See 200 films in nine days...

Now in its ninth year, London's East End Film Festival today announced its programme at a reception at the heart of its manor, at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. The Festival kicks off on 22 April with a preview screening of Barney Platts-Mills' cult 1969 film Bronco Bullfrog, set in Stratford, East London and starring local kids, prior to its re-release this summer.

Over 200 films will be screened in the next nine days, with a double focus on local culture, with new and old films exploring East London's roots, and on international cinema, with strands showcasing work from East Europe, South East Asia and Latin America.

Highlights include Mark Donne's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poetic documentary about the London Docks; SUS, based on the play about Margaret Thatcher's "stop and search" laws by Barrie Keeffe, who wrote The Long Good Friday; and a series of events commemorating Rock Against Racism, the grassroots movements against the National Front in the late 1970s.

Currently touring Britain with the German expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the band Minima will supply a live, improvised accompaniment to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger (pictured right) at a free outdoor screening on 24 April.

A Russian strand includes I Am, presented by Oksana Akinshina, the star of Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4 Ever, and Cargo 200, introduced by the director Aleksey Balabanov, while a Polish section features two recent local successes, Piggies and Call Girls.

Reviews, recommendations and news about the festival will appear regularly on theartsdesk; meanwhile for more information check the official website.