What a smart pick for the first film in the "Seven Favorites You May Have Missed" series at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown.

"Away From Her," which was either first or second on the Post-Gazette's top 10 lists for 2007, will launch the parade of favorites, some of which played Pittsburgh and some of which did not.

Directed by Sarah Polley and starring Julie Christie as a woman with advancing Alzheimer's, "Away From Her" will play Friday through Sunday at the Harris. To avoid the congestion the Steeler game will bring on Saturday, "Away From Her" will show at 2 and 4:30 p.m. on that day only.

For show times, call 412-682-4111. Tickets can be purchased at the box office 30 minutes before showtime.

After "Away From Her," the series will showcase:

"Helvetica" -- Festival sleeper about the Helvetica typeface, which turned 50 in 2007, and where it fits into design, advertising, psychology and communication. Jan. 7-10.

"Control" -- Examination of the life and music of Ian Curtis, the Joy Division lead singer who committed suicide just as the storied British band was preparing for its first U.S. tour in 1980. It won top honors in the 10th annual British Independent Film Awards and counts North Sider Todd Eckert as a producer. Jan. 11-13.

"King Corn" -- At last, a story out of Iowa not connected to the election. This corn really is corn, grown by two East Coast college friends who try to follow their crop into the food system and find a maze of questions. Jan. 14-17.

"Into the Wild" -- Sean Penn directed this movie, one of the best of 2007, about a real-life college graduate who ditched convention and society and fulfilled his dream of living in Alaska, but with tragic results. Jan. 18-20.

"Lust, Caution" -- Ang Lee directs this espionage thriller, set mainly in 1940s Shanghai and starring Tony Leung and Tang Wei. Winner of the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, it earned an NC-17 for nudity and explicit sexuality. Jan. 21-24.

"For the Bible Tells Me So" -- Documentary that uses five Christian families, including those of former Rep. Richard A. Gephardt and an openly gay Episcopal bishop, to discover how people of faith handle having a gay family member. Jan. 25-31.

No, that's not the title of a Sue Grafton novel (her S was for Silence). It's the name of a series of Alfred Hitchcock films that will play Sunday nights at the Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Ave. in Edgewood, during January.

It opens this weekend with "Saboteur," featuring Robert Cummings as a man falsely accused of sabotage, with a thrilling climax atop the Statue of Liberty. Norman Lloyd, later a kindly doctor on "St. Elsewhere," appears as a villain.

In Jan. 13's "Shadow of a Doubt," Joseph Cotten is a man who may not be the paragon his teenage niece, played by Teresa Wright, thinks he is. As Uncle Charlie, Cotten delivers one of the longest speeches of any Hitchcock character, including the assessment, "Do you know the world is a foul sty? ... The world's a hell!"

The Jan. 20 feature, "Spellbound," stars Ingrid Bergman as a psychoanalyst trying to help an amnesiac doctor, portrayed by Gregory Peck, and is notable for a famous dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali.

The movie "Strangers on a Train," showing Jan. 27, features the famous exchange: "Your wife. My father. Criss-cross." It's a proposal to swap murders in this adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker.

All movies start at 8 p.m. and admission is $7.

A locally made movie called "Dark Wake," which takes great advantage of the city's rivers and local pool of acting and musical talent, will have its premiere Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at Cefalo's, 428 Washington Ave. in Carnegie. Admission is free.

Bruce Koehler, a longtime commercial producer for a Pittsburgh TV station as well as advertising agencies, shot the movie from April through October on the rivers and in Etna, Butler and other local neighborhoods. The cast includes local actress Ina Block as a Catholic nun and Jerry Wienand as a coroner, and the Blues Junkies provided five original tracks.

"Dark Wake" is a mystery about bodies that start turning up in the rivers and detectives' efforts to follow the killer's mysterious clues and find out who did it and why.

Koehler, who lives in Valencia and directed, produced and co-wrote the movie (with Jackie Johnston), has been producing commercials for about two decades. This is his first feature film although he plans to start a supernatural thriller called "19 Doors" later this month as he awaits word from distributors about "Dark Wake."

Tuesday's installment of Film Kitchen will showcase video artist Buzz Miller, who integrates video design with performance pieces by groups such as Squonk Opera, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre and Quantum Theatre.

Miller is a freelance video designer and adjunct faculty member at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. He also is Squonk Opera's artist in residence, thanks to a Heinz Endowments' Creative Heights grant exploring emerging technologies in video design for both theatrical performance and video installations.

The January Film Kitchen will also include two Jim Mueller productions along with collaborative video/performance projects by Jessi Sedon and Michael Cooper; Staycee Pearl with Isabelle Strollo and Herman Pearl; Jennifer Keller; and Jessica Fenlon.

Film Kitchen is held the second Tuesday of each month at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Ave. A reception starts at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m., and admission is $4.

Go to www.filmkitchenpgh.org for information on how to submit your work for consideration.

As of today, 306 movies have a chance to be named Best Picture of 2007. That's how many feature films are eligible, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced.

To qualify for the 80th Academy Awards, a movie had to open in a commercial theater in Los Angeles County before Dec. 31 and play for at least seven consecutive days. It also had to have a running time of more than 40 minutes.

Nominations will be announced Jan. 22, and the awards handed out Feb. 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.