No festivals this week. But we do have some movies. B+ The Cranes Are Flying, Pacific Film Archive, Friday, 5:30. War has a nasty way to interfering with true love. This sweet Russian story of young lovers separated by The Great Patriotic War (AKA World War II) never comes off as Soviet propaganda (it was … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 28 – December 4

The end-of-the-year film festival draught approaches. A lot of festivals ended last week. Only three are still running, and they'll close before Thanksgiving. New Italian Cinema continues through Sunday The Chinese American Film Festival continues through Tuesday And The French Had A Name For It: comes back in a Redux version, opening today and running … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 21 – 27

A lot of festivals this week, most of which will be closed by the end of the week. The South Asian Film Festival, which is pretty much over, will have one more full day on Saturday And the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival, also pretty much over, has one final screening on Sunday The Napa … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 14 – 20

Quite a few festivals this week: The American Indian Film Festival continues through Sunday French Cinema Now also runs through Sunday And so does the San Francisco Dance Film Festival The South Asian Film Festival closes on--you guessed it--Sunday. But it will pop up again for one day next week. The Napa Valley Film Festival … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 7 – 13

I just found out about the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival, which has been running for almost two weeks and is still not over. Sorry about that. Here are some other current festivals: The American Indian Film Festival opens Saturday and runs through this week and beyond. The San Francisco Dance Film Festival starts its … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 31 – November 6

No festivals this week, but some good movies. And a lot of scary ones. I'm putting the Halloween movies--which make up the bulk of this newsletter--at the bottom. B+  2001: A Space Odyssey, Castro, Sunday and Monday. I used to worship Stanley Kubrick’s visualization of Arthur C. Clarke’s imagination, but it hasn’t aged all that … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 24 – 30

The Bay Area ReelAbilities Disabilities Film Festival closes Sunday. The  Arab Film Festival continues through the end of this week. The Petaluma International Film Festival opens its three-day run today. And Bertolucci – A Film Series, takes up one glorious day on Saturday. Bertolucci – A Film Series, Castro, Saturday. Here's your chance to see … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 17 – 23

The Mill Valley Film Festival finishes Sunday. But don't' despair. The Arab Film Festival opens today (Friday). The  one-day Berlin & Beyond Autumn Showcase happens Saturday. And the Bay Area ReelAbilities Disabilities Film Festival opens Wednesday. Plus, there are all of these: A The Two Faces of January,  Embarcadero Center, Shattuck, opens Friday; Rafael, opens … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 10 – 16

The Mill Valley Film Festival, which opened last night, runs through this week and beyond. My festival recommendations and warnings are at the end of this newsletter. A Gandhi, Castro, Sunday, 7:00. The closest thing to a 60's style historical epic since Patton, Richard Attenborough's masterpiece follows the life of Mahatma Gandhi from his days … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 3 – 9

The Iranian Film Festival runs through the weekend. And the fall's biggie, the Mill Valley Film Festival, opens Thursday. A Samuel Fuller Triple Bill: Pickup on South Street, Park Row, & A Fuller Life, Castro, Sunday. The A goes Pickup on South Street, a fantastic Cold War noir written and directed by the great Samuel … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 26 – October 2