The Oscars are using a preferential voting system this year to determine the best picture winner. Although attempting to understand the system can sometimes feel a little like trying to divine the secrets of cold fusion, the system is actually logical -- sort of.

Whereas all other categories will use the same system used in the past -- every voter gets to pick one of the five nominees, and the nominee with the most votes wins -- the 10-nominee best-picture category will function differently.

Voters will be asked to rank their best-picture choices from 1 to 10 (though they are not required to complete the ballot in full). Then the academy will gather up the ballots and separate them in piles according to voters' first choices.

Each movie gets its own pile -- the film that appears most frequently as a first-place choice will naturally have the largest stack, the movie with the next-most first-place votes will have the second-largest, and so forth. Then each stack is counted.

If one film has more than 50 percent of the votes on the first round (unlikely), it will be declared the winner. If it doesn't, the academy will take the shortest stack -- the movie that got the fewest first-place votes -- eliminate it from contention, remove its stack from the table and redistribute those voters' second choices to all the other stacks.

The tally then begins again: If a film now has passed 50 percent of the ballots (still pretty unlikely), it wins.

If it doesn't, the auditors go to the smallest stack left, eliminate that movie, remove that stack, and go down those ballots to voters' next-highest choice (of a movie that remains in contention, of course), and redistribute the ballots across the piles once again. The process repeats until one stack ends up with a majority.

What all this means in practical terms -- apart from a lot of slips of paper -- is that, because it's unlikely that auditors will work their way past most voters' fourth or fifth choices before arriving at a winner, it actually could be preferable for a film to garner a lot of second- and third-place votes than to be a polarizing choice that splits evenly between first-place votes and, say, eighth- and ninth-place on the ballot.

That, in turn, means a movie could pull a Bush vs. Gore -- win best picture despite not getting the most first-place votes. Although, because the academy guarantees a secret ballot, few people would ever know. (Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times)

A documentary called "Please Vote for Me," set in a Chinese third grade dabbling in democracy, will open the 2010 Asia Unreeled documentary film series this weekend.

"Please ..." is about a historic election at a school in the city of Wuhan.

For the first time, the third-grade class monitor at a school there will be elected and not appointed. Two boys and a girl enter the race: a wily cajoler, a ruthless 8-year-old authoritarian and a talented, sensitive girl who just wants voters to like her.

It will screen at 2 p.m. Saturday at Winchester Thurston School, 555 Morewood Ave. Tickets at the door (cash only) are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

At 2 p.m. Feb. 21, "Good for Her" examines the increasing number of South Korean women undergoing surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedures and what that says about the country's beauty standards.

At 2 p.m. Feb. 28, "Wings of Defeat" looks at Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II, including those who survived due to downed planes or aborted missions.

At 2 p.m. March 7, "That's Why I'm Working" explores the economic realities behind children working in Bangladesh.

The series is being presented by Winchester Thurston, Silk Screen, and the Confucius Institute and Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh. All films are appropriate for ages 12 and up, and a moderated discussion will follow each screening in the Hilda Willis Room, Upper School building.

Free parking is available in Winchester Thurston's driveways and parking lots, or on surrounding streets.

Inclement weather cancellation notices will be posted on the school hot line at 412-578-7534. See www.winchesterthurston.org/asiaunreeled for tickets for the entire series at a discount. (Barbara Vancheri, movie editor)

A 30-minute "Countdown to the Oscars 2010" will air on ABC at 8 p.m. on March 7, leading into the 82nd Academy Awards. Jeff Margolis will executive produce the red-carpet arrivals show. ... Variety reports Disney plans a sequel to "Enchanted," possibly for 2011. The studio will try to bring back the original stars, including Amy Adams. ... The trade publication also says Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will return for a fifth "Fast and the Furious." (B.V.)

The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival will open March 18 with "TiMER."

The oddly spelled romantic comedy, directed by Jac Schaeffer, asks: "If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soulmate, would you want to know?" It stars Emma Caulfield, John Patrick Amedori, Michelle Borth and JoBeth Williams.

Tickets to the opening night gala, sponsored by Dollar Bank, are $125 ($100 for members of the Cleveland International Film Festival). Gala includes 7 p.m. movie at Tower City Cinemas with 9 p.m. party at MK Ferguson Plaza with guest Schaeffer.

More than 300 movies will be shown at the annual event. For more information, go to www.clevelandfilm.org on Feb. 15. Tickets go on sale to members Feb. 26 and to the general public March 5.

Program guides will be available at Dollar Bank locations the week of Feb. 22. Last year's festival had 66,476 admissions during the 11-day event, a 28 increase over the previous year. (B.V.)

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