I generally have a significant commute to get to a film festival. My own corner of the East Bay rarely hosts such events. And yet I have never visited the Albany FilmFest, where all of the venues are an easy walk from my home. It's a calendar problem; for reasons unrelated to movies, I'm generally … Continue reading Albany FilmFest: The Hometown Festival Near Me
Category: Festivals
Three Days of Ray Harryhausen
We use the word auteur primarily when we talk about directors. Occasionally we call producers auteurs. But Ray Harryhausen was the only special effects engineer who can be reasonably called an auteur. He picked the stories and fleshed them out. His drawings guided the art direction and camerawork. And his model animation technique, which he … Continue reading Three Days of Ray Harryhausen
The Jewish Film Festival on the other side of the hills
The Jewish Film Festival WinterFest closed only a few days ago, and we already have another Jewish film festival coming up. The East Bay Jewish Film Festival doesn't take place in Oakland or Berkeley, but much farther east, in the more suburban towns of Pleasant Hill and Livermore. I've seen some of the films - … Continue reading The Jewish Film Festival on the other side of the hills
Films by and loved by Jia Zhangke at SFMOMA
Somehow, I either missed or didn't receive notice of SFFILM and SFMOMA's latest Modern Cinema series, which celebrates filmmaker Jia Zhangke. A reader brought it to my attention today (thanks, Frances). Here's a very quick preview of the festival, which opens tonight. Modern Cinema: Jia Zhangke runs through February 24. It will include eleven of … Continue reading Films by and loved by Jia Zhangke at SFMOMA
Last Day at Noir City
The Castro was nearly empty for the last double bill of this year's Noir City - a stark contrast to Saturday night's packed house. I think there was some sort of ball game going on. Sunday had only one double bill, but the show went all day. You could start watching the whole double bill … Continue reading Last Day at Noir City
Saturday at Noir City…plus Laurel and Hardy
Saturday was a crazy day of moviegoing. Not only did I watch four Noir City feature films at the Castro, but I also caught four Laurel and Hardy shorts on the other side of the bay. And the crazy thing is I had previously seen seven of the eight films. With some of them, I … Continue reading Saturday at Noir City…plus Laurel and Hardy
Cinequest: The South Bay’s Big Film Festival
I cover SFFilm extensively, and Mill Valley pretty well, but I can't seem to get to Cinequest, the Bay Area's other big, red-carpet film festival. Part of the problem is geography; I hate going to the Peninsula. Another reason is time-related. I'm generally very busy on non-film work January through March. Which is unfortunate, because The Cinequest Film … Continue reading Cinequest: The South Bay’s Big Film Festival
Saturday at Noir City
This article was supposed to be about Saturday and Sunday at the Castro for the Noir City film festival. But after writing what's below on Sunday morning, and then realizing that I was under the weather, I stayed home. This year's theme is the 1950s, with each double bill representing a single year. What I … Continue reading Saturday at Noir City
British & Yiddish Film Festivals in February
February may have been the cruelest month for T. S. Eliot, but for Bay Area movie lovers, it's not that bad. Here are two festivals running in 2019's second month. Mostly British Film Festival February 14 - 21 Vogue If you like foreign films, but hate subtitles, this is the festival for you. None of … Continue reading British & Yiddish Film Festivals in February
IndieFest coming soon
I can't easily pigeonhole IndieFest amongst Bay Area film festivals. It's not about a genre, such as Noir City or DocFest. It's not aimed at certain people, such as Frameline or CAAMFest. Nor is it a fancy red-carpet affair like SFFilm or Mill Valley. Instead, it focuses on low-budget, unusual, often weird films that will probably … Continue reading IndieFest coming soon
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