A yeshiva student once asked a beloved rabbi "Why do you always answer a question with another question?" The rabbi thought for a moment, as if he was trying to explore his own soul. And then he responded, "Do I?" Jokes and soul searching – that's Judaism in a nutshell. Hopefully, there will be plenty … Continue reading The SF Jewish Film Fest is coming soon
Category: Festivals
The Castro Theater’s 100th Birthday Celebration
Maybe it was the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, but Another Planet Entertainment (APE) seems to realize that the Castro Theater should be what it always was: a movie palace. Next month, APE will give us the Castro Theatre 100th Birthday Celebration. From June 3 to 12, the Castro will run classic films. Each day, … Continue reading The Castro Theater’s 100th Birthday Celebration
The last three days of the SF Silent Film Fest
In the last three days, I sat through seven films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Here are the movies I saw, and here's what I thought about them. Monday I skipped the first movie, Skinner's Dress Suit. A friend told me I didn't miss anything. Actually, I skipped the first film on each … Continue reading The last three days of the SF Silent Film Fest
SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
This year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival opened Thursday night - the first one since 2019. Rather than write about all the films I've seen so far, I'll give you some highlights and lowlights. But first, here's a taste of what the Castro Theater has become now that it's owned by Another Planet Entertainment (APE). … Continue reading SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
May festivals: Docs, Silent, Asian, and Jean Gabin
The SFFilm Festival is over. By Thursday night, more festivals will open. I can't cover every Bay Area film festival. But here are some quick views of what's happening in the merry month of May: DocLands May 5 - 11 This big documentary film festival opens Thursday and closes next Wednesday. The docs they will … Continue reading May festivals: Docs, Silent, Asian, and Jean Gabin
My last comments on this year’s SFFilm
Note: I accidentally posted this article with an earlier date. So it's appearing twice, once in the past, and once when it was supposed to be posted. For various reasons, I haven't covered the SFFilm Festival as thoroughly as I did before COVID. Maybe the festival is spread out geographically too much? Perhaps I get … Continue reading My last comments on this year’s SFFilm
Midwives at SFFilm
There are very few matinees on weekdays in this year's SFFilm Festival. So, I've been attending one film a day. And Monday, the movie I saw was a powerful documentary called Midwives. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing, the young Burmese woman who made Midwives, has far more courage than I do. Over several years, she followed … Continue reading Midwives at SFFilm
My first day at SFFilm
I didn't get to the SFFilm Festival until Sunday. For me personally, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all kind of crazy. Especially Thursday. But the festival was finding its own kind of craziness: The Victoria Theater's digital projector was not working. (Now it's time for all you 35mm fanatics to snicker.) It appears that the … Continue reading My first day at SFFilm
SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 3
This is my last SFFilm preview of 2022. I won't write about this festival again until after opening night. So here are six films I've seen and reviewed, to help you decide what to see - in order from best to worst. A- Fire on the Plain This may be one of the darkest noirs … Continue reading SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 3
SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 2
Here's another quartet of movies that will screen at this year's SFFilm Festival. That way, you'll know what to see, or not to see, although, thankfully, there are no stinkers among these four. A Montana Story Family drama set against the magnificent Montana sky. A very serious stroke has thwarted the hated family patriarch from … Continue reading SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 2
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