We're pleased to welcome Andrew Grant, a.k.a. Filmbrain, as contributing writer to World and Independent film. Andrew is a critic, distributor, and film programmer from New York, now based in Berlin, Germany -- you might know him from his popular film blog Like Anna Karina's Sweater.

Andrew is taking charge of the site's Bollywood section and will also keep us up-to-date on film festivals and movie news from Europe. For his first contributions, check out his primer on the History of Bollywood and a profile of Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

You can follow Andrew on Twitter or look for his updates on the @aboutworldfilm feed. If you have tips or news, you can contact Andrew directly at filmbrain@gmail.com.

Go Go Tales, Abel Ferrara's "first intentional comedy" about a New York strip club, is a sleazy good time. Willem Defoe plays the harried manager in a leisure suit, Matthew Modine is the "big shot hairdresser" who owns the place, and Asia Argento specializes in on-stage acts with her Rottweiler.

Go Go Tales is now playing at Anthology Film Archives in New York. Jürgen reviews.

Phil Ochs' first album was called "All the News That's Fit to Sing," and along with the titles of his most famous songs -- "I Ain't Marching Any More," "Here's to the State of Mississippi," "I'm Going to Say It Now" -- it gives you a good idea of the thrust of his topical songwriting. Born in 1940, Ochs achieved fame in the heady days of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early Sixties, along with Dave van Ronk, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. Kenneth Bowser's new documentary Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune chronicles the singer's life with the customary combination of talking heads, archival clips, and historic performances.

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is now playing at the IFC Center in New York. Read Jürgen's review.

Sofia Coppola's films are remarkably stylish, but contain an equal measure of substance. Following the lavish  Marie Antoniette,  Somewhere is a spare and elegant, set in the legendary Chateau Marmont. Movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) leads a dissolute and decidedly unhappy life until the arrival of his eleven-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) forces him out of his torpor.

Somewhere is currently playing in limited release. Read Marcy's review.