Organisers at the AFI FEST 2009 have selected Lee Daniels’ Precious as their first gala presentation.

Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, fresh from its world premiere at Venice and screenings in Telluride and Toronto, and Bong Joon-Ho’s Cannes Un Certain Regard hit Mother are among the initial line-up of 12 that will screen at the festival from October 30-November 5.

Several other well received Cannes world premiere are among the line-up. Audiences will get the chance to see Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere, Ken Loach’s Looking For Eric, and Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police, Adjective.

The roster includes Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station that recently got its world premiere in Telluride, the Red Riding Trilogy from Julian Jarrold, James Marsh and Anand Tucker, Everyone Else from Maren Ade, Claude Chabrol’s Bellamy, and Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers.

“These first dozen titles offer a wonderful preview to our lineup which is a survey of the year’s significant films,” AFI FEST artistic director Rose Kuo said. “They represent a diversity of voices and we take great pride in being able to bring them to Los Angeles audiences for the first time.”

The film festival will launch its groundbreaking See A Film On Us initiative offering complimentary tickets to all films including a limited number of seats at each gala presentation.