• In Production
  
  

  Breaux Leads Search Party Through Southwestern Country

  Michael Fox
  Jun 1, 2010

  Maria Breaux, deep in the heart of production on Mother Country talks about politics, process and her existential road movie.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  As Oscars Approach, Winners Still Up in the Air

  Dennis Harvey
  Feb 16, 2010

  Last month's nominations announcement was anticipated with unusual interest, largely because the Academy reverted to ten Best Picture nominees, a practice abandoned in 1943.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  Mill Valley Film Festival's 32nd

  Dennis Harvey
  Oct 9, 2009

  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.

  
• In Production
  
  

  Dina Ciraulo's 'Opal'

  Michael Fox
  Aug 11, 2009

  Dina Ciraulo's debut feature reconsiders the curious case of nature writer Opal Whiteley, who burst to prominence—and controversy— in the 1920s.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  SFIFF52: Peter Bratt's "La Mission"

  Susan Gerhard
  Apr 23, 2009

  Peter Bratt's La Mission focuses on conflict within a family and a neighborhood, exploring what happens when a single father named Che learns a secret about his son that tests his love for his family and his community's love for him.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Bahrani Earns Ebert's Praise for "Goodbye Solo"

  Dennis Harvey
  Apr 17, 2009

  Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo prompted Roger Ebert to pronounce him "the new great American directorâ" a couple weeks ago. The film is definitely the writer-helmer's most accessible work to date, one that might very well provide him with an arthouse breakthrough.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  SF International Film Festival Lineup

  Susan Gerhard
  Mar 31, 2009

  The two weeks of programs offers 151 films from 55 countries, awards and prices, and a wide array of San Francisco talent, from legendary names to the fledgling artists.

  
• Q & A
  
  

  'Medicine for Melancholy' in the City it Re-discovered

  Michael Fox
  Mar 5, 2009

  Barry Jenkins talks abut his background, making movies in San Francisco and the issues of black identity, assimilation and gentrification, which are at the heart of his film.

  
• Legal
  
  

  'Medicine for Melancholy' and the Art of DIY Legal Agreements

  George Rush
  Mar 3, 2009

  For many narrative filmmakers, hiring a lawyer is either an afterthought or not a financial reality, but moving forward with a film without considering legal is a huge mistake.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Epps Unearths Buried Alcatraz History

  Michael Fox
  Feb 23, 2009

  The Black Rock focuses on the African American prisoners and guards who lived on the island when it was a federal penitentiary.

  
• News & Blogs
  
  

  Remembering Ave Montague

  Tim Etheridge
  Jan 31, 2009

  On January 24 the San Francisco film and arts community lost Ave Montague, who was well known for her hard work, creativity and passion for the arts.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  San Francisco Black Film Festival's 10th

  Dennis Harvey
  Jun 4, 2008

  In 2008 the San Francisco Black Film Festival marks its 10th anniversary with the most expansive program yet, flagging the theme "10 Years, 10 Days, 100 Films."

  
• Q & A
  
  

  SFIFF51: Barry Jenkins' San Francisco Story

  Michael Fox
  Apr 26, 2008

  Medicine for Melancholy is a graceful and poignant film about fleeting urban connections, black identity and invisibility, cultural adventures and this gentrified city's lost soul.

  
• Q & A
  
  

  SFIFF51: California Newsreel at 40

  Erika Young
  Apr 21, 2008

  Founded in 1968, San Francisco-based Newsreel is the oldest nonprofit, social-issue documentary film center in the U.S.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  SFIFF51: Dawn Logsdon, on new hope in an old neighborhood, "Faubourg TremŽ"

  Susan Gerhard
  Apr 15, 2008

  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.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Danny Glover, "Honeydripper," and Us

  Dennis Harvey
  Feb 27, 2008

  In Honeydripper it will no doubt be pleasure to see Danny Glover play a familiar character: The good man trying to gain a leg-up when fortune has rained on his hopes.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  San Francisco Black Film Festival

  Dennis Harvey
  Jun 7, 2007

  Nine years' vintage makes the SFBFF a newcomer by Bay Area standards. In terms of programmatic diversity and premieres, it's got old-soul depth.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  Spike Lee

  Dennis Harvey
  May 3, 2007

  When then-unknown Spike Lee premiered She's Gotta Have It at the SF International in 1986, there was an instance of filmus interruptus.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Dead Channels : The San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film

  Dennis Harvey
  Apr 19, 2007

  Taste a bit of the vintage grindhouse experience at the last of Dead Channels' Month of Sleazy Sundays triple bill of under-the-radar movies.

  
• Q & A
  
  

  Stanley Nelson on the Jonestown Tragedy

  Susan Gerhard
  Oct 30, 2006

  The veteran documentary maker describes the making of Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  Global Lens 2006

  Michael Fox
  Sep 21, 2006

  The annual series of films from countries with less developed or out-of-favor national cinemas has several winners.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  The San Francisco Black Film Festival

  Cheryl Eddy
  Jun 12, 2006

  Highlights of San Francisco Black Film Festival's eighth annual edition.