This year the first two nights will be at Brava Theater in the Mission, and the last two days will be at the Castro. That means a whole new neighborhood for before movie drinks and dinner! May I recommend Delfin (24th and Folsom) for a good dinner, Sugarlump (24th and Bryant) for a cup of coffee, St. Francis (24th and York) for a pre-movie breakfast or a quick milkshake, and The Phone Booth (25th and South Van Ness) for a cozy, post-movie discussion drink.

I urge everyone to come out to these movies because the experience is so amazing. Last year, I saw Loins of Punjab Presents at the Castro to a packed house who sang along and stood up when the film told us to. This film finally got mainstream distribution, and I went to see it tonight at the awesomely homey Balboa Theater in the outer Richmond, and it was great, but it just wasn't the same. This festival is as much about the community as it is about the movies.

But seeing the line up of films, AGAIN, leaves me wanting some good narrative features about the South Asian American experience. Come on people, how many years must I sing the same tune?

Anyway, stay tuned for longer posts about the films throughout this week from Sylvie and myself. My quick hit of recommendations is:

• Lakshmi and Me (Saturday Nov. 15th at 1:45 at The Castro)

• Maqbool (Saturday Nov. 15th at 4:15 at The Castro)

• Slumdog Millionaire (Sunday Nov. 16th at The Castro)

Oh, and don't forget the opening night party at Bollyhood on Thursday night at 10. Look, it's only the beginning of the week and your whole weekend is planned. You can thank me later.