Twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" was released amid a flurry of advance promotion and a multimillion dollar ad campaign, and audiences bought the package, making the film the highest grossing movie in history at that time. The "event" picture was born and over the course of the next two decades, Hollywood intensified its obsession with advertising success, bigger movies and larger budgets, and the number of films dropped from 500 a year in the 1930s to less than 100 in 1995. Today, Hollywood studios spend more money and produce fewer films, and their financial risks assure that any new ideas are perpetually avoided.

Thankfully, Hollywood isn't the only producer of motion pictures. Throughout America and the rest of the world, smaller but more relevant films are being created that challenge audiences to look more closely at the world they live in. While a few non-Hollywood films are picked up by successful independent studios such as Miramax or New Line Cinema, for the most part the only opportunity audiences have to appreciate independent films is to attend a festival.

Today marks the opening of the 1996 Arizona International Film Festival (AIFF), presented by the Arizona Center for the Media Arts. The festival's opening night ceremonies, titled "A Salute to Independents," will begin at 7 p.m. at The Screening Room (127 E. Congress St.) and will continue through April 28th. This year's Festival is the fifth annual appearance of an event that is quickly becoming a successful Tucson tradition. The AIFF will take place at four locations: The Screening Room, Club Congress (311 E. Congress St.), Crossroads Festival Cinemas (4811 E. Grant Road) and Gallagher Theater on the UA campus. It will exhibit a wide variety of independent films, from features and documentaries to experimental works and short films, as well as host a variety of workshops with independent filmmakers from Arizona and around the world.

Last year, the AIFF chose "The Centennial of Film" as its theme and, in celebration of 100 years of cinema, spent extra money obtaining more than 70 films and distributing a variety of promotional material. This year, the Arizona Center for the Media Arts may have an opportunity to purchase the building the Screening Room resides in, and costs have been reduced in an effort to conserve resources.

Nevertheless, this year's festival boasts more than 60 films, many of which have come directly to the festival. Giulio Scalinger, the festival director and UA media arts adjunct instructor, explains, "In the past, we've gone to other festivals and solicited work from them. This year, a lot of work is being submitted to us."

In addition to the AIFF's past success and its growing visibility, Scalinger says, "One of the biggest reasons (for its growing success) is that The Sundance Film Festival is getting too big." Robert Redford's high-profile independent film festival in Park City, Utah, has come under recent criticism because of its acceptance of films that have already secured national distribution contracts. "And there's only so many films you can show," Scalinger says. "Sundance has gotten so big that a lot of filmmakers are searching for other festivals to submit their work to."

The AIFF is divided into several categories, one of which is the "Premiere Showcase," which contains 17 feature films and documentaries. One of the films will be the Tucson premiere of "Georgia," a film about the relationship between two sisters whose feelings for each other occillate between kinship and animosity. The film is noted for standout performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Academy Award nominee Mare Winningham.

Other entries include "Cold Fever," a road movie set in the white expanses of Iceland, "The Day the Sun Turned Cold," a new Hong Kong thriller, "Synthetic Pleasures," a documentary about encroaching technologies and "Fun," a film about two 15-year-old girls who develop a friendship and murder someone just for the "fun" of it.

Another category is "From the Archives," a series of films that are being revived. One of the most eagerly anticipated films in this series is Emir Kusterica's director's cut of his 1992 film "Arizona Dream," starring Johnny Depp. The film was a critical and commercial hit in Europe, but was severely edited for its U.S. release, losing large sections of its running time. The AIFF will show the movie in its entirety.

Along with "Arizona Dream," "From the Archives" will show Alex Cox's ("Sid & Nancy") "Highway Patrolman," Rolf De Heer's "Dingo," Pier Pasolini's "Mamma Roma" and Raoul Walsh's "Pursued," one of the films that set the tone for the "psychological westerns" of the 1950s.

"The Media Arts Showcase" features local filmmakers and their work, including UA graduate Lisa Wise's "Aluminum Attic," Tucson Weekly film reviewer Stacey Richter's "Dinner Party," and UA alumni Reginald Spangler and John Wintering's "Pyro," about a man's obsession with fire.

"Serving Independents" will be a series of workshops that feature a variety of subjects and speakers associated with the AIFF. Topics will range from "Producing the Independent Feature" to "Documentary for Social Change" to "Being Independent: The Ups and Downs." Various filmmakers will discuss their films, including Bill Carter and Chris Hume, who will recount the filmmaking trials they endured in dangerous conditions of foreign countries.

"VideoScapes" is a series of video work highlighting current issues. Among the video works being presented are media arts assistant professor Beverly Seckinger's "Planet in My Pocket," a film that humorously skewers consumer multiculturalism; "Miss Sarajevo," a look at city dwellers and their efforts to perpetuate life-as-usual in a beseiged city; and "Centennial Car Camp," a documentary about a parking lot converted into a camp for the homeless.

"Short Takes" is the final category, composed of various short films. Among the films to be shown are "Rubbish," a film by Sam Ball and UA anthropology professor William Rathje that investigates the nature of humanity's garbage; and "The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold," a William Wegman film that, like his famous Weimaraner photographs, captures dogs in human garb playing tennis and a variety of actions.

The AIFF is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate struggling filmmakers and the ideas, impressions and techniques that differ from the expensive and banal Hollywood retreads and remakes. Scalinger expresses his intentions with the festival in an appreciative tone: "The Festival is really for those films that generally do not reach mainstream cinemas. It's really a salute to cinema and independent films - it's a tribute to them."

For a more complete listing of films to be screened at the Arizona International Film Festival, look for the calendar distributed by the Arizona Center for the Media Arts in various places around campus, or call 628-1737 or 622-2262. The Center will soon have a website operational at http://access.tucson.org. Individual screenings are $5, or $75 for a Producer's Pass to all screenings ($45 for students).