May 23. Opening films are the romantic culture-clash comedy "Touch of Pink" (Wednesday 8 p.m.) and the Dublin-set contemporary romance "Goldfish Memory" (Thursday 8 p.m.).

Festival guests include director Abigail Honor, with the world premiere of her documentary "Saints and Sinners" (Saturday); director Tracy Flannigan, with her documentary "Rise Above" (Saturday), about the punk band Tribe 8, along with band members Lynn Breedlove and Leslie Mah; and director Q. Allan Brocka, with his latest, "Eating Out" (May 22).

FRENCH FINERY: This summer the MFA hosts not one but two festivals of cinema from France, as well as "Since Otar Left," director Julie Bertuccelli's debut feature about three generations of women coping with family conflict and social upheaval in post-Soviet Georgia. The film will have a 25-show engagement at the MFA May 26 to July 3.

The French Nouveaux Cineastes series presents debut features by some of the country's new directors; it runs from Wednesday to June 16. Included is a pair of films, "Try to Remember" and "Seaside," that were hits with audiences at last year's Boston French Film Festival.

The largest celebration of Gallic cinema in the United States, the Boston French Film Festival makes its return to the MFA July 8 to 25. One of the featured films this year is "See How They Run," directed by Michel Blanc and featuring an ensemble cast that includes Charlotte Rampling, Jacques Dutronc, Carole Bouquet, and Karin Viard.

Other festival offerings include "It's Easier for a Camel . . .," the debut feature by actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; "La Petite Lili," directed by Claude Miller and starring Ludivine Sagnier; "Red Lights," by Cedric Kahn; "Grande Ecole," by Robert Salis; and "The Story of Marie and Julien," by legendary filmmaker Jacques Rivette.

SCORE! The French theme continues over at the Harvard Film Archive, which this month turns the spotlight on Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand, who wrote the music for many French New Wave and classic films. "Beautiful Music: Michel Legrand on Film" runs from May 17 to 30 and includes such diverse works as Jacques Demy's "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "The Young Girls of Rochefort"; Louis Malle's "Atlantic City"; Joseph Losey's "The Go-Between"; and Jean-Luc Godard's "A Woman Is a Woman," "My Life to Live," and "Band of Outsiders," all of which feature Legrand's memorable music.

The HFA honors the great character actor Peter Lorre from June 1 to 13 with "Peter Lorre: A Sinister Centennial," featuring notable Lorre performances in films including "M," "Casablanca," and "The Maltese Falcon," as well as Lorre's sole directorial effort, "The Lost One."

Unearthing gems from its own film library is always an anticipated HFA summer event. From June 26 to August 15 the HFA pays homage to art-house programs of the past with double-feature screenings drawn from its extensive collection and including films by Jean Renoir, Ermanno Olmi, and a variety of genres and themes.

JAPAN, THEN AND NOW: Contemporary Japanese filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda will be at the Harvard Film Archive on Tuesday to introduce Yasujiro Ozu's acclaimed last film, "An Autumn Afternoon" (1962), at 7 p.m. This event concludes the HFA's comprehensive tribute to Japanese master filmmaker Ozu and is a prelude to Ozu's cinematic descendant Shinoda's introduction of his own landmark experimental film "Double Suicide" (1969) on Friday. The free screening takes place at the Yenching Auditorium (2 Divinity Ave.) in Harvard Square, Cambridge. Shinoda's latest film, the thriller and box office hit in Japan "Spy Sorge" (2003), will screen next Sunday at the HFA.

CULTURAL VISIONS: The MFA shows films from India in "Cinema India," which runs from May 27 to June 13. The six films represent a mix of new trends and classic themes in Indian cinema today, such as "The Braveheart Will Take the Bride" (1995), one of the longest-running films in the history of Indian cinema, and "Maqbool" (June 11 and 13), an adaptation of "Macbeth" set in Bombay that blends Bollywood and crime drama. Films are screened on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Boston Jewish Film Festival presents encore screenings at the MFA June 3 to July 8. A new film, "Heir to an Execution," Ivy Meeropol's personal documentary about her grandparents Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, launches the series on June 3 and 6. Meeropol will be present for the second screening June 6 at 1 p.m.

SCREENS AROUND TOWN: Local favorite Brad Anderson, whose "Next Stop Wonderland" is one of the most memorable films set in Boston, will present his new feature film, "The Machinist," today at 7 p.m. at the MFA. It is an "existential horror film" that stars Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Anderson will engage in a Q&A after the screening with Boston Phoenix film critic Gerald Peary.

The Somerville Theatre in Davis Square celebrates its 90th birthday with a screening Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. of the John Ford/

Henry Fonda classic "The Grapes of Wrath," for $1 admission. The program also includes a selection of vintage short films. Suzanne Wasserman's "Thunder in Guyana," winner of the audience award for best documentary in last November's BJFF, screens Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the BPL, followed by a Q&A session with the filmmaker.

Loren King can be reached at loren.king@comcast.net.