Cinequest Film Festival turns 20 in San Jose

San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary next month with films from 45 countries, including world premiere documentaries "Becoming Bert Stern," about the life and career of that photographer, and "The Real Revolutionaries," about the birth of Silicon Valley. The festival also features the local premiere of Palo Alto native son James Franco's dramatic short "The Feast of Stephen."

Other highlights include the crime comedy "Little Fish, Strange Pond," starring Zach Galifianakis and Matthew Modine; the latest from French master Alain Resnais, "Wild Grass;" "The Greatest," starring Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon and Carey Mulligan; "The House of Branching Love," a comedy-drama from Finnish filmmaker Mika Kaurismaki; and a 3-D showcase consisting of screenings, forums and the 3-D Action Experience.

Cinequest 20 opens Feb. 20 with the U.S. premiere of "The Good Heart," a drama starring Brian Cox as a barkeep who takes in a homeless young man played by Paul Dano and schools him in the trade. Following the screening, the opening night party takes place at E&O Trading Co. The festival closes March 7 with a screening of South Korean filmmaker Joon-Ho Bong's thriller "Mother," about a woman searching for the murderer who framed her son for his crime. South First Billiards will host the post-screening party.

Designed to celebrate "the mavericks, those who astound, electrify, inspire, laugh, pioneer," Cinequest 20 will be at the California Theatre, Camera 12 Cinemas, Camera 3 Cinemas and the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

The complete lineup of Cinequest 20 films can be found at www.cinequest.org. Tickets may be purchased online or by phone. BlackBerry and iPhone users can also access information through www.cine quest.org/mobile.