Now I can get to Kevin Kelly’s State of Cinema Address. Kelly isn’t a movie person. He’s a technology geek, and he writes about technology. Since I also write about technology (it pays better than Bayflicks--but then, so does flipping burgers), I found this talk especially interesting. Kelly is best known for founding The Well and … Continue reading SFIFF: Kevin Kelly’s State of Cinema Address
Category: First-person Report
SFIFF: Robert Towne
I spend much of Saturday afternoon and evening with screenwriter Robert Towne and several hundred of his fans. Towne won this year’s Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting. After clips from films he’d written (and in some cases directed), Towne sat down with Eddie Muller of the Film Noir foundation. Their talk went on so … Continue reading SFIFF: Robert Towne
SFIFF: Thursday, Part II; Stranded
After Time to Die, I grabbed a quick bite and went to see Stranded: I've come from a plane that crashed on the mountains--my fifth documentary of the week. Once again, the director was there in person. But instead of bringing his star and cinematographer, Gonzalo Arijon brought his very young daughter, who shyly hung … Continue reading SFIFF: Thursday, Part II; Stranded
SFIFF: Thursday, Part I; Time to Die
I decided to let serendipity pick my Thursday movies at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Serendipity was good to me. Simply on the basis of being there when they started and being able to get a ticket, I saw Time to Die and Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed on the mountains. … Continue reading SFIFF: Thursday, Part I; Time to Die
SFIFF: Errol Morris
Last night, documentary Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, Fog of War) stepped onstage and received this year’s Persistence of Vision Award. He accepted the award, he talked onstage with Professor B. Ruby Rich , he braved two separate Q&A sessions with the audience, and he screened his new film, Standard Operating Procedure. And he … Continue reading SFIFF: Errol Morris
Oscars at the Rafael
I just came back from the big Oscar shindig at the Rafael. I’m sorry to say I was disappointed. I arrived early and entered the main, downstairs theater to plop my stuff down on a seat. That’s when I discovered that my general admission ticket gave me the right to sit in the last four … Continue reading Oscars at the Rafael
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
I caught Blade Runner: The Final Cut yesterday at the Cerrito. According to Wikipedia, this is the seventh version of the movie. I hope the powers that be respect that Final in the title--if only for the sake of everyone's sanity. To be fair, three of those previous cuts shouldn't really count. Two were preview … Continue reading Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Freeway Philharmonic
My wife and I went to the Cerrito last night for a screening of Freeway Philharmonic, a documentary about Bay Area classical musicians who drive all over Northern California to scratch out a living playing in multiple orchestras. Filmmakers Tal Skloot and Steven Baigel profile seven such musicians, although there are many more. The capacity … Continue reading Freeway Philharmonic
PFA Weekend
I made it to the Pacific Film Archive twice this weekend. That's two nights, two series openings, two screenings, three features, two shorts, and two masterpieces (one of them a short). The Medieval Remake series opened Friday night with Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev. That's the feature-length masterpiece of the weekend, and at 205 minutes, it's … Continue reading PFA Weekend
San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Edition Report
I couldn't attend the entire San Francisco Silent Film Festival--Winter Edition yesterday, but I caught the 8:00 screening of Flesh and the Devil. Good show. The show started with a very short, and very odd 1906 Danish one-reeler call "Rivalinder." I'm not sure to what extent this story of adultery and its cost was meant … Continue reading San Francisco Silent Film Festival Winter Edition Report
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