FILM SNEAK PEEK OPERA: SEEN AND HEARD.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

Opera and popcorn? Why not? This weekend's American Cinematheque series, ``Opera on Film,'' brings back some of the most acclaimed silver- screen renditions of classic operas.

At 8 tonight is Francesco Rosi's 1984 film of Bizet's ``Carmen,'' with Placido Domingo as Don Jose and Julia Migenes in the title role. Migenes is slated to introduce the screening.

Saturday has two screenings: Verdi's ``La Traviata'' as envisioned by Franco Zeffirelli (Domingo's 1982 screen debut), playing at 5:30 p.m., followed at 8:30 p.m. by Luigi Comencini's 1987 production of Puccini's ``La Boheme,'' with Rodolfo played by Luca Canonici and sung by Jose Carreras.

On Sunday, Ingmar Bergman's 1974 rendering of Mozart's fanciful ``The Magic Flute'' plays at 5 p.m., followed at 7:45 p.m. by Mozart's ``Don Giovanni,'' Joseph Losey's 1980 film that transported the tale from Seville to the Italian countryside.

The Egyptian Theatre is at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for American Cinematheque members. Information: [phone] or www.egyptiantheatre.com on the Web.

BACK IN THE EX-USSR: Even with Glasnost and the end of communist domination, the most interested American observers of the decade-long struggles of Russia and its neighbors have been getting only a limited view of reality, according to a Russian cinema professor at UCLA.

``The only opportunity most of us have had to view the events that have so dramatically changed Russia have been through television-news gatekeepers,'' says documentarian Marina Goldovskaya.

A more realistic perspective is promised with UCLA's three-day Documentary Salon, focusing on recent documentaries of Russia and other nations of the former Soviet Union.

The 11 films in the series range in subject from food shortages, anti- Semitism and a children's prison camp to lighter fare such as arranged marriages and a satiric look at the president of Belarus.

All screenings are at the James Bridges Theater on the northeast corner of the UCLA campus, near Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue. Admission is free, but seating is limited, so organizers suggest arriving early.

Tonight's and Sunday's programs will include discussions with filmmakers and scholars. Information: [phone].

SIX DEGREES OF ART DIRECTION: The Art Directors Guild Film Society has planned a Sunday screening of ``Six Degrees of Separation,'' the Fred Schepisi drawing room comedy about a young con man (Will Smith) who convinces some well-off New Yorkers that he is Sidney Poitier's son.

The 5 p.m. program at the Directors Guild Theater is a tribute to award-winning art director Patrizia Von Brandenstein, who selected that title from her many credits as her favorite. She also was the production designer on ``Ragtime,'' ``The Untouchables,'' ``Man on the Moon'' and ``Amadeus,'' for which she won an Academy Award.

The showing will be preceded by trailers from some of her other films, and afterward Von Brandenstein will hold a question-and-answer session.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. The Directors Guild is located at 7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Reservations and information: the Art Directors Guild, [phone].

ODDS AND ENDS: The Ojai Film Festival is under way this weekend, with its focus on cultures and ethnicities that are underrepresented in cinema. Information: [phone] or www.filmfestival.ojai.net.

Stephen Frears' 1990 drama ``The Grifters'' starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening, screens Saturday night at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., as part of its ongoing California Noir series. Tickets: [phone]. Information: [phone].

``Sound and Fury'' is a documentary about a family of deaf parents and children struggling with the decision whether to cure their 6-year-old daughter's condition with a cochlear implant, a choice that is not as easy as it seems. It's opening today at Laemmle's Music Hall Theatre, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Information: [phone] or www.laemmle.com.

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``La Traviata,'' starring Placido Domingo as Alfredo and Teresa Stratas as Violetta, is being shown at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.