Accompanied by a program of solar system shorts, Travis Wilkerson’s 2003 look at ruthless union-busting and the rise and fall of Butte, Montana, offers eerie resonance.
Accompanied by a program of solar system shorts, Travis Wilkerson’s 2003 look at ruthless union-busting and the rise and fall of Butte, Montana, offers eerie resonance.
Accompanied by a program of solar system shorts, Travis Wilkerson’s 2003 look at ruthless union-busting and the rise and fall of Butte, Montana, offers eerie resonance.
Saraf and Light's work is marked by an unwavering appreciation for underdogs and outsiders.
Saraf and Light's work is marked by an unwavering appreciation for underdogs and outsiders.
Saraf and Light's work is marked by an unwavering appreciation for underdogs and outsiders.
Saraf and Light's work is marked by an unwavering appreciation for underdogs and outsiders.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
An East Bay filmmaker takes another look at U.S. financial woes with 'Heist,' which world premieres at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
An East Bay filmmaker takes another look at U.S. financial woes with 'Heist,' which world premieres at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
An East Bay filmmaker takes another look at U.S. financial woes with 'Heist,' which world premieres at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
Filmmakers find themselves outside the 'buffer' zone as film about graffiti-abaters hits local screens, and streets. Editor's note: Vigilante, Vigilante: The Battle for Expression, a Bay Area-made film on graffiti "abatement," opened with a clamor last weekend at the Roxie, as San Francisco's Department of Public Works made an issue of cleaning up the film's street-art advertising campaign. The filmmakers responded that they've asked that their materials not be posted illegally, but that hasn't stopped DPW requesting them to cease and desist attracting audiences via wheatpaste. What follows is sf360.org's interview...
Filmmakers find themselves outside the 'buffer' zone as film about graffiti-abaters hits local screens, and streets. Editor's note: Vigilante, Vigilante: The Battle for Expression, a Bay Area-made film on graffiti "abatement," opened with a clamor last weekend at the Roxie, as San Francisco's Department of Public Works made an issue of cleaning up the film's street-art advertising campaign. The filmmakers responded that they've asked that their materials not be posted illegally, but that hasn't stopped DPW requesting them to cease and desist attracting audiences via wheatpaste. What follows is sf360.org's interview...
A collaborative project recounts the life and work of a German-born nun located outside Nairobi and the Sudanese Lost Girls she helped find.
A collaborative project recounts the life and work of a German-born nun located outside Nairobi and the Sudanese Lost Girls she helped find.
A collaborative project recounts the life and work of a German-born nun located outside Nairobi and the Sudanese Lost Girls she helped find.
Connie Field makes a radical shift to verité filmmaking, accompanied by an equally momentous switch in fundraising strategy with her latest project.
Connie Field makes a radical shift to verité filmmaking, accompanied by an equally momentous switch in fundraising strategy with her latest project.
Connie Field makes a radical shift to verité filmmaking, accompanied by an equally momentous switch in fundraising strategy with her latest project.
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
Berry Minott's work-in-progress travels to Guam seeking a cure, puzzling over scientific mystery.
Berry Minott's work-in-progress travels to Guam seeking a cure, puzzling over scientific mystery.
Berry Minott's work-in-progress travels to Guam seeking a cure, puzzling over scientific mystery.
Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.
Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.
Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.
SFJFF covers broad geographic, political terrain.
SFJFF covers broad geographic, political terrain.
SFJFF covers broad geographic, political terrain.
Chusy Jardine has set out to tell the Andres Torres ADHD-to-World Series glory story in a feature-length documentary.
Chusy Jardine has set out to tell the Andres Torres ADHD-to-World Series glory story in a feature-length documentary.
Chusy Jardine has set out to tell the Andres Torres ADHD-to-World Series glory story in a feature-length documentary.
'A Better Life' succeeds as an L.A.-set remake of bleak Italian neorealist classic 'The Bicycle Thief.'
'A Better Life' succeeds as an L.A.-set remake of bleak Italian neorealist classic 'The Bicycle Thief.'
'A Better Life' succeeds as an L.A.-set remake of bleak Italian neorealist classic 'The Bicycle Thief.'
'A Better Life' succeeds as an L.A.-set remake of bleak Italian neorealist classic 'The Bicycle Thief.'
A former Bay Area filmmaker travels the world in search of the secrets of contentment.
A former Bay Area filmmaker travels the world in search of the secrets of contentment.
A former Bay Area filmmaker travels the world in search of the secrets of contentment.
Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
A film festival and conference offered audiences and makers opportunities to move forward.
A film festival and conference offered audiences and makers opportunities to move forward.
A film festival and conference offered audiences and makers opportunities to move forward.
Filmmaker Jan Krawitz explores the nature of altruism in a story about a woman seeking to donate an organ to a perfect stranger.
Filmmaker Jan Krawitz explores the nature of altruism in a story about a woman seeking to donate an organ to a perfect stranger.
Filmmaker Jan Krawitz explores the nature of altruism in a story about a woman seeking to donate an organ to a perfect stranger.
Filmmaker Jan Krawitz explores the nature of altruism in a story about a woman seeking to donate an organ to a perfect stranger.
A filmmaker finds the rigors of circus life match the rigors of growing up in poverty in Brazil.
A filmmaker finds the rigors of circus life match the rigors of growing up in poverty in Brazil.
A filmmaker finds the rigors of circus life match the rigors of growing up in poverty in Brazil.
Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.
Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.
Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.
Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.
Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.
Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.
Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
The Castro's Elizabeth Taylor retrospective brings the actress back to her most devoted fans. The first and last time I attended the now-defunct Taos Film Festival, it gave a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (who lived in the area), allowing me to spend an hour sitting about ten feet from one of the most famous movie stars ever. Arriving by wheelchair with a little dog on her lap, she was petite and attractive, though infirmity had taken its own toll on her figure. She was also funny, candid, unpretentious, occasionally ribald, passionately serious about her causes (especially AIDS research and education), and a little dotty—occasionally she'd drift off on some strange...
The Castro's Elizabeth Taylor retrospective brings the actress back to her most devoted fans. The first and last time I attended the now-defunct Taos Film Festival, it gave a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (who lived in the area), allowing me to spend an hour sitting about ten feet from one of the most famous movie stars ever. Arriving by wheelchair with a little dog on her lap, she was petite and attractive, though infirmity had taken its own toll on her figure. She was also funny, candid, unpretentious, occasionally ribald, passionately serious about her causes (especially AIDS research and education), and a little dotty—occasionally she'd drift off on some strange...
S. Smith Patrick shares purpose with the children she films.
S. Smith Patrick shares purpose with the children she films.
S. Smith Patrick shares purpose with the children she films.
John Antonelli finds good news, bad news and plenty of drama in African environmental stories.
John Antonelli finds good news, bad news and plenty of drama in African environmental stories.
Cash prizes, recognition showered on the winning filmmakers of 2011 San Francisco International. The San Francisco International Film Festival presented its 2011 Golden Gate Awards to filmmakers Wednesday night at Temple Nightclub/Prana Restaurant. Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway's Better This World won both Documentary Feature and Bay Area Documentary awards. Yoav Potash's Crime After Crime received the Investigative Documentary prize. Park Jung-bum's The Journals of Musan won the New Directors award. A complete list...
Cash prizes, recognition showered on the winning filmmakers of 2011 San Francisco International. The San Francisco International Film Festival presented its 2011 Golden Gate Awards to filmmakers Wednesday night at Temple Nightclub/Prana Restaurant. Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway's Better This World won both Documentary Feature and Bay Area Documentary awards. Yoav Potash's Crime After Crime received the Investigative Documentary prize. Park Jung-bum's The Journals of Musan won the New Directors award. A complete list...
Oliver Stone reflects on his own heated past, and the world’s, as he accepts the Founder’s Directing Award onstage at the Castro Theatre during SFIFF54.
Oliver Stone reflects on his own heated past, and the world’s, as he accepts the Founder’s Directing Award onstage at the Castro Theatre during SFIFF54.
Oliver Stone reflects on his own heated past, and the world’s, as he accepts the Founder’s Directing Award onstage at the Castro Theatre during SFIFF54.
The region's nonfiction filmmakers consider next steps after their SFIFF debuts.
The region's nonfiction filmmakers consider next steps after their SFIFF debuts.
The region's nonfiction filmmakers consider next steps after their SFIFF debuts.
As the San Francisco International Film Festival opens, key films consider the value of place.
As the San Francisco International Film Festival opens, key films consider the value of place.
As the San Francisco International Film Festival opens, key films consider the value of place.
Social-justice filmmaking gets discussed in a Bill Nichols'-moderated salon during SFIFF.
Social-justice filmmaking gets discussed in a Bill Nichols'-moderated salon during SFIFF.
Social-justice filmmaking gets discussed in a Bill Nichols'-moderated salon during SFIFF.
Local filmmakers reflect on the opportunities presented by screenings at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Local filmmakers reflect on the opportunities presented by screenings at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Local filmmakers reflect on the opportunities presented by screenings at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Mimi Chakarova gains a new perspective on journalism as well as international crime in investigating 'The Price of Sex.'
Mimi Chakarova gains a new perspective on journalism as well as international crime in investigating 'The Price of Sex.'
Mimi Chakarova gains a new perspective on journalism as well as international crime in investigating 'The Price of Sex.'
A nonfiction tagging doc takes a novel approach, looking at those who erase graffiti as opposed to those who make it.
A nonfiction tagging doc takes a novel approach, looking at those who erase graffiti as opposed to those who make it.
A nonfiction tagging doc takes a novel approach, looking at those who erase graffiti as opposed to those who make it.
The Media that Matters Conference showcased innovative formats and powerful storytelling.
The Media that Matters Conference showcased innovative formats and powerful storytelling.
The Media that Matters Conference showcased innovative formats and powerful storytelling.
YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.
YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.
YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.
An environmental film festival with exceptional flair enters the San Francisco scene.
An environmental film festival with exceptional flair enters the San Francisco scene.
An environmental film festival with exceptional flair enters the San Francisco scene.
Weissman and Weber's 'We Were Here' pulls a surprising degree of hope and inspiration out of the AIDS tragedy.
Weissman and Weber's 'We Were Here' pulls a surprising degree of hope and inspiration out of the AIDS tragedy.
Weissman and Weber's 'We Were Here' pulls a surprising degree of hope and inspiration out of the AIDS tragedy.
Producer and teacher Mitchell Block talks about the making of great films, including the Oscar-nominated 'Poster Girl.'
Producer and teacher Mitchell Block talks about the making of great films, including the Oscar-nominated 'Poster Girl.'
Producer and teacher Mitchell Block talks about the making of great films, including the Oscar-nominated 'Poster Girl.'
Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.
Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.
Film professor and farmer Melinda Stone tours San Francisco community centers with film and food for thought.
Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider follow 'Speaking in Tongues' with a doc that talks baseball.
Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider follow 'Speaking in Tongues' with a doc that talks baseball.
Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider follow 'Speaking in Tongues' with a doc that talks baseball.
Reality bursts through daydreams; labors of love pay off in 2011's edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
Reality bursts through daydreams; labors of love pay off in 2011's edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
Reality bursts through daydreams; labors of love pay off in 2011's edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
Reality bursts through daydreams; labors of love pay off in 2011's edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
Stephen Olsson looks into novel methods of treating PTSD in 'A Soldier’s Heart and the Long Road Home.'
Stephen Olsson looks into novel methods of treating PTSD in 'A Soldier’s Heart and the Long Road Home.'
Stephen Olsson looks into novel methods of treating PTSD in 'A Soldier’s Heart and the Long Road Home.'
Director Duane Baughman's day job in direct mail/political consulting brought him unbelievable access to Benazir Bhutto.
Director Duane Baughman's day job in direct mail/political consulting brought him unbelievable access to Benazir Bhutto.
Director Duane Baughman's day job in direct mail/political consulting brought him unbelievable access to Benazir Bhutto.
Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.
Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.
Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.
Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.
Waters’ live Christmas show at the Roxie raised money for San Francisco’s oldest continuously operating theater as it moves full-steam into its second century.
Waters’ live Christmas show at the Roxie raised money for San Francisco’s oldest continuously operating theater as it moves full-steam into its second century.
Waters’ live Christmas show at the Roxie raised money for San Francisco’s oldest continuously operating theater as it moves full-steam into its second century.
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker may have disappeared for good, but a film about its possible rebirth persists against all odds.
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker may have disappeared for good, but a film about its possible rebirth persists against all odds.
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker may have disappeared for good, but a film about its possible rebirth persists against all odds.
Filmmakers with deep roots in Bay Area cinema enter the brave new world of Web broadcasting with a series on food education for children.
Filmmakers with deep roots in Bay Area cinema enter the brave new world of Web broadcasting with a series on food education for children.
Filmmakers with deep roots in Bay Area cinema enter the brave new world of Web broadcasting with a series on food education for children.
Charles Ferguson offers intel on the world financial crisis with 'Inside Job.'
Charles Ferguson offers intel on the world financial crisis with 'Inside Job.'
Charles Ferguson offers intel on the world financial crisis with 'Inside Job.'
Appearances deceive in Lyès Salem’s 'Masquerades,' at the Arab Film Festival.
Appearances deceive in Lyès Salem’s 'Masquerades,' at the Arab Film Festival.
Appearances deceive in Lyès Salem’s 'Masquerades,' at the Arab Film Festival.
Two filmmakers examine the justice system in the U.S. post-Sept. 11.
Two filmmakers examine the justice system in the U.S. post-Sept. 11.
The latest Deborah Scranton film takes another look at the Rwandan genocide.
The latest Deborah Scranton film takes another look at the Rwandan genocide.
The latest Deborah Scranton film takes another look at the Rwandan genocide.
Judy Irving goes from parrots to pelicans with her new documentary.
Judy Irving goes from parrots to pelicans with her new documentary.
A new film/photography website offers compelling characters, bold artistry and innovative storylines.
A new film/photography website offers compelling characters, bold artistry and innovative storylines.
A new film/photography website offers compelling characters, bold artistry and innovative storylines.
A filmmaker shows environmentalists who are changing the way we as Americans relate to nature.
A filmmaker shows environmentalists who are changing the way we as Americans relate to nature.
A filmmaker shows environmentalists who are changing the way we as Americans relate to nature.
Amir Bar-Lev follows a family's continuing fight in 'The Tillman Story.'
Amir Bar-Lev follows a family's continuing fight in 'The Tillman Story.'
Amir Bar-Lev follows a family's continuing fight in 'The Tillman Story.'
Dolissa Medina uncovers more ashes in a new, historical piece on San Francisco and its many great fires.
Dolissa Medina uncovers more ashes in a new, historical piece on San Francisco and its many great fires.
Dolissa Medina uncovers more ashes in a new, historical piece on San Francisco and its many great fires.
'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.
'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.
'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.
The looming prospect of a two-tiered internet may compromise the ability of independent filmmakers to fund, exhibit and distribute their films.
The looming prospect of a two-tiered internet may compromise the ability of independent filmmakers to fund, exhibit and distribute their films.
The looming prospect of a two-tiered internet may compromise the ability of independent filmmakers to fund, exhibit and distribute their films.
Charlotte Buchen’s Bay Area Street Portraits take us on a ride with the everyday bicycling citizen of Berkeley and Oakland.
Tamara Perkins' The Trust is intended to provide a rare lens into the lives of incarcerated men and their families.
Tamara Perkins' The Trust is intended to provide a rare lens into the lives of incarcerated men and their families.
Jennifer Preissel examines the film and the court case that could redefine a journalist’s protection under First Amendment rights.
Jennifer Preissel examines the film and the court case that could redefine a journalist’s protection under First Amendment rights.
Screens are getting smaller. From the cineplex to TV to the computer or iPhone screen, surfaces have shrunk but creativity and resourcefulness have expanded.
Charles Koppelman's documentary in progress, Zero Day, exposes each of three threats to the Internet: cybercrime, cyberespionage and cyberwarfare.
By any measure, the long-awaited release of Have You Heard from Johannesburg? shapes up to be one of the major documentary events of 2010.
Maria Breaux, deep in the heart of production on Mother Country talks about politics, process and her existential road movie.
From chilling to dangerous to horrendous, local reactions to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan s ruling in favor of Chevron in New York on May 6 ran an unsurprisingly narrow gamut.
Laura Poitras speaks during SFIFF53 about the process of creating The Oath from the stories of Osama Bin Laden's former bodyguard and driver.
Today s fun fact: San Francisco has more nail salons per capita than any city in the country.
I sat down for a chat with Festival Director and cofounder Carlton Evans, Art Director Rebecca Bortman, and Jessica Meek, project coordinator for a fest sponsor.
Cash prizes totaling nearly $300,000 for filmmakers highlighted the San Francisco International Film Festival s Golden Gate Awards Wednesday night.
Films about our species enduring capacity to be inhumane toward its own are perennials at festivals, and will be so as long as wars are waged.
The documentary Simonal: No One Knows How Tough it Was explores the polemic surrounding a man considered by many to be the greatest singer in Brazilian history.
Poet, essayist, environmentalist, Buddhist, public intellectual and teacher Gary Snyder speaks on life and the making of 'The Practice of the Wild.'
Poet, essayist, environmentalist, Buddhist, public intellectual and teacher Gary Snyder speaks on life and the making of 'The Practice of the Wild.'
Leland Orser saw his first movie at the Alexandria, and Joshua Grannell initially established himself as a S.F. character via his alter ego Peaches Christ.
Live & Onstage thought globally and drafted locally with Sam Green and musician Dave Cerf s live Utopia in Four Movements, which never takes the exact same form.
If there's a sure-fire crowd-pleaser in this year's San Francisco International Film Festival, it s Roberto Hernandez and Geoffrey Smith's Presumed Guilty.
Writer Jim Harrison offers thoughts about his relationship to Gary Snyder and his contributions to 'The Practice of the Wild.'
Writer Jim Harrison offers thoughts about his relationship to Gary Snyder and his contributions to 'The Practice of the Wild.'
I found Sam Green deep in preparation, but he found time to walk me through the greatest dreams and worst nightmares of the 20th century.
Bay Area-made and Mission-inspired, Peter Bratt's La Mission joins Jennifer Kroot's wild and woolly It Came from Kuchar in Bay Area theaters this week.
Inuit peoples—the indigenous cultures rooted in Arctic regions from Alaska to Greenland—have an honored place in film history, dating to Flaherty's Nanook of the North.
The new law reforming the Federal student loan program will save billions and help millions. But it won t make Serge Bakalian s debt expos‚ superfluous.
With opening night approaching, Rachel Rosen talked about her L.A. Rolodex, the function of festivals in a broadband world and her favorites in the festival.
Pedestrians have always propelled cinema narratives, but the bicycle has rarely had a starring role.
One of the oldest points of contention in documentary is whether the camera s presence alters the subject s behavior.
Director of Programming Rachel Rosen and programmers Rod Armstrong, Audrey Chang and Sean Uyehara shared thoughts on 177 films from 46 countries.
San Francisco has a variety of excellent soundstages, but one is trying to save the earth.
YBCA s month-long, six-part Human Rights and Film series closes with two documentaries on the Arab-Israeli conflict made 35 years apart.
Tens of thousands of artists, aficionados and businesspeople flock to Austin for a festival that is part online conference, part film festival, and more than part music.
There's so much about this product called milk that we think we know everything about, declares Jed Riffe with his usual blend of enthusiasm and amazement.
Think of U.S. public television and science fiction or any type of fiction doesn't spring to mind. ITVS aims to change that perception with a series of mini-features.
A theme that emerged in this year s SFIAFF was the importance of archives in the film world.
The culture war is over, and the reactionaries have won. In this climate, Jerome Hiler and Owsley Brown III s Music Makes a City is a revelation,
Muayad Alayan, a 24-year-old filmmaker from the only remaining Arab neighborhood in West Jerusalem, was not even aware there was such a thing as Palestinian cinema until, as a teenager, he came to the Bay Area to visit his brother and sister.
Deann Borshay Liem's 1999 doc First Person Plural recounted her experience as an orphaned Korean adoptee raised in an East Bay suburb.
The Center for Asian American Media, formerly known as NAATA and founded to nurture Asian American filmmakers as well as counter ethnic stereotypes, has accomplished that and more.
S. Leo Chiang knew what it was like to be an outsider in the U.S., so the rebellion of Vietnamese residents in New Orleans was an ideal subject.
Cementing its status as the preeminent animation company of the 00s, Pixar won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for the third time in seven years.
If Kimberly Reed took a not particularly unique path into filmmaking, she certainly took an interesting road out of it.
Injured in a crash on the Golden Gate Bridge, Dr. Grace Dammann spent 45 days in a coma and 13 months in the hospital.
Wasn't it just yesterday that Cinequest was the scrappy upstart amongst Bay Area festivals? Apparently not: San Jose's annual cinematic blowout is entering its third decade.
Transformation, of any kind, an ephemeral, elusive thing to capture on film. One advisor told Nancy Kelly she'd never do it. Difficult, sure, but impossible?
The Oscar nomination for The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers is a validation of the doc's right-now relevance.
In the YouTube-Facebook-viral video era, it's hard to remember the time when youth-made media was rare.
I found Sam Green deep in preparation, but he found time to walk me through the greatest dreams and worst nightmares of the 20th century.
The harsh glare of the spotlight that brought Howl mixed reviews from critics on opening night of Sundance had melted into a warm glow by Saturday.
The late, great Jack Smith was all about the strange sway classic Hollywood movies, particularly obscure stars and low-budget yet opulent art direction, have had on us.
By any measure, the long-awaited release of Have You Heard from Johannesburg? shapes up to be one of the major documentary events of 2010.
Jennifer Phang has experienced more than enough culture shocks in her life to empathize with the identity challenges of the characters in her debut feature.
Geralyn Pezanoski s doc about the separation and occasional reunion of pets and owners in post-Katrina New Orleans beat the shelf-life odds.
Nani Sahra Walker went to Nepal for seven months, and returned with a one-hour documentary. OK, a rough cut. No big deal? Enlightenment guaranteed, indeed.
While the U.S. moved from rebuilding decimated skyscrapers to the rebuilding of an entire economy, film moved from the multiplex to the mailbox to the mobile.
The release of Avatar puts a fitting capstone on a frenzied campaign by studios to reintroduce stereoscopic 3-D to audiences in 2009.
On Sept. 13, 2001, I stood in a Toronto park and spoke to Canadian television: Movies wouldn't be the same. I was wrong.
Michael Fox shows independent filmmakers who are thriving in the Bay Area.
Dennis Harvey weighs in on the upcoming films of the holiday season.
Kristine Enea's documentary shows The EcoCenter, a San Francisco environmental educational facility that treats and recycles wastewater and generates its own solar power.
Kristine Enea's documentary shows The EcoCenter, a San Francisco environmental educational facility that treats and recycles wastewater and generates its own solar power.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art honors the 40th anniversary of The Cockettes with a one-night-only program.
Dennis Harvey weighs in on the upcoming films of the holiday season.
The scoop on the projects of the inaugural class for the SFFS/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants, which support lively, intelligent social-issue narrative films.
Reminiscent of Marcel Ophuls' fearless provocations in Hotel Terminus (1988), Yoav Shamir breaks every rule of polite documentary filmmaking in Defamation.
Two films from Oakland filmmakers, Dhana & Indra and Family 2469, illuminate the changing face of the country as the 21st Century unfolds.
Shot in depressed burgs and 'burbs across the country, this documentary looks at the U.S. at its lowest economic ebb in generations.
Aroy's film excavates the history and contributions of Filipino farmworkers in the Golden State since the 1920s.
The documentary chronicles several large-scale pranks devised in the hopes of fooling corporate/government event attendees and/or the media.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: I'm told the way to structure my doc is by adding narration. Others say voice-over will ruin the film.
Chick Strand, a crucial pioneer of West Coast experimental cinema, died July 11 at 78.
The writer has had ample opportunity in the last 40 years to come to terms with his stint as an ambulance driver and medic.
The program offers a surprisingly potent mainstream industry presence, with tributes to A-list types more frequently seen at the multiplex than at the art house.
Tangier has created an identity as a great fount of stories and light, complete with an independent cinema that opened in 2007.
East Bay filmmaker Miles Montalbano is in preproduction on dark coming-of-age story The Recondite Heart, his followup to his lauded debut, Revolution Summer.
Joe Berlinger speaks about the making of an environmental disaster in the Amazon, as seen in his new film, Crude.
A study in contrasts, Everyman and intellectual, Roy Andersson speaks about his career and new film, You, the Living.
Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling's documentary-in-progress, tentatively titled No Mouse Music! The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records, pays tribute to an underappreciated artist.
Franny Armstrong talks about the moral imperative of her films, the importance of Hopenhagen, and the unexpected magnitude of her success.
Ray Telles's ambitious two-hour film, The Storm that Swept Mexico, with a budget north of $1.2 million, reaches out to the world.
The movies of William Klein are suffused with the same impudence, social commentary and aesthetic surprise found in his photos.
Five years ago, Common Sky director Kathy Carlson committed herself to the task of bridging the gulf between those who've fought in battle and the rest of us.
The rapid adoption of e-newsletters by documentary filmmakers is the latest example of resourcefulness and efficiency among contemporary independents.
Ellen Schneider speaks on the impact of social-issue documentaries and her San Francisco-based strategic communications company Active Voice.
A mini-retrospective of the work of Kim Longinotto plays during the Women Make Movies Film Festival at the Roxie.
The release of Woodstock provides an opportunity to look back on Ang Lee and Schamus's very impressive, diverse screen resume.
With in-process Volunteer Nation: Stories of Service, veteran producer-directors Ben Hess and Dan Janos are mobilizing the millennials.
With in-process Volunteer Nation: Stories of Service, veteran producer-directors Ben Hess and Dan Janos are mobilizing the millennials.
East Bay documentary producer Pete Nicks places interactive storytelling booths in hospital waiting rooms.
This year's Mill Valley Film Festival shows healthy signs of life for the independent film business.
Dawn Logsdon and Lolis Eric Elie dig through the rubble of Hurricane Katrina to tell the story of Faubourg TremŽ, which was home to African Americans and fertile ground for political activism, music and literary life.
At Sundance 2008, a swath of features, docs, installations, and projected art shared similar socio-political concerns, which they grappled with via well-honed aesthetic filters.
Galison, whose film is competing at Sundance '08, answers questions about the world of hidden national security policy.
The documentary What Would Jesus Buy? makes bad news go down easy, thanks largely to its "star," Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping.
A week before the 27th festival, SF360.org spoke with the executive director on what Superfest gets about disability that the rest of the filmmaking world doesn't.
The SFIFF GreenWorld Contest brings the vision of filmmakers to the forefront of environmental discourse through fiction, documentary, experimental, and essayistic films.
The cinematic image of the Ô60s commune is normally as two-dimensional as the screen it's projected on, and rarely very kind.
Filmmaker Rory Kennedy talks about her process and approach with making her new chilling documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.
The filmmaker talks about tagging along with three renegade activists on their self-funded humanitarian excursions to war zones and disaster sites.
The veteran documentary maker describes the making of Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.
With the midterm elections less than two weeks away, a crop of documentaries are collectively trying to get a message across that has largely been passed over by the mainstream media.
SF360 talked to the director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, which opened last week, after his recent stop through the City.
Al Gore's documentary keeps the viewer thoroughly engaged while offering what may be the most comprehensive explanation of global warming for the layperson that exists.
The revolution will not be televised, but it may be digitized, run through Final Cut Pro, and projected on the screen near you.