Film festival features Joel Schumacher

Odyssey, the fine arts organization of Cal State Long Beach, is presenting an Urban International Film Festival. The festival started Monday with "Gridlock'd," starring Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur.

Tuesday's movie was Xavier Koller's "Journey of Hope," a tale of a Turkish family's attempt to escape to Switzerland. The third film in the series is "Falling Down," which stars Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall and Barbara Hershey. Douglas plays a defense industry worker pushed past the breaking point. After the March 17 screening, director Joel Schumacher, whose other works include "A Time to Kill," will be interviewed.

The series ends March 18 with the showing of "Zan Boko," an african film on forced urbanization, government corruption, and media censorship.

No admission will be charged, and the screenings are open to the public. Show times are 7 p.m. on March 18, and 6 p.m. March 17. The films are shown in the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.