I saw two movies today after Mishima, but didn't get a chance to write them up until now. It's hard to talk about Burning the Future: Coal in America as cinematic art. This documentary about the environmental effects on mountaintop mining is propaganda, pure and simple. But as I'm in complete sympathy with its message--that … Continue reading The Rest of Sunday at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Category: Festivals
Real Time at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Odd how these things work. I've lived in the Bay Area for 33 years. I even lived in Marin County the first 17 months of that (around the corner from the Rafael, actually). Yet until today, I don't believe I have ever been in downtown Mill Valley. (Up until this year, every Mill Valley Film … Continue reading Real Time at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Arab Film Festival Preview
I've been able to preview two films screening at the upcoming Arab Film Festival. One of them is also playing at Mill Valley. Captain Abu Raed, Mill Valley: Sequoia, Friday, October 10, 7:30 (rush only); Rafael, Sunday, October 12, 4:45. Arab Film Festival: Clay (San Francisco), Friday, October 17, 4:00; Camera 12 (San Jose), Saturday, … Continue reading Arab Film Festival Preview
Good Grief! More Festivals
Tracking all the Bay Area's film festivals is a full-time job. And if anyone's willing to pay me, I'm ready and qualified. In addition to to the big Mill Valley Film Festival, all the festivals I told you about on the 23rd, and the additional two I mentioned on the 25th, there are two other … Continue reading Good Grief! More Festivals
Two More Festivals
I told you there were a lot of festivals coming up. I missed two: Dead Channels, October 3-9: In its second year, Dead Channels celebrates independent and international fantasy films, with an emphasis on horror. It's clearly going for the same audience as Hole in the Head. Mostly at the Roxie, it moves to the … Continue reading Two More Festivals
Festivals Not in Mill Valley
A lot of film festivals arrive in the Bay Area in the coming weeks, and not all of them are in Mill Valley. Here are some others, listed chronologically: Berkeley Video & Film Festival, September 26-28: This three-day festival of extremely independent fare has an interesting ticket policy. A $13 ticket buys you entry for … Continue reading Festivals Not in Mill Valley
Mill Valley Film Festival Preview
I've now seen five films getting their local premiere at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival. (Oddly enough, two of them come reasonably close to qualifying as silent films.) Here's what I think of those five, plus one classic to be screened that I was already familiar with. I've listed the films from best to … Continue reading Mill Valley Film Festival Preview
Mill Valley Film Festival Announced
What's the difference between Sarah Palin and George W. Bush? Lipstick. I know. That has nothing to do with the subject at hand, or even with cinema, but it occurred to me this afternoon and I had to share it. The 31st annual Mill Valley Film Festival runs October 2 through 12 in San Rafael, … Continue reading Mill Valley Film Festival Announced
Jewish Film Festival Preview
I've seen a record eight movies coming to the Jewish Film Festival (okay, one's actually a TV series). Here's what I think of them, in order from Masterpiece to What were they thinking? Emotional Arithmetic In the best performance of an excellent career, Susan Sarandon plays an American-born Holocaust survivor (the story is set in … Continue reading Jewish Film Festival Preview
Emotional Arithmetic: Don’t Miss It
Drama Written by Jefferson Lewis, from a book by Matt Cohen Directed by Paolo Barzman When you attend a lot of film festivals, you're often amazed and disappointed about what doesn't get a regular release. As I write this, Emotional Arithmetic has no American distributor. Considering not only the film's exceptional quality but also its … Continue reading Emotional Arithmetic: Don’t Miss It
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