by Gerald Maxey, AFI FEST Daily News

Scene from HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, starring Tanna Frederick and Justin Kirk, written and directed by Henry Jaglom, making its world premiere at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi.

Henry Jaglom has been in the forefront of independent cinema since working on the seminal indie film, 1969's EASY RIDER, with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, a new film written and directed by Jaglom, makes its world premiere at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS tells a traditional story of a Midwestern girl arriving in Hollywood with stardust in her eyes. Fresh off the bus from Iowa, she falls in love with a promising young actor, a relationship that complicates her ambition to be a great actress.

Jaglom infuses the tale with his knowing sense of the Los Angeles milieu, his insight into the realities of the film business and his intuits about the struggles of modern women.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS screens November 11, 7:00 PM, and November 12, 1:00 PM, at ArcLight Hollywood.

Jaglom conceives, writes, develops, produces, directs and edits films almost every year. He cut free from studio financing, and innovates the use of European financing.

Under Jaglom's independent paradigm, his latest films are either released by a distribution company, or self-distributed and self-marketed.

With his longevity in independent filmmaking, a release of a Jaglom film is always a major event. For HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, Jaglom scooped up some of the best ideas of the past, and reinvented them as a viable business and artistic risk.

Reverting to a bygone era, Jaglom has his film's star actress, Tanna Frederick, in a multi-film contract. This resurrected concept, now an innovation, has liberated Jaglom's creative skills.

Working with surety, Jaglom has a collaborative partner in his vision and, knowing Frederick can meet his standard, he creates a whole series of challenging female roles.

As he contemplates adding more talent to his budding contract system, Jaglom believes the performances will be consistently "magic."

Jaglom was a great and caring friend to iconic film legend Orson Welles (CITIZEN KANE) and regrets that Welles is not alive today for the new environment of independent film and technical accessibility.

Jaglom also appears in Jakov and Dominik Sedlar's documentary, SEARCHING FOR ORSON, screening at AFI FEST 2006.