The San Francisco International Film Festival presents as many as 26 features, talks, and short subject collections a day. How do they handle all those movies? Festival Technical Director Jeremy Stevermer was kind enough to sit down with me Thursday evening and explain how it’s done. I was particularly curious about the challenges of running … Continue reading SFIFF: The Challenge of Film Festival Projection
Month: April 2010
SFIFF: Everyone Else
B Everyone Else Before I tell you a bit about the film, I have to want to discuss the experience of waiting in line for it. Those attending the festival know the drill: You wait outside the Kabuki in a line with people going to two or three different films. Eventually, someone wearing a headset … Continue reading SFIFF: Everyone Else
What’s Screening: April 30 – May 6
The San Francisco International Film Festival continues through Thursday, and dominates this newsletter. I’ll start with the non-festival recommendations and warnings. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Elmwood, Thursday, May 6, 7:15. I haven’t seen this (relatively) widely-released documentary, and therefore have no opinion on its quality. But I’d … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 30 – May 6
SFIFF: Seducing Charlie Barker
B+ Seducing Charlie Barker Seducing Charlie Barker starts as a comedy and grows serious, a trick few films manage this well. It helps that, even in the early scenes, it’s a pretty serious comedy. Charlie Barker (Stephen Barker Turner) is not a happy man. Wild sex with a young, gorgeous, horny, yet stupid sociopath will … Continue reading SFIFF: Seducing Charlie Barker
SFIFF State of Cinema Address: Walter Murch
I spent a wonderful 90 minutes Sunday at the San Francisco International Film Festival’s State of Cinema Address address. The speaker was film editor, sound designer, and general cinematic genius Walter Murch. He talked mostly about the birth of cinema, but not in the sense of Edison inventing it or Griffith turning it into an … Continue reading SFIFF State of Cinema Address: Walter Murch
SFIFF: The High Line
B The High Line The advantage of short subjects is that the bad movies are over quickly. Unfortunately, so are the good ones. Such was the case with this collection of animated shorts I caught last night. I’ll tell you about the ones I liked, plus one that’s of technical interest even if I didn’t … Continue reading SFIFF: The High Line
SFIFF: Constantin and Elena
B Constantin and Elena This quiet documentary from Romania plants a stationary camera in front of two people very much in love. Constantin and Elena have been in love for a very long time. In fact, the filmmaker, Andrei Dascalescu, is their grandson. They were married in 1953; you can do the math. They're lives … Continue reading SFIFF: Constantin and Elena
SFIFF: Cracks
C Cracks Because Cracks will get a theatrical release after the festival, I’m not allowed to post a full review at this time. Here’s a quick capsule: Set in an English boarding school in 1934, Cracks’ good moments never make up for the bad. The characters may at one moment seem realistic and fascinating, and … Continue reading SFIFF: Cracks
SFIFF: A Conversation with T Bone Burnett
My wife and I attended A Conversation with T Bone Burnett at the San Francisco International Film Festival yesterday evening. Critic Elvis Mitchell moderated, interviewing Burnett and, briefly at the end, taking reader questions. Every so often they would stop for clips from movies Burnett had worked on. A singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and musical … Continue reading SFIFF: A Conversation with T Bone Burnett
SFIFF: A Brand New Life
A A Brand New Life Disclaimer: I've got an economic incentive for praising this movie. It's not a big one, and I don't think it will effect my opinion. I'll explain it at the end. It takes guts to make a feature totally dependent on a child's performance, and writer/director Ounie Lecomte has those guts. … Continue reading SFIFF: A Brand New Life
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