By David D'Arcy

When a resolution calling on the president to "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians [between 1915 and 1917] as genocide" was introduced, debate raged in the House of Representatives until, just this past week, sponsors of the measure decided to postpone a vote on the issue. Among those bound to be deeply disappointed are System of a Down, the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning band and centerpiece of the unique film, Screamers.

The documentary is something of a hybrid between an uproarious concert film and a brisk and urgent history lesson, linking that first genocide of the modern era to the all too many that have followed. The congressional resolution may be tabled, but campaign for recognition of the atrocity is far from over. David D'Arcy talks with filmmaker Carla Garapedian about becoming a Screamer.

By Jay Kuehner

Before Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days took the coveted Palme d'Or at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, the declaration of a Romanian new wave seemed to rest on the singular success of Cristi Puiu's quotidien epic The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.

Modest by design but no less ambitious in its formal conception, Corneliu Porumboiu's 2006 Camera d'Or-winning 12:08 East of Bucharest stakes out the relative calm amid the Balkan tide. Where Puiu's long day's gurney into night is indebted to ER and Eric Rohmer, as envisioned by a painter, Porumboui's droll evocation of the Romanian revolution owes something to the narrative torpor of Jarmusch and the tableaux of Vermeer.

Jay Kuehner spoke with the filmmaker about his work and about the new wave of Romanian cinema.

12:08 East of Bucharest is now out on DVD.

By Sean Axmaker

"I think I'm running out of things to make film about in my conscious world," Ang Lee tells Sean Axmaker in a conversation about Lust, Caution that quickly moves to the Oscar-winning director's entire oeuvre. "Starting from The Ice Storm, I started to go the other side. I think up to Sense and Sensibility, I did everything that I know of myself consciously... But I like to keep that mystery and make movies about what I need to find out."

By Jay Kuehner

The latest issue of Sight and Sound is devoted to the state of American independent cinema and the apparent dearth of genuine US indie talent. While a host of usual suspects is nominated to make or break the argument, there is no mention of Julia Loktev, the Russian-born but US-bred filmmaker whose work to date has included audio and video art installation pieces, as well as the prize-winning documentary Moment of Impact (1998), which deals with the quotidian aftermath of her father's debilitating car accident.

Loktev's first feature length film Day Night Day Night, is now out on DVD.