The Three Rivers Film Festival will have a decidedly Pittsburgh, Polish and nostalgic flavor this year as it pays tribute to hometown favorites, the city on its 250th birthday and the art of the short film.

A full list of movies for the 27th annual event, invariably a lively mix of indies, foreign films and documentaries, will be released next week. However, Pittsburgh Filmmakers yesterday announced a handful of special events and its opening-night lineup for Nov. 7:

• "Tamas: A Portrait," the story of beloved Kiski School teacher and coach Tamas Szilagyi, created by actor David Conrad. The film follows Szilagyi as he returns to Hungary after 50 years (Regent Square Theater, Edgewood).

• "Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine," a documentary about the sculptor whose eye-popping granite benches and fountain grace Pittsburgh's Katz Plaza. Co-director and art critic Amei Wallach will introduce the film (Harris Theater, Downtown).

• "My Tale of Two Cities," director Carl Kurlander's exploration of how all roads (even the ones from Hollywood) inevitably lead back to Pittsburgh, will have its local premiere (Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room).

Kurlander is expected to attend, in advance of a red-carpet screening Nov. 28 at the Byham Theater featuring a sing-along by Mr. McFeely from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." That will be part of a separate homecoming weekend of events after the festival closes.

On Nov. 7, Filmmakers will transform its Melwood Avenue headquarters into a stylish Hollywood nightclub for a 9 p.m. party with music, food, cash bar and dancing ($25, includes choice of Nov. 7 film). For movie lovers who want to mingle beforehand, a VIP cocktail reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Concept Art Gallery next door to the Regent Square Theater ($75; call 412-681-5449, ext. 206).

The festival and Polish Cultural Council are bringing five Polish films to town. Jerzy Stuhr, whose movies "The Weather for Tomorrow" and "Big Animal" played here in recent years, will present "Twists of Fate," about an amoral student and a guilt-ridden professor, on Nov. 12.

Tickets for the Stuhr event at Melwood Screening Room, $15, include a reception.

An all-day symposium on Nov. 14 will explore "The Short Film: A Genre Unto Itself?" with screenings, presentations, discussions and a catered lunch for attendees. A New York-based experimental filmmaker and educator, Ernie Gehr, is among the expected dozen speakers.

Cost at the door, $30, with discounts for early registration, Filmmakers/Center for the Arts members, students and year-round Screenie subscribers. Call 412-681-5449, ext. 219.

On Nov. 16, Boston's Alloy Orchestra returns to the Regent Square Theater to provide live music for "The Last Command," a restored print of Josef von Sternberg's 1928 film about a former general of the czar's army who flees Russia, only to wind up as a $7.50-a-day extra in Hollywood.

Nominated for the very first Academy Award for best production (it lost to "Wings"), "Last Command" stars William Powell and Oscar recipient Emil Jannings. Tickets, $15.

The festival will close Nov. 22 with "Pittsburgh Reframed (at 250)," a program of shorts based on a promotional 1958 film, at the Regent Square Theater. Tickets, $15, include a reception with the film and video artists at the Concept Art Gallery.

Tickets for the opening- and closing-night events, Stuhr appearance and "Last Command" go on sale Oct. 23 at www.proartstickets.org or the front desk at Filmmakers, 477 Melwood Ave., during business hours.

A Six-Pack Pass of $40 provides six admissions and a commemorative black long-sleeve T-shirt, designed by the Pittsburgh firm Vance Wright Adams and Associates. When you buy a pass, available now, at Crazy Mocha, you get a free coffee. Passes are also sold at proartstickets.org, Filmmakers theaters and headquarters, as is the Silver Screenie Pass, $125 (or $195 for two), good for all films, the four special events and VIP opening-night cocktail party.

For the first time, single tickets for any film can be bought in advance at proartstickets.org, although there are fees and some time restrictions. They also will be sold at theaters 30 minutes before showtime.

Look for the full schedule later next week in the Post-Gazette and at www.3RFF.com.