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
Category: SFFilm (San Francisco International Film Festival)
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
SFFilm Fest Previews: Part 1
Here are four films that will screen at this year's SFFilm Festival. Three of them are documentaries. My next set of previews will have more fiction films. I'm listing the films from best to worst - although none are really bad. A American Justice on Trial Director Andrew Abrahams made an incisive, short, and powerful … Continue reading SFFilm Fest Previews: Part 1
The SFFilm Festival is going to the movies
Wednesday morning, I did something I hadn't done in more than two years. I entered the Castro Theater. No, I didn't see a movie. I attended the press conference for this year's SFFilm Festival. They could have used Zoom, but I think they were making a point: It's time to go to the movies. Photo … Continue reading The SFFilm Festival is going to the movies
My last day at SFFilm: Muppets, a southern family, and virtual vs. real festivals
Last night hosted the SFFilm Festival's closing film. And yet, it's still officially running, virtually, of course, until tonight. So, here's what I think about the last two films I watched at this festival. But I'm closing my coverage of SFFilm 2021 with a comparison between real and virtual festivals. The last movies Here are … Continue reading My last day at SFFilm: Muppets, a southern family, and virtual vs. real festivals
SFFilm Thursday & Friday
Well, I thought I was going to ignore SFFilm on Thursday, but that didn't happen. Over the last two days, I watched three films and followed a discussion about one of my favorite films of the festival. The movies B Naked Singularity You need to suspend a lot of disbelief to enjoy this movie, but … Continue reading SFFilm Thursday & Friday
SFFilm Wednesday: COVID in China & sexism in Saudi Arabia
Here are two films worth seeing. You can stream them through SFFilm until late night Sunday. And if you miss them at the festival, I'm pretty sure they'll be available elsewhere in the near future. A In the Same Breath Be prepared to be angry and to cry, as you watch people lose their loved … Continue reading SFFilm Wednesday: COVID in China & sexism in Saudi Arabia