Movie News from SXSW: Jamie (The Quiet, But I’m a Cheerleader) Babbit’s Itty Bitty Titty Committee takes the top narrative prize in Austin; King Corn sounds like a fratty, Pollanesque counterpoint to Hybrid; and the “mumblecore movement” (Bujalski, The Puffy Chair, The Guatemalan Handshake, you get the picture) comes out with its first “collaboration”: Hannah Takes the Stairs.

Also, Northwest Film Forum has begun a blog. It’s not terribly exciting so far, but NWFF employees all appear to be literate.

Opening today:

Charles Mudede reviews Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Climates (“a portrait of the kind of life we must at the end admire and desire”) at Northwest Film Forum, tonight through Thursday at 7 and 9 pm.

And I review Mira Nair’s somewhat disappointing adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. There’s plenty of fine acting, so it’s never tedious, but the direction is…. just… so… grrr.

On the other hand, Jhumpa Lahiri is gorgeous, and she has a cameo:

In On Screen this week: Bradley Steinbacher assesses The Dead Girl (somber, quiet, and for the most part effective), Andrew Wright explores Chris Rock’s repertoire of dusty jokes in I Think I Love My Wife (Viagra, gays, racial difference, and/or Michael Jackson), and Megan Seling takes on Sandra Bullock (S. Bullfrog, -fighter, and Boulevard to you!) in Premonition.

Lotsa hot stuff in limited runs this week: Seattle Jewish Film Festival opens tomorrow night (seek out The First Time I Was Twenty, starring the girl from Look at Me, and The Rape of Europa [here’s Variety’s effusive review]; go to Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner only if someone drags you) and continues through March 25. The Aaina Film Festival, focusing on Southeast Asian women, is this weekend only (I really like Amu). Northwest Film Forum wraps up its Jacques Rivette series with Haut bas fragile tonight, Va savoir tomorrow, and The Story of Marie and Julien (not my personal favorite) on Sunday. SIFF Cinema continues its Janus series with Fellini’s La Strada, Buñuel’s Viridiana, Vigo’s Zéro de conduite, and Bergman’s Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal. Puccini for Beginners, the post-lesbian rumpus from the director of The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, is on at the Varsity through Thursday. Mafioso is continuing at the Varsity, and The Rules of the Game is now at the Harvard Exit. Whew!

But that’s not all! The locally produced Iraq in Fragments is playing at the Grand Illusion at 5 pm today and 1 pm Sat-Sun. Plus, the documentary will have its TV premiere on Cinemax on Tuesday at 7 pm. And another local doc, Jesus Freaks, about the yearly Creationfest music festival at the Gorge, is at 911 Media Arts tonight.

Film shorts and movie times are available through Get Out. Get to it!