FILM SNEAK PEEK BUT WILL THERE BE POPCORN?

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

Forget the neighborhood multiplex. If you want a wide variety of film offerings this week, head to UCLA.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, there will be a free screening of Britain's new animated kids' film ``Faeries,'' featuring the voices of Kate Winslet, Jeremy Irons, Dougray Scott (``Arabian Nights'') and Jane Horrocks (``Little Voice''). Gary Hurst's film combines conventional two-dimensional cels in the foreground with 3-D backgrounds for an interesting look. Free juice and cookies will be served at the James Bridges Theater. (Paramount Home Video put the tape in stores this week.)

On Tuesday, UCLA Performing Arts will present the 1920 silent film ``The Mark of Zorro,'' with Chris Elliott on the newly restored Royce Hall organ. Douglas Fairbanks stars as the swashbuckling Don Diego who takes up mask and sword to defend the Pueblo de Los Angeles from the bad guys. General admission for the 7:30 p.m. concert and screening is $10, with students and seniors admitted for $7.

Tuesday also marks the opening of the 19th annual Contemporary Documentary Series, presented by UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The opening night bill has the 1999 Academy Award nominee ``The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo'' and ``Beyond the Mat,'' a look at the people behind the larger-than-life personas of professional wrestling. Admission is free at the James Bridges Theater and show time is 7:30 p.m.

Elvis is back in the building on Oct. 5 with a 7:30 p.m. double feature of ``Jailhouse Rock,'' with the title number choreographed by Presley, and ``Viva Las Vegas,'' in which he steamed up the screen with Ann-Margret. Tickets to the James Bridges Theater are $6 for general admission and $4 for students and seniors.

The Bridges theater is in the northeast corner of the UCLA campus near Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue. Royce Hall is on the north side, accessible from Sunset and Royce Drive. For more information, call [phone] or [phone], or look up www.cinema.ucla.edu on the Web.

IN A NOIR MOOD: Laemmle Theaters continues its first Film Noir Series this weekend with ``Double Indemnity,'' probably the most compelling discussion ever about life insurance policies.

``Double Indemnity,'' directed by Billy Wilder from a script by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Next weekend, ``Chinatown'' with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

Screenings are at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. Tickets are $8.50 general admission, $6.50 for students, $5.50 for seniors and children under 12. For more information, call [phone] or [phone] or go to www.laemmle.com on the Web.

PHISH-ING TRIP: The rock band Phish, which is trying to pick up where the Grateful Dead left off with a rootsy, unpolished sound and loyal fans who bootleg the band's concert tapes, is the subject of a new documentary by ``Road Trip'' director Todd Phillips.

``Phish: Bittersweet Motel'' is an 80-minute look at a year's worth of touring in the United States and Europe, including the Madison Square Garden show ringing in the 1998 new year, club gigs in Europe and a festival appearance in Limestone, Maine.

``Phish'' is showing today through Thursday at Landmark's Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Los Angeles. For more information, call [phone].

BE THE FIRST ON YOUR BLOCK: USC School of Cinema-Television hosts its annual fall First Look Festival Monday through Thursday, unveiling its latest student short dramas, documentaries and comedies.

It's a film school's equivalent to a recital for the students' proud relatives, and the first chance for studio executives, agents and film buffs to preview new talent hoping to break into the professional ranks.

The programs of seven or eight films per night begin at 7:30 p.m. at the DGA Theatre, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. The screenings are free, but reservations should be made by calling [phone].

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Douglas Fairbanks (he's the one in the mask) stars in the 1920 film ``The Mark of Zorro,'' Tuesday night at UCLA.