Cast and crew of the short Rex Buster enjoy the Opening Night Gala at the Calabasas Inn. Rex Buster screens Sunday during a program of shorts that begins at 3 p.m. at the Carlson Family Theatre. See more Opening Night photos in the first daily 2008 Method Fest Photo Gallery.

Calabasas, Calif., March 27, 2008 - Playing before a packed house at the Louie B. Mayer Theatre, Familiar Strangers opened the 10th annual Method Fest with strong acting, writing and directing efforts that have come to characterize the independent film festival in its first decade.

Presented by the City of Calabasas, the festival continues through April 3 in Calabasas. Today's schedule calls for screenings at two theaters - Louie B. Mayer Theatre at the Motion Picture & Television Fund and Viewpoint Carlson Family Threatre at Viewpoint School (see Screening Schedule for more details, trailers, and links to directions). Crazy begins the screenings at 7:00 p.m. at Viewpoint followed by a 9:45 showing of shorts. The much-anticipated Australian feature Unfinished Sky screens at 7:15 at Louie B. Mayer Theatre, followed by a 9:30 showing of This Beautiful City.

Familiar Stangers tells the story of an off-beat family that struggles with the changing relationships of parents and children. It was a story that mirrored the family of writer John Bell.

"I wrote from the heart," Bell said. "What's there (on the screen) is me and my family. This film is for everyone who thinks their family is a little crazy, but they want to be with them anyway."

The story is set in Virginia, where the the low-budget feature was filmed on location under the direction of Zackary Adler, who used the beauty of the autumn landscape and the small-town atmosphere to build his story of a family that grew together during a strained four-day Thanksgiving holiday.

"We had a cast that was far better than what we thought we would be able to get," said Adler. "We were very lucky."

Lucky or not, Adler obviously knew how to direct the talent that assembled in Virginia.

"I want to thank Zack," said veteran actor Tom Bower. "He had the right instincts for all the actors."

In a festival named after the famous Method school of acting and which focuses on acting in its selections, Adler worked magic with a cast that featured Bower as a marvelously drawn, hard-edged father; Shawn Hatosy and DJ Qaulls as quarky brothers; and Ann Dowd as a warm mother. Adler got everything to click.

"Ive been in the business in Hollywood for 10 years and sometimes I feel like a cog in a machine," said Qualls. "This film reminded me of why I wanted to be in the business in the first place."

Familiar Strangers opened a Method Fest that is coming off an impressive 2007 run that featured Waitress with Kerri Russell and Man in the Chair with Christopher Plummer, but Don Franken, Executive Director of the festival, believes this year's lineup of films is even better.

“This is the strongest lineup in our festival's history,” he said.

Indie gems still to be showcased include The Visitor, actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent. Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) stars as a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City.

Academy Award winner Helen Hunt makes her feature directing debut with Then She Found Me, a touching story of schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment, adapted from Elinor Lipman's novel of the same name. The film also stars Colin Firth, Academy Award nominee Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Lynne Cohen, and Ben Shenkman.

Unfinished Sky screens tonight (Friday, March 28) at 7:15 at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre.

Another thespian turned helmer, Mary Stuart Masterson, debuts with The Cake Eaters, a quirky, small-town, ensemble drama that explores the lives of two interconnected families coming to terms with love in the face of loss. The film features a strong cast anchored by Bruce Dern and Melissa Leo, and featuring Kristen Stewart, Aaron Stanford, Elizabeth Ashley, Jayce Bartok, Talia Balsam, and Jesse L. Martin.

Unfinished Sky, an acclaimed Australian film directed by Peter Duncan and based on the Golden Globe-nominated Dutch film The Polish Bride, peels away layers of hurt and mistrust to reveal the beauty of freedom, hope and choice.

Other marquee selections on this year's Method Fest feature lineup include: The Stone Angel with Ellen Burstyn, Christine Horne, Cole Hauser, Ellen Page, and Sheila McCarthy; Chronic Town, directed by Tom Hines and starring JR Bourne, Emily Wagner, Jeffrey Scott Jensen, Alice Drummond, Dan Butler and Paul Dooley, and Diminished Capacity with Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and Dylan Baker. Also, The Blue Hour by Eric Nazarian and starring Alyssa Milano, Clarence Williams III, Derrick O'Connor, Yorick van Wageningen and Emily Rios.

World premieres include:

• Country-Western themed film, Crazy, based on the life of legendary guitar player Hank Garland, directed by Rick Bieber and starring Waylon Payne, Ali Larter, and Lane Garrison;
• The South African film, Lullaby, directed by renowned director, Darrell Roodt ("Yesterday,"" Sarafina,""Cry the Beloved Country" );
• Chain Link, directed by Dylan Reynolds and starring Mark Irvingsen and Jim Storm;
• Falling, directed and starring Richard Dutcher and Virginia Reece;
• Harrison Montgomery, directed by Daniel Davila and starring Martin Landau and Octavio Gomez Berrios;
• True Love, directed by Henry Barrial, a Sundance alum with his first film, Some Body.

As always, The Method Fest will screen several top international films, including the U.S. premiere of This Beautiful City by Ed Gass-Donnelly; the Brazilian film, Corpo, (Body);Eduart out of Greece; and Portage, from Canada.

The Method Fest's Centerpiece films will be The Visitor, Saturday night, March 29, and Then She Found Me, Sunday night, March 30, both screening at the Louie B. Mayer Theatre, Motion Picture & Television Fund.  Diminished Capacity will be the Closing Night film, also scheduled at the Louie B. Mayer Theatre on Wednesday, April 2.

There will be a total of 25 features and 48 short films, also from across the U.S. and the globe, screened at this year's The Method Fest.  Access the screening schedule or call (310) 535-9230 for more information.

Festival Package are available for purchase online, and tickets for individual films and shorts also may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800-838-3006.  Ticket prices range from $10 for most individual screenings (excluding opening, centerpiece films, and closing night films), with a festival pass for all screenings, parties, receptions, and tributes only $195.  A limited amount of special industry passes are available at only $125 each.