An abundance of film fests

With film festivals coming out of our ears, we compiled a guide to help see you through the coming weeks.

Out Takes 2005 Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
When: May 26-June 6
Where: Village Hoyts Cinemas, Queen St

Highlights: The world premiere of the New Zealand film, 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous; Touch of Pink, a romantic comedy with an Indian cast; and Tying the Knot, a doco on gay marriage described by the LA Times as "lively, incisive and comprehensive".

Human Rights Film Festival

Where and when: Academy Cinema, Auckland, May 12-June 1; Regent on Worcester, Christchurch, May 13-15; Paramount Theatre, Wellington, May 25-June 1.

Highlights: Academy Award nominee Born into Brothels; Naomi Klein's The Take; the radical Resistencia about hip-hop in Colombia; British director Ken Loach's Bread and Roses, starring Adrien Brody; and the controversial study of the September 11 hijackers, Hamburg Cell, produced by New Zealander Finola Dwyer.

Latin American Film Festival

When: On now.
Venue: Academy Cinema, Lorne St, City
Highlights: Two engaging Brazilian films The Man Who Copied and Lisbela and the Prisoner; Argentinian Ay Juancito, about Evita Peron's womanising brother; Lefty from the makers of Amores Perros; and three short documentaries from Peru.

Asia Film Festival

Where and when: May 20-June 1, Academy Cinema, Auckland

Highlights: Blind Shaft, banned by the Chinese Government but winner of the Silver Bear at Berlinale; Scent of the Lotus Pond (Sri Lanka); Maqbool, an Indian adaptation and reworking of Macbeth; and Boys in the Sky about Uzbekistan boys growing up.