The Global FilmInitiative, the US-based charitable foundation dedicated to the promotion ofcross-cultural understanding through cinema, is less than one month away fromlaunching its inaugural annual film showcase.

Entitled GlobalLens: New Cinema from the Developing World, the programme will run at New York's GramercyTheatre from Nov 13-30 before embarking on a nationwide tour of venues.

Curators will be located in each city on the tour andthere will be educational outreach workers at sites to coordinate projects withregional high schools.

'We at theInitiative believe that the best way to understand other cultures is throughthe nuance of storytelling,' Global Film Initiative chairwoman SusanWeeks Coulter said in a statement.

'Global Lens willexpose Americans to vantage points other than our own and we are passionatelycommitted to bringing this programme to high school classrooms across thecountry.'

The Global Lenstitles are:

Angel On TheRight (2002, Tajikistan)directed by Djamshed Usmonov

Khorma (2002, Tunisia) Jilani Saadi

Mango Yellow (2002, Brazil) Claudio Assis

Margarette'sFeast (2002, Brazil)Renato Falcao

Nothing (2001, Cuba) Juan Carlos CremataMalberti

Rachida (2002, Algeria) Yamina Bachir-Chouikh

Shadow Kill (2002, India) Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Ticket toJerusalem (2002,Palestine) Rashid Masharawi

Women'sPrison (2002, Iran)Manijeh Hekmat

WretchedLives (2001,Philippines) Joel Lamangan.