For personal reasons, Saturday was my last day at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. I caught two documentaries. A Science Fair Highly-motivated high school students compete in local and national science fairs for fun and college tuition. They also hope to place in the biggest such event, the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). This … Continue reading My Last Day at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Category: Documentaries
Take Action Day at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Friday was the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's Take Action Day, which, when you think about it, is a strange name for sitting on your butt all day. They screened five political documentaries at the Castro that day. I saw the first three. None of these could reasonably be called Jewish films. The Festival justified … Continue reading Take Action Day at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Freedom of Expression, Liz Garbus, & The Fourth Estate
Thursday night, my wife and I visited the Castro for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's Freedom of Expression Award, which goes to a Jewish filmmaker who has worked to preserve our freedoms. This year, the award goes to documentarian Liz Garbus, the maker of Girlhood, Bobby Fischer Against the World, and What Happened, Miss … Continue reading Freedom of Expression, Liz Garbus, & The Fourth Estate
Shining a light on Dark Money
B Political documentary Directed by Kimberly Reed Kimberly Reed's documentary covers one of the most important issues in America today: the legal bribery system that drives the American form of democracy. Aside from global warming - and of course there's a connection - It's about as important an issue as you could think of. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Shining a light on Dark Money
Generation Wealth looks at our money-obsessed culture, but gets distracted
C+ Documentary Directed by Lauren Greenfield Let's start with the obvious: The extreme wealth and greed inherent in our society is destroying our lives, our culture, and even the planet's ability to support human life. Lauren Greenfield studied outragious American affluence before in the excellent documentary The Queen of Versailles, where she studied one couple … Continue reading Generation Wealth looks at our money-obsessed culture, but gets distracted
A Day of Two Film Festivals
On Sunday, for the first time in my life, I attended two film festivals on the same day. Only in the Bay Area. Modern Cinema/Black Powers: Reframing Hollywood SFFILM and SFMOMA don't officially call their various series festivals, but they qualify in my book. When you can see eight films in three days, all built … Continue reading A Day of Two Film Festivals
A Day of Jazz and Noir at the SF Jewish Film Fest
I saw two films at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Saturday; both at the Castro. I liked them both, but neither of them blew my mind. B Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes This documentary traces the history of the revolutionary jazz label that brought Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk onto vinyl. The … Continue reading A Day of Jazz and Noir at the SF Jewish Film Fest
