Writer, actor and director Woody Allen made a rare public appearance on Wednesday to screen his new film, Small Time Crooks, at the Loews Harvard Square Cinema.

The Oscar-winning entertainer, known for such films as Annie Hall and Crimes and Misdemeanors visited Cambridge as the final event of a four-stop promotional tour of college campuses.

The advance screening, which included a question-and-answer session with Allen, was sponsored by the Harvard Film Archive and DreamWorks SKG, the film's distributor.

Small Time Crooks is a comedy about a group of failed criminals who unexpectedly rise to fame and fortune in the cookie business. The film stars Allen, Hugh Grant, Elaine May and Tracy Ullman.

After the screening, Allen answered a series of questions about his extensive film career.

The comedian, who puts out a movie every 12 months, explained that he writes about whatever subject comes to mind.

"There's no real method to the way I work," he said.

"If I had thought of an idea about famine in a foreign country, it would have been about that. I chose a lighter fare," he said.