As indie film meets ice cold in Utah, SF IndieFest’s founder/director Jeff Ross announced the ninth edition of the Bay Area’s indie showcase festival to an equally chilled SF Tuesday at the Roxie. Running February 8-20, the festival this year features a worldwide mix of more than 100 independent films and videos. The festival — which now draws crowds of 10,000 — opens with David Lynch’s much anticipated “Inland Empire.” Lynch’s longtime editor and producer, Mary Sweeney, will be at the screening to discuss the film. The festival closes with Andrew Currie’s zombie-laden romantic comedy “Fido,” starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly. This year’s lineup comprises a wide range of genres; drama, comedy, romance, sci-fi, horror, documentary and animation, consolidating its reputation as one of the Bay Area’s most eclectic indie film events.
Four Bay Area venues (Castro Theatre, Roxie Cinemas, Victoria Theatre and Berkeley’s California Theatre) host IndieFest, which world premieres six films: Cyrus Amini’s “25-Cent Preview,” Aron Cho’s “A Ripple In The World,” Greg Morgan’s “The Substance of Things Hoped For,” Leah Walker’s psycho-thriller “The Third Eye,” Billy Samoa Saleebey’s debut feature “Rolling,” and Pamela Valente’s doc “Rock N Tokyo.” Films making their US premiere include, among others, Errin Offer and Thabiso Mohapelos’s documentary “Counting Headz: South Africa’s Sistaz in Hip Hop,” and Kaumakiri Kazuyoshi’s comedy “Green Mind, Metal Bats.”
Other events at IndieFest include the Roller Disco After Party for the Feb. 9 screening of Anne Biller’s “Viva,” a Great Lebowski Party on Feb. 15 at the Balazo, The Primitive’s Screwheads’ “Go Nuts Show” at the Vic Victoria Theater on February 9, 10, 16 and 17. Plus, every other night, festival attendees and filmmakers alike can gather at the Kilowatt, the official IndieFest watering hole. For more information and a full line up, visit the festival’s home site.
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