AFI Fest, A to Y

FISSURES (France) In the home of her recently murdered mother, Charlotte (Émilie Dequenne), a young sound engineer, discovers that her recording equipment is picking up the ghostly echoes of conversations that once took place in the house. While the mystery it helps her to solve isn’t particularly compelling, Charlotte’s technique for creating a timeline to events in her mother’s house is intriguing and raises questions about the nature of memory that writer-director Alanté Kavaïté is smart enough to leave unanswered. (Sun. Nov. 5, 9:15 p.m.; Mon., Nov. 6, 4:15 p.m.) (CW)

FORGIVEN (USA) This Sundance also-ran is that relatively rare dramatic U.S. indie that attempts political commentary head-on. Writer-director Paul Fitzgerald also stars as Republican senatorial hopeful Peter Miles, a born-again Christian and family man, and the local D.A. to boot. When convicted killer Ronald Bradler (Russell Hornsby) is pardoned from death row, Miles’ case against him is questioned. Forgiven looks cheap, and the dramaturgy is crude, but at least it dares to push beyond liberal point scoring with a radically unpleasant — and uncommercial — plot twist. (Thurs., Nov. 2, 7 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 3, 1 p.m.) (TC)

FROZEN DAYS (Israel) Meow (Anat Klausner), a beautiful young drug dealer on the Tel Aviv party circuit, ends up living in the apartment of a man she’s just met, after he’s injured in a nightclub bombing. Mistaken by neighbors for the man’s wife, Meow lingers on, and finds her own identity fracturing. Although this well-made, black-and-white thriller from writer-director Danny Lerner has a rather prosaic final twist, it maintains one’s interest, thanks to the intensity of Klausner’s performance. She’s a discovery. (Thurs., Nov. 2, 9:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 5, 4 p.m.) (CW)

GLUE Argentine newcomer Alexis Dos Santos follows in the path of so many other first-timers with a loosely autobiographical trawl through the adolescent minefields of sexual discovery and family dysfunction. Much of Glue is instantly recognizable, but the film benefits from a quite literal sense of alienation, taking place as it does in desolate Patagonia (or, per the film’s subtitle, Historia Adolescente en Medio de la Nada, “in the middle of nowhere”). The teenage ambivalence is perfectly matched by the textured, handheld video photography and the insistent Violent Femmes soundtrack. (Sat., Nov. 4, 7 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 5, noon) (Dennis Lim)

GRBAVICA (Austria/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Germany) Jasmila Zbanic’s Berlin-feted debut, set in the titular Sarajevo district and concerning a ground-down single mother’s attempts to shield her headstrong teenage daughter from the horrors of war times past, is exceptionally well acted and directed. It’s also a little too well thought out. Its themes are so neatly lined up and its protagonist’s painful secret so obviously telegraphed that the ostensibly raw emotional content comes off seeming preheated. (Tues., Nov. 7, 7 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 8, 4 p.m.) (AN)

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS (USA) The 15th film in 35 years written and directed by Henry Jaglom, that love-him-or-hate-him iconoclast of American independent filmmaking, is also one of his warmest and most inviting, despite the potential for cynicism inherent in its premise — that old saw about a would-be starlet (newcomer Tanna Frederick) living out of her car and scrounging for a gig. (In one hilarious scene, she’s even refused a role in an amateur video being made by schoolchildren!) The movie buzzes with the quirky rhythms of Jaglom’s patented improvisational shooting style, and those of Frederick herself, whose go-for-broke zaniness recalls that of a former Jaglom ingénue, Karen Black. By the time Black appears here (as an actress musing with a mix of melancholy and acceptance about her former stardom), it’s clear that Hollywood Dreams is a walk down memory lane for its own maker, stuffed with references to earlier Jaglom films and appearances by many members of his stock company. Consider it a wistful contemplation of the fickle nature of movie success and the altogether unlikelihood of being Henry Jaglom. (Sat., Nov. 11, 7 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 12, 1 p.m.) (SF)

KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON (USA) In this quasi-experimental film, never-before-heard audiotapes of the late Nirvana front man being interviewed about everything from his childhood and his often contentious relationship with bandmates to his impassioned defense of wife Courtney Love play out against images of Northwest American landscapes, small-town strip malls and man-on-the-street photo montages. This documentary is primarily for those already deeply enmeshed in Cobain’s myth and mystique. To the nonfaithful, he just comes off like an elitist snot. (Sat., Nov. 4, 9 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 5, 1 p.m.) (EH)

LIES & ALIBIS (USA) For all of its slickness and ultracontemporary Westside Los Angeles vibe, what makes Lies & Alibis charmingly quaint is its aspiration to be nothing more — and nothing less — than an elegant entertainment in the Cary Grant/Stanley Donen tradition. It hinges on a clever-enough idea: A con man opens a firm offering airtight alibis for clients cheating on their spouses. Directors Kurt Mattila and Matt Checkowski’s rollicking movie seals the deal with Steve Coogan as the sly, dry con, and a supporting cast — including Sam Elliott, James Brolin, Rebecca Romijn and Debi Mazar — that puts “character” back in character actors. (Fri., Nov. 10, 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 11, 4 p.m.) (RK)