FIRST OFF . . .

The American Film Institute’s International Film Festival is homeless no more. The festival will be held at the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza Cinemas this year and for years to come, it was announced Monday. “It’s thrilling to now have a permanent home,” AFI Director Jean Firstenberg said. Patrons of the festival’s former incarnation as Filmex should feel right at home--Century City was that festival’s location for years. The 1988 AFI festival runs April 15-28, with the schedule of films to be announced March 17. Among its offerings: 80 new films from 40 countries with special sections on Swedish, Latin American and Asian films and American independent movies.