Fresno Filmworks' Fourth Annual film festival, Film Takes Flight (check out their great logo in their ad on page 25 of the April issue of the Undercurrent!) starts tonight, Friday, April 18 at 7:00 pm at the Tower Theatre with a showing of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. As described on the Filmworks website, this is "The remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state." Tickets are $15, and the an opening night reception is included.

Films are being shown all day Saturday and Sunday (April 19-20) starting at 11:00 am on Saturday and noon on Sunday. Tickets are $10 per film showing - better yet, consider getting a festival pass for $45. The festival features a wide range of films. Some of my favorites at previous festivals have been the "Shorts Programs" of short films - how often do most of us have the opportunity to see shorter films? The other good thing is that if you don't like a particular short, it's over in about 10 or 20 minutes, and then you get to see another one!

Fresno Filmworks has made it really easy to decide which shows to see - just visit their website (http://www.fresnofilmworks.org/f_festival08.php), and you can view the full film schedule. Click on a film name to see a synopsis, reviews, and (in many cases) watch a preview. The festival is a great opportunity to support a group that makes sure Fresno has opportunities to see great films, and it's great opportunity to see some intriguing films.