7 pm

Movies

For those of us who were unable to make it to Park City, Utah, last month or those limited to the Sundance side of the street, the American Cinematheque presents the Best of Slamdance 2001 as part of its Alternative Screen series. Featuring films that took home the hardware from the seventh annual Slamdance International Film Festival, tonight’s offerings include two programs of award-winning independent cinema. Leading things off are the Audience Award winners for best short (“White Face,” directed by Brian McDonald) and feature (Anurag Mehta’s “American Chai”). The second show will include “Boundaries” by Greg Durbin, winner of the Grand Jury Award for best short, along with the Spirit of Slamdance short, Mark Carter’s “The Ballad of Little Roger Mead,” and the top dramatic feature, “Daydream Believer,” directed by Debra Eisenstadt.

* American Cinematheque Presents Alternative Screen: The Best of Slamdance 2001, Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, “White Face” and “American Chai,” 7 p.m. “Boundaries,” “The Ballad of Little Roger Mead,” and “Daydream Believer,” 9:15 p.m. $5 to $7. (323) 466-FILM)

8 pm

Movies

The ninth Pan African Film & Arts Festival opens tonight at the Galaxy Theatres in Hollywood with a special screening of “Kingdom Come,” a new comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Vivica A. Fox. The festival, the largest in the U.S. dedicated to the exhibition of black independent films, continues through Feb. 19 at the Magic Johnson Theatres. More than 80 films, including features, documentaries and shorts, will unspool over 12 days and include such familiar faces as Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Bill Bellamy, Morris Chesnut and D.L. Hughley.

* Pan African Film & Arts Festival, opening-night gala, “Kingdom Come,” Galaxy Theatres, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., tonight, 8 p.m. $50 to $ 90. Festival continues through Feb. 19, Magic Johnson Theatres, 3650 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., $5 to $8. (213) 896-8221 or www.paff.org

8pm

Theater

In Conor McPherson’s Olivier Award-winning play, “The Weir,” starring John Mahoney and Lindsay Crouse, men in a rural Irish pub swap ghostly tales to impress a mysterious woman.

* “The Weir,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood, Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends March 11. $21 to $43. (310) 208-5454, (213) 365-3500.

8pm

Pop Music

Philadelphia rap heroes the Roots are spinning off acts all over the place. Onetime associate Jill Scott is well on her way to stardom as an R&B; singer, while closer to the hip-hop core is the trio of Scratch, Dice Raw and Kamal. Roots members Scratch (beatbox) and Kamal (keyboards) are joined by rapping affiliate Dice Raw, whose album came out on the Roots’ own label late last year.

Scratch, Dice Raw and Kamal, with School of Thought and DJ Dangerous, Key Club, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 8 p.m. $13.50. (310) 786-1712.

FREEBIE:

Peter Wollen, chair of the Department of Film and Television at UCLA, will discuss “Half a Century of Video Art” in conjunction with “Making Time: Considering Time as a Material in Contemporary Video and Film” at 7:30 p.m. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. (310) 443-7000.