May 14, 2000

Beth Jasper hasn't begun planning the lineup for next year's USA Film Festival, but she already knows one thing: She's looking forward to having a full year to do it.

Ms. Jasper was hired as the festival's new artistic director in January. Considering the usual settling-in that goes with any new job, she figures she had two months to pull this year's festival together.

But she and managing director Ann Alexander say they're pleased with the result, which brought in dozens of big names and thousands of customers from April 27 to May 4.

"I think Beth did a really good job of pulling elements together of existing programs with new programs," Ms. Alexander says.

Attendance was more difficult to determine this year because, for the first time, the festival had several free screenings, Ms. Alexander says.

An estimated 10,000 people attended....

Ms. Jasper says this year's fest featured no midnight shows and used only three screens at the AMC Glen Lakes. Last year, it used four.

She says that, for her, the best moment of the week was the introduction of Marta Becket after the screening of Amargosa. The film documents Ms. Becket's life as a dancer and artist in Death Valley Junction, Calif. (population 10).