Today was the day for panel discussions, at least for me. In the afternoon I attended a panel on faith-based cinema, which has gone mainstream in the wake of hits like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion.

The panel mentioned that audiences may be gravitating toward faith-based and inspirational cinema because they're tired of a constant barrage of negative images. Of course, filmmakers interested in making faith-based films need to keep in mind that most of them can't get by with an R rating like The Passion, and many of them still have a limited audience.

For people interested in developing faith-based television, the panel advised steering clear of major networks and instead aiming for cable, which has fewer restrictions on content.

Taking a break from panels, I caught South of Pico, which premiered at this festival (I caught the second screening, not the actual premiere). All I can say is this film gives Crash a run for its money. Not in the sense that it deals with racism, which it doesn't, but in the sense that it takes a group of ordinary people and puts them in a situation that makes viewers ask themselves what they would do under the same circumstances.

Then I went to my second (and final) panel of the day. This was a discussion with "artists who broke the mold," including people such as Anthony Mackie, Guy Torry, and Julie Dash, and it was an entertaining and informative talk about being black in the film world.

Panelists stressed the need for artistic integrity among black filmmakers and asked them to challenge themselves, not bow to the stereotypes. They advised filmmakers not to compromise, especially at the beginning of their careers, when they can afford to take more risks.They also asked up-and-coming filmmakers and actors to help one another.

Many members of the black film community are focused exclusively on making their own way, the panel said, but it stressed that there's room for everyone.