Film Calendar

6 -- The DC Independent Film Festival gets underway, presenting more than 100 animated and live-action shorts and features from around the country. One highlight: Filmmaker Alex Cox ("Walker," "Repo Man") will bring his new comedy, "Searchers 2.0." Through March 16.

7 -- "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" stars Frances McDormand as the title character, a middle-aged London governess who is unfairly sacked, then finds a day-long life of glitz and glamour when she encounters a high-living American actress (Amy Adams).

7 -- "The Bank Job," inspired by true events, depicts a brash bank heist in London in 1971, when robbers tunneled into a bank and made off with jewelry and cash that was never recovered. With Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows.

7 -- "College Road Trip" features Martin Lawrence and Raven as an overprotective father and his daughter, the latter of whom embarks on a college tour with her high school friends even though Dad insists on escorting them.

7 -- "Snow Angels," adapted from the acclaimed novel by Stewart O'Nan, tells two converging stories of love and loss, one about a young man dealing with his parents' divorce, the other about a tragedy involving his cherished former babysitter. Directed by David Gordon Green ("George Washington"), with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Nicky Katt and Amy Sedaris.

7 -- "Let's Get Lost" is the reissue of Bruce Weber's stunning 1988 documentary about jazz great Chet Baker; the film isn't available on video, so don't miss this chance to see Weber's gorgeous portrait of Baker and 1950s Los Angeles on the big screen.

7 -- The New African Film Festival kicks off at the AFI Silver Theatre. This year's program features a retrospective of the films of Ousmane Sembene, the "grandfather" of African cinema who died last year. Through March 16.

8 -- "Gustafer Yellowgold," a multimedia show by New York artist Morgan Taylor and featuring live songs, stories and animation, arrives for a family matinee at the Avalon.

8 -- Max Linder Cin¿-Concert features six shorts starring silent-era film star Max Linder, whose character "Max" served as an inspiration to Charlie Chaplin. The films will be accompanied by a new score by Gabriel Thibaudeau, and performed live by the chamber ensemble Octuor de France. At the National Gallery of Art.

9 -- "The Sun," Alexander Sokurov's 2005 avant-garde portrait of Japanese emperor Hirohito, will have its Washington premiere at the National Gallery. (The film was never released in the United States, even after the success of Sokurov's 2002 hit "Russian Ark.")

11 -- The DC Environmental Film Festival opens a program that will include "The Lord God Bird," George Butler's documentary about the storied ivory-billed woodpecker, as well as films about naturalist E.O. Wilson, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai and the environmental footprint of war on the landscape. Through March 22.

14 -- "Blindsight," a documentary about a group of blind students from Tibet who climb Mount Everest, opens at the Avalon.