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If you live anywhere near New York City, and you're a fan of independent films (and free drinks), then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be attending at least every night of the 2008 Gen Art Film Festival. As always, Cinematical will be there in full force (well, those of us in NYC, at least) when the fest kicks off tomorrow night at New York's historic Ziegfeld Theater with a screening of Diminished Capacity, starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and Dylan Baker. Knowing Gen Art, I'm sure more than a handful of celebs will be on hand for that red carpet event.

The fest will continue throughout the week with screenings of films like Half-Life, Cook County, Frost, Surf-Wise, Nightlife and The Take. Of course, following each film is the obligatory awesome after party (with open bar!), which is open to anyone with a ticket to that night's screening. Seriously, it's a cool festival -- and the kind you could totally take a date to, in case you were looking for ideas. (Keep in mind, though, that a kiss at the end of the night is still not guaranteed -- though it's pretty much a given after one of Gen Art's bashes.) Cinematical will be there for a few of the nights (with both Weinberg and myself at the Friday Nightlife screening), so do make sure you say hello.

The 2008 Gen Art Film Festival runs from April 2nd through April 8, and you can find out everything you need to know over at the fest's official website.

My favorite film festival of the year has just announced its slate, and it's a pretty darn good one. The Gen Art Film Festival, held annually in New York City, thrives in its simplicity. 7 shorts, 7 premieres and 7 parties over the course of -- you guessed it -- 7 nights. Does it get any better than that? And instead of trying to hassle your way onto the party guestlist (parties, mind you, which include open bars and are located at some of New York's hottest spots), all you have to do is buy a ticket for that night and you get into everything. Tell us more! Tell us more!

Okay, the fest runs April 2nd through April 8th, and things will kick off with an opening night at the historic Ziegfeld Theater featuring the film Diminished Capacity, starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and Dylan Baker. Other films include the Sundance fav Half-Life, Slamdance fav Frost, SXSW fav Cook County, an outstanding (from what I've heard) documentary called SurfWise, the horror mock Nightlife and the fest will close with Brad Furman's The Take. Tickets for each night run $30 for non Gen Art members and $25 for members, and you can also purchase passes for the entire festival. Cinematical will once again be on the ground throughout the fest, so definitely check back for our coverage.

For more on the festival, feel free to head on over to the official website.

It's a little bit cold and a little bit country. Yes, the Cinematical team has officially landed in Austin and we're about to begin covering the hell out of this year's South by Southwest Festival. Today was check-in day; we headed over to the convention center to pick up our badges, chatted up a few friends, grabbed our pocket schedules and began to plan out our weeks. Right off the bat, an afternoon screening of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay was pushed back because the print never showed up, and so we're now killing time in Weinberg's hotel room watching SXSW screeners (Bi the Way, Cook County) until it's time to head on over to one of the Alamo theaters for HK2.

Following that screening, we'll jet it over to the Paramount (the theater where all the major premieres take place) for the premiere of 21. I'm most looking forward to my first trip to an Alamo theater after hearing so much about them from my fellow Cinematical writers. "You mean, you sit on benches and order food that's delivered while the movie is playing?" Weinberg replied, "Yup, it's awesome!" In the meantime we just finished watching a documentary on bi-sexuality in America. Can one exist as a bi-sexual? How is it different to be bi-sexual for a man and for a woman? And was that really a threesome thrown in at the end? Eh. The film didn't do much for me -- not because I'm against bi-sexuality, but because I'm against films that bore the hell out of me.

Tonight: Alamo. Paramount. Parties. SXSW is on! Keep it here all week for more updates from one of the cooler festivals this great country has to offer.