SCREENING ROOM

The British are coming! BritWeek 2008 -- a celebration of all things British at venues across Southern California that actually runs for a whole month -- starts this weekend and includes such cinematic fare as 1931’s “City Lights,” pictured, a masterpiece from England’s own Charlie Chaplin. The comedy with plenty of pathos screens four times over Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Make sure to break out your hankies for this endearing classic (lacma.org). . . . Not to be outdone by the British, the Polish American Film Society kicks off its ninth annual Polish Film Festival this evening with a gala at the Directors Guild of America that features an award ceremony and a screening of Tomasz Konecki’s “Lejdis,” which recently premiered in Poland. The festival, which continues through May 4, screens features at the Sunset 5, documentaries at the Egyptian Theatre and selections from the Polish Television Theatre at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater (polishfilmla.org). . . . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences blasts into outer space with the 40th-anniversary screening of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal “2001: A Space Odyssey” on Friday night at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Tom Hanks, who is no stranger to space-related films, will host the festivities. Joining Hanks will be star Keir Dullea and visual effects whiz Douglas Trumbull. No word if HAL will make an appearance. The film will be presented in 70mm six-track stereo, as it was shown in its original release (oscars.org). . . . And the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre travels to the Far East for Velvet Hustlers & Weird Lovemakers: Japanese Sixties Action Films, running Friday through Sunday (egyptiantheatre.com).

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-- Susan.King@latimes.com