What's the sound of one audience clapping? Starting February 14, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts screens 12 films in a series titled Projecting Buddha. Hosted by the International Buddhist Film Festival, The movies are intended to complement the current YBCA exhibition, The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. The series features, according … Continue reading Projecting Buddha
Month: January 2008
Freeway Philharmonic
My wife and I went to the Cerrito last night for a screening of Freeway Philharmonic, a documentary about Bay Area classical musicians who drive all over Northern California to scratch out a living playing in multiple orchestras. Filmmakers Tal Skloot and Steven Baigel profile seven such musicians, although there are many more. The capacity … Continue reading Freeway Philharmonic
Noir City and Other Screenings
Noir City opens Friday night at the Castro and plays through the week (and well into the next one), and that's worth mentioning on its own, even if there isn't much there I've seen or even heard of. But isn't that what makes it special? DOUBLE FEATURE: The Lady Vanishes (1938) & Young and Innocent, … Continue reading Noir City and Other Screenings
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival comes to the Bay Area again in February with screenings at the Pacific Film Archive and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. This is a modest festival: Only nine films (including shorts) presented in 12 screenings. All of the films are documentaries. So far, I’ve seen one of … Continue reading Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
Yesterday’s News
Quite a day. The Academy announces the Oscar nominations, and Heath Ledger dies in what looks like a suicide. I first saw Ledger in The Patriot and Monster's Ball. Both performances impressed me, but they left me wondering if I would ever see this young man alive in a final fade-out. I finally did, of … Continue reading Yesterday’s News
Everything Good This Week
Dr. Strangelove, Cerrito, Thursday, 9:15. We like to look back at earlier decades as simpler, less fearful times, but Stanley Kubrick’s "nightmare comedy-- reminds you just how scary things once were. Thank heaven we no longer have idiots like those running the country! It’s also very funny. A benefit for Theater Engage. Notorious, Stanford, Friday … Continue reading Everything Good This Week
IndieFest
Another big film festival on the way. IndieFest (AKA, The Tenth Annual San Francisco Independent Film Festival) opens February 7 and plays through the 20th. Venues include the Castro, the Roxie, and the Victoria Theater. It starts on Thursday the 7th at the Castro (all festivals start on a Thursday night at the Castro…it’s the … Continue reading IndieFest
PFA Weekend
I made it to the Pacific Film Archive twice this weekend. That's two nights, two series openings, two screenings, three features, two shorts, and two masterpieces (one of them a short). The Medieval Remake series opened Friday night with Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev. That's the feature-length masterpiece of the weekend, and at 205 minutes, it's … Continue reading PFA Weekend
Recommendations and Warnings From Persia to New York
Persepolis, Rafael, Embarcadero, Shattuck, opens Friday. Can one call a 95-minute, low-budget, animated film an epic? I think this one qualifies. It may also qualify as a masterpiece. It's certainly an excellent and an important movie. Iranian/French cartoonist Marjane Satrapi based Persepolis on her own autobiographical graphic novels (Vincent Paronnaud shares screenwriting and directing credits). … Continue reading Recommendations and Warnings From Persia to New York
Berlin & Beyond Preview, Part II
I managed to screen one more film before the festival: Runaway Horse, Castro, Sunday, 8:15. Nothing like running into an old friend to ruin your vacation. You can certainly understand why Helmut feels that way. The old college buddy who suddenly turns up at the beach is loud, boisterous, and annoying, and comes adorned with … Continue reading Berlin & Beyond Preview, Part II
Bayflicks 