The Yes Men / American Movie

THE YES MEN, 2003, MGM Repertory, 83 min. Dir. Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price. According to their website, The Yes Men are "a genderless, loose-knit association of 300 imposters worldwide" who plan mildly subversive interventions and benign mischief at international meetings. The film follows two of these satirists to Finland for a conference on "Textiles of the Future." Disguised as representatives of the World Trade Organization, they deliver an unexpected -- and genuinely hilarious -- address. With Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno.

AMERICAN MOVIE, 1999, Sony Pictures Classics, 107 min. Ever the optimist, Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchhardt is confident he can raise the money to make his next major work through the sales of his short horror film COVEN. Unfortunately that one isn't finished either, so he encourages an elderly uncle to invest. Director Chris Smith records the trials, tribulations and minor victories of a truly independent filmmaker.