Oscar Alternatives

If you're looking for some edgier film alternatives to the Oscar bash on Sunday, or are looking for something more offbeat or substantive to balance it out, here are some alternatives.

First off is them 2nd Annual Stiletto Film Festival on Saturday, a showcase of horror films made by women directors. Given that the novel "Frankenstein," the ur-text of all that horror has become, was written by Mary Shelley, it seems strange that it's taken this long for an event of this kind to develop. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 77% of the members of the Motion Picture Academy are male. Be that as it may, among the shorts screened will be: Susan Adriensen's "Under the Raven's Wing," about a trio of women led by the goth-like Raven who have some interesting ideas about good and evil; Heather Dorff's's creepy, Cronenbergian "What They Say;" and Tonjia Atomic's "Companion," which suggests Maya Deren, "Un Chien Andalou," "Night of the Living Dead"...well,  it packs a lot into a 30 second trailer. The show takes place at The Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley St, Boston, from 2 to 10 pm.

After Sunday's Oscar Ceremony you will need a reminder that there is always the Independent Film Festival of Boston, the number one annual movie event in these parts. But all that cinephilic excellence costs money and the festival depends a lot on your help. So here's a way to help a great cause and enjoy a great show as well. Namely, "The Tobolowsky Files,"  a live performance of the popular radio program and podcast. In it Stephen Tobolowsky, whom you might recognize from his roles in "Groundhog Day," "Memento," and the TV shows "Glee" and "Californication," talks about, well Stephen Tobolowsky, telling stories that more likely than not will be more interesting than whatever wins at the Oscars. The show will be hosted by the ever amiable David Chen of Slashfilm.com. It's at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline | 7 p.m. | 617.734.250.