The five-day event, to be held in Culver City, Calif., from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, will kick off with the film "The Caveman's Valentine," the new film by "Eve's Bayou" director Kasi Lemmons starring Samuel L Jackson. The film is an adaptation of George Dawes Green's 1995 novel about a Julliard-trained jazz musician turned schizophrenic drawn out of his insanity to solve a murder mystery.

Closing the festival will be the prison drama "Lockdown." The film is directed by John Luessenhop and stars Richard T. Jones as a competitive swimmer whose friends are wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit.

A total of 50 films will unspool at the HBFF 2001. Other notable films in the festival include the acclaimed documentary "Long Night's Journey Into Day," "Chalk" and "Welcome to Death Row."

More information for the festival is available at the organization's Web site www.hbff.org.