FILM/SNEAK PEEK TIME FOR A FRANKENHEIMER RETROSPECTIVE.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski

Director John Frankenheimer has a thing for time - clocks (``The Manchurian Candidate''), calendars (``Birdman of Alcatraz'') and the like.

Frankenheimer fans should mark their calendars or set their alarms for a new retrospective, ``Countdown to Genius: The Films of John Frankenheimer.'' The series opens today, one week before the release of his latest thriller, ``Reindeer Games.''

The weeklong festival, screening at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, opens with two political thrillers, ``The Manchurian Candidate'' and ``Seven Days in May,'' playing today and Saturday.

Frankenheimer is scheduled to appear at Sunday's 4:25 p.m. screening of ``Alcatraz'' with a question-and-answer session afterward, and to introduce the 7:25 p.m. showing of ``Seconds.'' That slate will repeat on Monday.

Upcoming titles include ``All Fall Down,'' ``The Iceman Cometh,'' ``Black Sunday'' and his most recent feature, ``Ronin.''

The Sunset 5 is located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. Tickets cost $5.50 to $8.50 for each double feature. For show times and other information, call [phone] or go to www.laemmle.com on the Web.

AFM screenings

There are scores of new movies premiering Feb. 23-March 1 during the American Film Market, when distributors and production companies show their wares to theater owners, and all screenings are open to the public.

The upside: It's a chance to be the first on your block to be giving the thumbs up or thumbs down to such movies as ``The Last Producer'' (directed by and starring Burt Reynolds), ``Rated X'' (Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen), ``Steal This Movie'' (Vincent D'Onofrio) and ``What's Cooking'' (Alfre Woodard).

The downside: All the screenings take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, or weekend mornings at theaters in and around Santa Monica.

The value: Screening badges for as many of the 78 titles as you can take in are available for $95 general admission, or $45 for Santa Monica residents, students, and members of entertainment industry guilds or professional organizations.

For schedule information or to purchase passes, call [phone] or go to www.afma.com on the Web.

Animate the world

Up-and-coming animators, take note: There is a March 3 deadline for submitting VHS screening copies of films for the World Animation Celebration.

Films made after Jan. 1, 1998, are eligible and will go through a preliminary selection process that begins March 4. The final judging will come during the seventh World Animation Celebration, set for May 30-June 4 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Entry blanks may be downloaded off the WAC Web site at www.WACFEST.com or may be requested by calling [phone].

Sherak to be honored

Tom Sherak, chairman of 20th Domestic Film Group, will receive the Sherrill Corwin Humanitarian Award at ShoWest 2000, the annual gathering of the National Association of Theater Owners.

Sherak will accept the award March 9 in Las Vegas. It is the first time the award has been presented since 1994.

Sherak, who has served on numerous charitable boards, most recently organized a reissue of ``Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace,'' which raised more than $2 million for some 180 charities from ticket sales during the first week of December.