Last weekend, for my first day of AFI Fest 2007, I took the bus. This made for a late-night vigil at what is perhaps the sketchiest bus stop in town, right outside a strip club on Hollywood Blvd., where I waited for 20 minutes, warding off the advances of an amorous drunk, only to be nearly passed by when the bus finally came. I was relieved that two fellow AFIers also boarded (although where were they when Mr. Charming lingered nearby?) and enjoyed discussing with them what they had seen that day.

One was a spry gray-haired lady originally from Switzerland, I think, who had been attending AFI since it was (back in the ’70s and ’80s). Over the course of the rest of the week, I would continue to see her haunting the halls of the ArcLight, working on a crossword puzzle, roller briefcase in tow, and I started to wonder if I was looking at myself in 30 or 40 years. If week-long movie marathons is what the future holds, I can’t complain.

Meanwhile, the AFI Fest 2007 Presented by Audi—the automobile manufacturer’s sponsorship was so significant that the brand became as ubiquitous as “AFI” itself—has announced this year’s award winners:

- Grand Jury Prize for Feature—Munyurangabo, about two young Rwandan men from opposite sides of the 1994 genocide who set out to discover who killed one of the boy’s fathers.

- Best Documentary—Afghan Muscles and Operation Filmmaker, both tangentially related to post-9/11 sociopolitical upheaval in the Middle East. The first points a humorous lens at the phenomenon of bodybuilding in Afghanistan. The latter follows the culture clash that occurs when Liev Schreiber invites an aspiring Iraqi filmmaker onto the set of Everything Is Illuminated.

- Grand Jury Prize for Short—Spider

- Best Animated Short—I Met the Walrus

- Audience Award Feature—The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel’s portrait of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was editor of Elle France when he became paralyzed from head to toe.

- Audience Award Documentary—Spinetingler! The William Castle Story, a portrait of the P.T. Barnum-esque showman who brought buzzing seats and insurance policies to theatres.

- Audience Award Short—Kids + Money

- Audie “Truth in Art”—Heckler director Michael Addis, who used Jamie Kennedy to explore the natural antagonism between performers and their audiences

Members of the feature competition jury included director Agnieszka Holland (Copying Beethoven), producer/screenwriter John Ridley (Bobby and Three Kings, respectively), actress Joan Chen (Lust, Caution), director/writer Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me) and director Henry Bean (The Believer and Noise, which played at the fest). The documentary competition jury included cinematographer Nancy Schreiber (The Nines), director Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) and director Doug Pray (Surfwise and Big Rig, which played at the fest). The shorts competition jury included actor Tate Donovan (TV’s Damages), production executive Maggie Biggar (the upcoming All About Steve) and actor Ioan Grufford (Fantastic Four).