In case you weren’t reading my blog back in November, I’ll remind you that I went out to Los Angeles to work for AFI Fest, an 11-day extravaganza at the fantastic Arclight cinema (see some pics). Some of the great docs that screened where Lucy Walker’s Blindsight, Kurt Cobain About a Son (where AJ and I first “met”), and one of my doc favorites, TV Junkie by Michael Cain (pictured right with Susan, the fabu box office manager). They also programed an amazing line-up of features which include the likes of Who Loves the Sun? by Matt Bissonnette, Cashback by Sean Ellis and the award-winning Grbavica by Jasmila Zbaniç.

The deadlines for submission are coming up! The early deadline with reduced fees for all film submissions is June 9, 2007. The final deadline for shorts (under 30 minutes) is July 6, 2007. The final deadline for features (over 30 minutes) is July 16, 2007. Decisions will be announced no later than October 6, 2007.

More from the press release to entice you: The Festival spans 10 days each November and features international films from emerging filmmakers, global showcases of the latest work from the great film masters, nightly special screenings and red-carpet gala premieres. Each year, AFI FEST presents International Competitions of features, documentaries and shorts, as well as regional showcases including Asian New Classics, Latin Cinema Series and American Directions. A broad World Cinema as well as African Voices series were added in 2006.

The International Feature Competition is open to narrative feature films that are US, North American or World Premieres made by first or second time filmmakers. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category for the annual Academy Awards.

More international sales occurred at AFI FEST than any other American Film Festival, this is in direct response to the AFI FEST/American Film Market partnership since 2003.