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Details are starting to emerge about the 11th annual Sonoma Valley Film Festival, which runs Wednesday, April 9, through Sunday, April 13. In addition to the usual star-studded program of new independent films, the festival will honor award-winning actor Michael Keaton for his career in film.

This year's festival will screen more than 75 films from around the world, including premieres of dramas, comedies, documentaries and innovative short films and animation. During the annual Festival Tribute, Keaton will be appearing in person to show clips from his new, unreleased directorial debut "The Merry Gentlemen." The tribute will take place on Saturday, April 12, at the Sebastiani Theatre and will be followed by a screening of one of Keaton's most beloved films, "Beetlejuice," directed by Tim Burton and starring Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Catherine O'Hara and Sonoma County-native Winona Ryder.

This year's festival films will showcase exciting work by heralded stars and breakthrough talent, including Alan Alda, David Lynch, Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bruce Dern, Brittany Murphy, Martin Sheen, James Brown, Virginia Madsen, Winona Ryder, Bette Midler, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Sisto, Colin Firth, Matthew Modine, Mary Stuart Masterson, Bill Pullman, Michael York, Max Minghella, Joe Mantegna, Blake Lively, Mary Steenburgen, Matthew Lillard, D.B Sweeney, Kristen Bell, John Ratzenberger, Malcolm MacDowell and Liev Schreiber. The festival this year takes place in the all-walkable Festival Village, with all screenings located around the Sonoma Plaza.

"We are looking forward to an incredible 11th year," said festival Executive Director Marc Lhormer. "We believe this April's festival will take our celebration of film, food and wine to a whole new level of pleasure, with top-tier film premieres, along with pairings of award-winning regional wines before film screenings and cuisine created by nationally famous and locally revered celebrity chefs to delight every taste bud. The 2008 Sonoma Valley Film Festival will offer a true feast of cinematic pleasures, including inspiring documentaries, innovative animation, thrilling dramas and hilarious comedies."

The film festival will kick off on Wednesday, April 9, with evening sneak preview screenings, and will be followed on Thursday, April 10, with the glamorous Opening Night Gala party, a spectacular affair of food, wine, dancing and entertainment to be held at Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma. The 2008 festival will culminate at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 13, when awards will be given in the form of cash, prizes and custom hand-blown glass wine decanters by master artisan Ryan Blythe.

The Sonoma Valley Film Festival this year offers a variety of ticket options for attendees for every taste and budget, including $10 door tickets and $50 all-day passes, as well as all-week festival passes, VIP premier passes, and VIP all-access patron passes. The festival also welcomes parents to take advantage of fun and inexpensive film festival childcare (see festival Web site for details).

To order tickets, and also for complete film listings, screening times, events, childcare and celebrity appearances, visit www.SonomaFilmFest.org, or call the festival office at 933-2600.

The 11th annual Sonoma Valley Film Festival will include an impressive lineup of 75 independent films, including the following:

• "Love and Other Disasters" - starring Brittany Murphy, Orlando Bloom, Gwyneth Paltrow.

• "Fugitive Pieces" - shot in Greece, Poland and Canada, a lyrical epic of love, history and legacies.

• "Young at Heart" - the exploits of a Seniors-Only Choir as they stun and amaze with covers of Radiohead, Sonic Youth and James Brown.

• "Captain Abu Raed" - The first-ever independent film from the nation of Jordan and a 2008 Sundance World Cinema Award-winner.

• "Jar City" - a twisted murder mystery from Iceland.

• "The Village Barbershop" stars John Ratzenberger, who will be appearing in person.

• "Lynch" - a rare glimpse into the life and mind of award-winning director David Lynch.

• "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene" - the true story of the first shock jock, narrated by Don Cheadle.

• "Elvis and Anabelle" - a West Texas gothic love story, starring Joe Mantegna, Blake Lively, Max Mingella and Mary Steenburgen.

• "Tellin' It Like It Is" is directed by Kevin Gordon.

• "Diminished Capacity" - This quirky odd-couple comedy stars Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick.

• "Beetlejuice" - this Michael Keaton classic is directed by Tim Burton.

• "Then She Found Me" - the directorial debut of Helen Hunt, which stars Hunt with Bette Midler.

• "The Cake Eaters" is the directorial debut by Mary Stuart Masterson, starring Bruce Dern.

• "Unsettled" - a brilliant, nuanced look into the struggle over settlements in Gaza.

• "Flatland: The Movie" - An innovative animated film based on the mind-bending classic mathematical novella.

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