Posted on: Saturday, January 1, 2005

Maui Film Festival's First Light series wraps up this weekend

Advertiser Staff

The Maui Film Festival's First Light series, which began Dec. 15, concludes this weekend with exclusive screenings of several big-buzz features. All screenings are at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater; admission is $10 per film ($5 for children at PG films). (808) 572-3456, www.mauifilmfestival.com. Here's today's schedule (a "*" indicates the film hasn't opened in Honolulu):

• 2 p.m.: "P.S."* — Academy Award nominee Laura Linney plays a university admissions officer and Topher Grace plays a confident New York art-school applicant in this romantic dramedy. R. 97 min.

• 5 p.m.: "Stage Beauty"* — Dramedy set in 1660s England, when women are forbidden from acting and female roles were played by men. R. 105 min.

• 7:30 p.m.: "The Phantom of the Opera" — A big-budget adaptation of the Broadway sensation. PG-13. 145 min.

Tomorrow's films:

• 2 p.m.: "Born into Brothels"* — The inspirational 2004 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Audience Award winner recounts the growth and joy of children of the prostitutes of Calcutta's red-light district as they explore their world through photography. Unrated. 83 min.

• 5 p.m.: "Tell Them Who You Are"* — Julia Roberts, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier and others chime in on this documentary about legendary filmmaker Haskell Wexler. Unrated. 95 min.

• "The Assassination of Richard Nixon"* — Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle star in an exploration of the dark side of the American Dream set against the backdrop of the Watergate scandal. R. 95 min.