Tuesday night I visited the Castro for a special San Francisco International Film Festival event: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. SFIFF has a tradition for daring silent movie accompaniment. They bring in a local musician or group, one with a significant following, and have them accompany a silent feature or a collection of … Continue reading SFIFF: Getting Down and Staying Down at the Castro
Month: April 2014
Saturday at the San Francisco International Film Festival
I attended opening night, and managed to get to one movie Friday night, but Saturday was my first full day at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival. Oddly, I didn't see a single feature-length film that day. But here's what I did see: Dolby Labs: The Sound of Movies In this Master Class at … Continue reading Saturday at the San Francisco International Film Festival
SFIFF: Manakamana
I just caught the documentary Manakamana, an American-made film shot and set in a very specific location in Nepal. The setting: a cable car that takes people to a Hindu temple high in the mountains. Filmmaakers Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez set their camera in one seat and watch the people in the other, as well as … Continue reading SFIFF: Manakamana
San Francisco International Film Festival Opening Night
This year's San Francisco International Film Festival officially opened last night at the Castro, with a screening of The Two Faces of January. It was, as you'd expect, a packed and festive occasion. But it got off on a bad note, and an all too common one at festival big nights at the Catro. Almost … Continue reading San Francisco International Film Festival Opening Night
What’s Screening: April 25 – May 1
The San Francisco International Film Festival dominates this week (and next) for Bay Area cinephiles. I placed my SFIFF capsules at the bottom of this newsletter. But even if you eschew the Festival, there's plenty to see: A- Teenage, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. Using a combination of archival footage and dramatic recreations, Matt Wolf’s … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 25 – May 1
SFIFF Preview, Part II
I've previewed another three films that will screen at the upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival (for my first set of three, see SFIFF Preview). Curiously, the best two of them, by far, are about the young sons of impoverished, widowed mothers. This is the end of my previews. The next films I see for … Continue reading SFIFF Preview, Part II
What’s Screening: April 18 – 24
The Tiburon Intl. Film Festival closes today (although, according to their schedule, their last screening was yesterday). The big one (or at least one of the two big ones), the San Francisco International Film Festival, opens Thursday. B+ The Lost Boys, New Parkway, Thursday, 9:15. This clever and funny--and even occasionally scary--teenage vampire movie was … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 18 – 24
SFIFF Preview
So far, I've managed to preview three films that will screen at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival. Here's what I thought of them. A Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy I believe this is the first feature film adapted from a real-life Twitter feed. The title character (Patcha Poonpiriya) is a disturbed and spontaneous … Continue reading SFIFF Preview
The UC Theatre to be born again (but not as a movie house)
According to a Berkeleyside article by Frances Dinkelspiel, the UC Theatre is coming back to life. That's the good news. The bad new--admittedly from my personal perspective--is that it's not going to show movies. For 25 years, the UC Theatre was my favorite temple to the cinematic arts. I saw hundreds of films there, from … Continue reading The UC Theatre to be born again (but not as a movie house)
What’s Screening: April 11 – 17
The Tiburon International Film Festival continues through the week. A+ City Lights, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 7:30. Charlie Chaplin's Birthday. In Charlie Chaplin’s most perfect comedy, the little tramp falls in love with a blind flower girl and befriends a suicidal, alcoholic millionaire, but neither of them know the real Charlie. The result … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 11 – 17
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