Opening night is still more than two months away, but I’m already getting press releases for this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival. Here’s what I can tell you: The Festival will open April 24 with The Last Mistress, “the latest film from acclaimed director Catherine Breillat.†I tried to watch one of her films, … Continue reading Early Warnings: San Francisco International Film Festival
Non-Western Westerns Coming to SFMOMA
We think of westerns as a…as the…American genre. They’re our national myth; our way of defining ourselves as a people. But just as Hollywood has made medieval romances and tales from the Arabian Nights, other countries have made westerns. They’ve also let westerns influence their contemporary dramas and samurai films. March 1 through April 26, … Continue reading Non-Western Westerns Coming to SFMOMA
This Week At the Movies
Looking for laughs this weekend? The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum hosts its traditional Mid-Winter Comedy Film Festival Friday through Sunday. The weekend starts off with something that hardly seems traditional in Niles: talkies. Friday night's program consists of short sound comedies starring names normally associated with silents: Buster Keaton, Charlie Chase, Harry Langdon, and … Continue reading This Week At the Movies
Asian American Film Festival
Americans of Asian descent make films here, in Japan, China, France, and Australia. A large number of these films come to the Bay Area next month. The 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (AKA, the Film Festival with a Very Long Name) opens March 13 for an 11-day run in the City, Berkeley, … Continue reading Asian American Film Festival
Everything’s Cool
Documentary Directed by Daniel Gold and Judith Heifand The first question Everything's Cool brings to mind is "Why do we need another documentary about global warming?" The people distributing Everything's Cool must have aksed that themselves, and came up with an answer: "Because this documentary about global warming is funny." But calling Daniel Gold and … Continue reading Everything’s Cool
Oscars Away from Home
The Oscar ceremony--with or without screenwriters--is less than two weeks away. Most people have three options for Oscar night (Sunday, February 24 this year): You can stay at home and watch them on TV, attend a private Oscar party, or just ignore the whole thing. But the type of people who visit Bayflicks have another … Continue reading Oscars Away from Home
Top Ten Insurance Films
I just received the strangest press release. It was from the Insurance Information Institute, "a nonprofit, communications organization supported by the insurance industry." Not really my kind of organization. But the subject was movies. The release proudly announced the "top ten insurance films of all time." And no, these aren't educational shorts with titles like … Continue reading Top Ten Insurance Films
New Newsletter
I know. Bayflicks keeps changing on you. I've decided to make the newsletter much less formal. I'll simply tell you about stuff I think is worth telling you about. So here goes: IndieFest (AKA, The Tenth Annual San Francisco Independent Film Festival) opens Thursday night as I write this. It plays through the week at … Continue reading New Newsletter
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
Cinequest
The online independent film distribution company Cinequest brings its 18th Film Festival to San Jose February 27 through March 9 with "over 150 films from around the world." In addition to the screenings, the festival includes four workshops for hopeful filmmakers: one on distribution, one on writing, and two on "Sight, Sound & the Dollar … Continue reading Cinequest
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