Arts & Lectures presents “Distant,” winner of the 2003 Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival. This Turkish film is a look at the distance between two lonely cousins in Istanbul who are more alike than they think. The screening will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall. Tickets are $6/general and $5/students. Also, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center will be hosting a talk entitled “Latina/o Theatre Today,” featuring accomplished playwrights/professors Anne Garcia-Romero, Caridad Svich and Ricardo Bracho. They’ll discuss their work and research in the context of relating various issues that impact contemporary Latino and Latina dramatic arts. The event is free and will be held in the McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB, at 5 p.m.

Magic Lantern Films will be presenting a screening of The Phantom of the Opera “The Phantom of the Opera,” the hit film adaptation of Andrew Loyd Webber’s famous stage production. There will be screenings held in Isla Vista Theater 1 at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $4 at the door. Also, tonight marks the end of the final Art Dept. Senior Honors Exhibitions. Howard Hung’s “Open Art” exhibition will represent the culmination of a week of communal events and will feature the diverse work of many undergraduate students. Attendees will be guided along fun-filled tours through the Arts and College of Creative Studies Buildings, with different art and eats along the way. Don’t miss it; it’s free. Tours will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Gallery 1434 in the Arts Building.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again; time to pile in cars and head out to scorching hot Indio, Calif., for the Coachella Valley Music Festival. As usual, there’ll be a lively mix of hot new megastar acts, former megastars dusting off the guitars for a lucrative reunion and diverse lesser-known talent. Highlights on Saturday include the Kills, Rilo Kiley, Wilco, the Chemical Brothers, Bauhaus, Weezer and headliner Coldplay. Sunday’s festivities will include performances from the Arcade Fire, British Sea Power, Gang of Four, New Order, Bright Eyes and headliner Nine Inch Nails. One- and two-day passes are available. See www.coachella.com for tickets and information.

Arts & Lectures presents a screening of “Los Angeles Plays Itself,” a sprawling film essay that includes clips from nearly 200 other films that feature Los Angeles as a subject or as a backdrop. The film seeks to examine the role of Los Angeles in the movies and the impact of cinema on its capital city. The filmmaker Thom Anderson will be present for the screening, which will be held at Campbell Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8/general and $6/students. Or, if you’re in the mood for a whole lotta rock’n’ roll, head down to see Bruce Springsteen at the Pantages Theater. He’ll be doing a solo acoustic set, which means no saxophone solos. Tickets are $75-$85. See www.ticketmaster.com for more information.

The Associated Students Program Board will be presenting another of its noontime concerts. The Slow Signal Fade will be rocking out in Storke Plaza beginning at noon. Check ’em out, there’s no reason not to since its free. Later in the evening, take advantage of the chance to see some real live gypsies. Their names are Bireli Lagrene & Taraf de Haidouks, and they’re wandering around from town to town playing their Romanian folk music along with a dozen or so other musicians. This surely rousing musical performance will be presented by Arts & Lectures and held at Campbell Hall beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35/general and $17/students.

Arts & Lectures presents a reading by Sue Monk Kidd, writer of bestselling novel The Secret Lives of Bees. She will read from her work including her new novel The Mermaid’s Chair. The reading will be held at Campbell Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10/general and $8/students. Or, if you’re looking for something involving a bit more loud noise and cute young boys singing about cute young problems, then you can head down south to see pop-punk rockers New Found Glory perform at the Ventura Theatre. These guys are still doing what they have done for a long time, so be sure to don your Dickies and partially bleached hair and check it out. Tickets are $17.50. The show is all ages and begins at 6:30 p.m. See www.ticketmaster.com for more information.

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