Reps Etc.

FOREIGN CINEMA

2534 Mission (between 21st and 22nd streets), 648-7600, www.foreigncinema.com. Free with meal. This restaurant screens foreign films, usually in 35mm, on the back wall of its outdoor patio, with drive-in speakers available for the tables of those who want to watch while they dine.

DAILY (Closed Mondays): Tim Burton finds his trash alter ego in the world's worst director, Ed Wood (1994), screening through April 10 7, 9:15 p.m.

GOETHE-INSTITUT

530 Bush (at Grant), 263-8760. The place to go for German cultural events. $5.

FRIDAY (April 1): The Goethe's monthly happy hour screening of a film with snacks offers Heart Over Head (Michael Gutmann, Germany, 2001), about the love of a German teen and a Polish girl 6 p.m.

TUESDAY (April 5): "Deconstructing the Foreign," a series of new documentaries, offers Dialogues '99/II (Dirk Szuszies and Ferdinand Teubner, Germany, 2004), a record of a dance choreographed by Sasha Waltz at the Jewish Museum of Berlin, and Hommage a Noir (Ralf Schmerberg, 1999), a musical poem dedicated to the people of Africa 7:30 p.m.

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER

3105 Shattuck (at Prince), Berkeley, (510) 849-2568, www.lapena.org. This cafe for activists offers occasional film and video screenings.

WEDNESDAY (March 30): Arna's Children (Danniel Danniel and Juliano Mer Khamis), a documentary about the death of a Jewish activist against Israeli occupation policies, screens as a benefit for the Middle East Children's Alliance. Call (510) 548-0542 for more information. $10-20 sliding scale 7 p.m.

LARK

549 Magnolia (at Post), Larkspur, 924-5111, www.larktheater.net. This single-screen art deco theater has reopened with a policy mixing new and repertory programming. $9 save as noted.

DAILY: The Chorus (Christopher Barratier, 2004). See Ongoing for review Wed 5, 7 p.m.; Thurs 5 p.m.; Fri 8:45 p.m.; Sat 7, 9 p.m.; Sun 3, 5 p.m.; Mon 5 p.m.; Tues 5, 8:45 p.m.

THURSDAY: Lexi Leban's award-winning documentary Girl Trouble (2004), about a youth-run organization for troubled teens. $15 7 p.m.

STARTS FRIDAY: Assisted Living (Elliot Greenebaum, 2004); see Opening for review. $8 Fri 7 p.m.; Sat 5 p.m.; Sun-Tues 7 p.m.

MECHANICS' INSTITUTE LIBRARY

57 Post (near Market), 393-0100 and www.milibrary.org for information; phone or e-mail rsvp@milibrary.org for reservations. $5. This cultural asset of long standing offers a weekly film series. Shown on projected video, with salon-style discussions to follow.

FRIDAY (April 1): CinemaLit opens a month of Italian cinema with Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief (1948) 6:30 p.m.

OPERA PLAZA

601 Van Ness (at Golden Gate), 352-0810, www.landmarktheatres.com. This multiplex is only partly a "calendar house" rep theater. For the rest of the Opera Plaza's schedule, see our Showtimes page. $8.75.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Dot the I (Matthew Parkhill, U.K./Spain, 2003). See Ongoing for review. Call for times.

STARTS FRIDAY: Call for film and times.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE

2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch), Berkeley, (510) 642-1124, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu, $8, second show $2. The East Bay mecca for film scholars, part of UC Berkeley's Art Museum, thrives at its on-campus location, up the steps on Bancroft between Telegraph Avenue and the Hearst Gym.

WEDNESDAY: A UCB film history class open to the public and taught by Marilyn Fabe screens Akira Kurosawa's what-is-truth puzzler Rashomon (Japan, 1951) 3 p.m. A weekly "Games People Play" series resumes with Paul Bartel's prophetic Death Race 2000 (1975), a great idea for a network reality show -- drivers compete to see who can run down more pedestrians 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: "Cries of the City," documentaries from UC students, includes Andrés Cediel's accomplished Shellmound, a record of the burial grounds on which Emeryville built its mall, and Nathan Johnson's examination of graffiti's Territorial Pissings 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: An Edgar G. Ulmer series continues with his film of John Carradine as puppet master/serial killer Bluebeard (1944; 7:30 p.m.), screening with Hedy Lamarr as The Strange Woman (1946; 8:45 p.m.). Ulmer's daughter Arianné Ulmer Cipes at both shows.

SATURDAY: Two Yiddish-language films by Ulmer, The Light Ahead (1939; 7 p.m.) and American Matchmaker (1940; 9:15 p.m.), the latter preceded by two shorts for Spanish-American and Navajo audiences. Arianné Ulmer Cipes at both shows.

SUNDAY: "Crying in Color," a lecture by Russell Merritt on color developments in 1950s Hollywood at 4:30 p.m., is followed by Scaramouche (George Sidney, 1952), a Technicolor swashbuckler with Stewart Granger, at 5:40 p.m.

MONDAY: A "Buddhism and Film" series, offering lectures by Robert Sharif and screenings of relevant films, continues with the Wallace Shawn-Andre Gregory chatfest My Dinner With Andre (Louis Malle, 1981) 3 p.m.

TUESDAY: Betsy Bromberg's abstract a Darkness Swallowed (2004), "a landscape that suggests the murky process of searching, remembering, or grieving" 7:30 p.m.

PARKWAY

1834 Park (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, (510) 814-2400, www.picturepubpizza.com. $5 save as noted. Pizza, beer, and movies on two screens. Call theater for programs, booked a week in advance. The Parkway also offers occasional scheduled special programs.

MIDNIGHT SHOW (Saturday): The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), with live performance by Barely Legal. $6. See Ongoing for review.

RAFAEL FILM CENTER

1118 Fourth St. (at A Street), San Rafael, 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $9 save as noted. This three-screen repertory theater, now officially the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, is operated by the California Film Institute. Programs are complex; check carefully and call for confirmation.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, Germany, 2004) 7:30 p.m. Born Into Brothels (Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski, 2004) 6:30 p.m. After Midnight (Davide Ferrario, Italy, 2004) /i>8:30 p.m. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (Judy Irving, 2004) 9:15 p.m. See Ongoing for reviews.