Sundance Film Festival

"Tie-Died: Rock 'n' Roll's Most Deadicated Fans," Andrew Behar's documentary about followers of the Grateful Dead, will open on Sept. 20 in New York.Whittled from 20 hours of footage, the film, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, takes a look at the caravan of Dead enthusiasts as they followed the group on a five-concert tour last summer.Mr. Behar doesn't offer any Dead music or footage of band members; he focuses on the motley crew of fans -- which includes doctors, lawyers, computer geeks, wealthy suburbanites, the homeless and the hip -- and the controversial efforts to monitor drug use among them.

Eric Dyer, a 35-year-old Baltimore filmmaker, probably does not see himself as revolutionary. But in a world dominated by computers and digitized special effects, Dyer's championing of ages-old techniques to tell stories in new, untried ways has propelled him into the ranks of the truly avant-garde, so much so that the likes of Robert Redford, at the recent Sundance Film Festival, have stood up and taken notice. If you go Eric Dyer's UMBC class will collaborate with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on Visual Symphony during a family concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. $12-$20.

Tom Villard, 40, an actor with AIDS who sought to educate the public by continuing to appear in movies and television after making his illness public, died of pneumonia Monday in Los Angeles. He appeared in 12 films, including "Heartbreak Ridge" and "My Girl," and had the title role in "The Trouble With Dick," a Grand Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival. He had appeared on TV this season in episodes of "Frasier," "Sisters" and "Star Trek: Deep Space 9."Joseph Hazen, 96, a former Warner Bros.

PARK CITY, Utah -- With less pain and more unanimity than is usual at the Sundance Film Festival, the dramatic film jury awarded its grand prize to "Poison," a first feature by gay filmmaker Todd Haynes."

Nita Barrow, 79, governor-general of Barbados and an international leader in women's rights, died Tuesday in Bridgetown. A nurse and public health expert, Dame Nita was awarded her title by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 and was appointed Barbados' ambassador to the United Nations in 1986. She was appointed governor-general in 1990, serving as the queen's representative to Barbados, an independent member of the Commonwealth.In 1985, she convened a series of workshops attended by 11,000 delegates in Nairobi, Kenya, to mark the end of the United Nations' Women's Decade.

Pride Festival Movie Dearest, the Baltimore Pride Film Festival, presented by Baltimore Pride and Creative Alliance Wednesday through June 3, packs more diversity into a celebration of gay cinema than most mainstream festivals do into any three-day period. The schedule is international and local, camp-classic and cutting-edge. Before Wednesday's 8 p.m. screening of R.W. Fassbinder's 1982 Querelle (based on Jean Genet's novel about a bisexual sailor-prostitute), you can attend a free reception (6 p.m.-8 p.m.)

Four years of blossoming sexual awareness in the lives of four Philadelphia teen-agers are examined in a poignant and provocative "P.O.V." (11 p.m.-midnight, MPT, Channels 22 and 67).Anna, De'Yona, Lisa and Raelene are the subjects of "Girls Like Us," an award winner at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival in which filmmakers Jane C. Wagner and Tina DiFeliciantonio simply point the cameras and let the girls talk. The result is surprising, not because of what they know, but because of what they don't know (one girl and her boyfriend blithely dismiss the idea of using condoms, saying they don't care if they get AIDS from each other; of course, they're no longer dating by the end of the film)

If the trailer for "Luv" is any indication, Baltimore is about to get itself some serious screen time. In the just-released teaser for the movie starring Common, Baltimore is everywhere -- there are glimpses of any number of city neighborhoods including Mount Vernon, the Inner Harbor and Domino Sugar, the Howard Street bridge and what looks like Druid Hill Park. Of course, it's unclear if city boosters will be cheering for this one since, subject-matter-wise, it seems cut from the same drug and gun-themed cloth as "The Wire.

"Success is a tricky mistress," Robert Redford said. "It's nice to have, but it's a tricky thing to embrace."He ought to know.Though he was talking about the Sundance Film Festival, the festival's problems are the kinds that usually nag at movie stars: How to survive the pressures of fame? How to avoid being typecast?Sponsored by Mr. Redford's Sundance Institute and devoted to independent films, this is the pop icon among American festivals. Every January, filmmakers -- and the agents and distributors who lust after them -- must show up in Park City, Utah, or the industry will wonder what's wrong with their careers.

We would like to drive from Cancun, Mexico, to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Please provide directions and lodging possibilities.Tulum, about 75 miles south of Cancun, is easily reached by Route 307 to El Crucero, where there is an access road to Tulum. The ruins, while not as majestic as Chichen Itza or Uxmal, are the only substantial Mayan ruins facing the sea. The setting is spectacular.The compound includes 17 structures, the most impressive one being the Castillo, which served as both a temple and a fortress.