The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'
The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'
The National Film Preservation Foundation delivers another gem with the fascinating three-disc box set 'The West 1898-1938.'
Filmmaker and programmer Moore talks process, offers perspective on his debut feature and Cinema by the Bay opener, ‘I Think It’s Raining.’
Filmmaker and programmer Moore talks process, offers perspective on his debut feature and Cinema by the Bay opener, ‘I Think It’s Raining.’
Filmmaker and programmer Moore talks process, offers perspective on his debut feature and Cinema by the Bay opener, ‘I Think It’s Raining.’
Press release: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival announced its new Executive Director: Lexi Leban, who begins working with the festival November 7, 2011. A longtime member of the Bay Area film community, Lexi has worked in all aspects of film, from production to distribution. She’s also worked with numerous film festivals, including the Mill Valley Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Global Social Change Film Festival in Bali. Lexi is currently Academic Director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program at the Art Institute of California, where she built the department from its inception. Her most recent feature documentary, Girl Trouble, which follows young girls in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system, aired on PBS’s acclaimed series Independent Lens in January of 2006, and won Best Bay Area Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. More at sfjff.org.
The 34th Mill Valley Film Festival continues at a number of locations, with a number of notable guests, including directors Gaston Kaboré and Luc Besson. See Dennis Harvey's extended preview on SF360 for the full story. More info and film schedule at mvff.com.
The 34th Mill Valley Film Festival continues at a number of locations, with a number of notable guests, including directors Gaston Kaboré and Luc Besson. See Dennis Harvey's extended preview on SF360 for the full story. More info and film schedule at mvff.com.
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.
Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.
Guy Maddin talks about movies, writing, himself—and the allure of the Osmonds, re-published on the occasion of Fandor's Maddin blogathon.
With 'Connected,' Tiffany Shlain weaves hope into a high risk story.
With 'Connected,' Tiffany Shlain weaves hope into a high risk story.
With 'Connected,' Tiffany Shlain weaves hope into a high risk story.
With 'Connected,' Tiffany Shlain weaves hope into a high risk story.
The Cine+Mas 2011 San Francisco Latino Film Festival kicks off this Wednesday with a screening of 'Being: Cafe´ Tacvba' at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema and screens through next week at venues throughout the Bay Area. The festival offers a number of new works by Latino directors based locally and internationally. More info and kickoff RSVP at sflatinofilmfestival.com.
Maria Onetto quietly dazzles in Argentine film about a midlife jigsaw puzzler.
Maria Onetto quietly dazzles in Argentine film about a midlife jigsaw puzzler.
Maria Onetto quietly dazzles in Argentine film about a midlife jigsaw puzzler.
Priya Giri Desai documents matchmaking efforts for HIV-positives in India.
Priya Giri Desai documents matchmaking efforts for HIV-positives in India.
Priya Giri Desai documents matchmaking efforts for HIV-positives in India.
Berkeley-programmed Festival is a favorite for cinephiles; features Caetano Veloso as 2011 Guest Director.
Berkeley-programmed Festival is a favorite for cinephiles; features Caetano Veloso as 2011 Guest Director.
Berkeley-programmed Festival is a favorite for cinephiles; features Caetano Veloso as 2011 Guest Director.
When news of San Francisco Executive Director Graham Leggat’s passing hit the web, responses were heartfelt and immediate. SF360 collects a few of those thoughts.
When news of San Francisco Executive Director Graham Leggat’s passing hit the web, responses were heartfelt and immediate. SF360 collects a few of those thoughts.
When news of San Francisco Executive Director Graham Leggat’s passing hit the web, responses were heartfelt and immediate. SF360 collects a few of those thoughts.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
Lynn Hershman Leeson catalogues revolutions past and pushes the art and technology envelope well into the future.
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.
Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.
Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.
Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.
The filmmaker talks about time, life, storytelling and her new film, ‘The Future.’
The filmmaker talks about time, life, storytelling and her new film, ‘The Future.’
The filmmaker talks about time, life, storytelling and her new film, ‘The Future.’
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
Filmmakers take personal approach to Jewish cultural debates.
John Michael McDonagh's first feature echos the blackly comedic tenor of his ('In Bruges') brother Martin's oeuvre.
John Michael McDonagh's first feature echos the blackly comedic tenor of his ('In Bruges') brother Martin's oeuvre.
John Michael McDonagh's first feature echos the blackly comedic tenor of his ('In Bruges') brother Martin's oeuvre.
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.
Critics from the Bay Area and beyond weigh in on the weekend's openings.
Critics from the Bay Area and beyond weigh in on the weekend's openings.
Critics from the Bay Area and beyond weigh in on the weekend's openings.
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.
'Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff' is a lovely portrait of an innovator and consummate craftsman.
'Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff' is a lovely portrait of an innovator and consummate craftsman.
'Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff' is a lovely portrait of an innovator and consummate craftsman.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.
Two Bay Area location-based features that speak to the moment are poised to stand the test of time.
Two Bay Area location-based features that speak to the moment are poised to stand the test of time.
Two Bay Area location-based features that speak to the moment are poised to stand the test of time.
Note to screenwriters: Don’t defeat the promise of your story by pulling your punches.
Note to screenwriters: Don’t defeat the promise of your story by pulling your punches.
Note to screenwriters: Don’t defeat the promise of your story by pulling your punches.
Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.
Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.
Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival features the work of the most important female director of the silent era, Lois Weber.
'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.'
Surprising characters, narratives emerge in Jamie Meltzer and Amanda Micheli’s portraits of unlikely artists.
Surprising characters, narratives emerge in Jamie Meltzer and Amanda Micheli’s portraits of unlikely artists.
Surprising characters, narratives emerge in Jamie Meltzer and Amanda Micheli’s portraits of unlikely artists.
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.
Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, with his SF institution Midnites for Maniacs, presents a trio of “troubled teen” classics: ‘Tex,’ ‘River's Edge’ and the extremely rare ‘Over the Edge’ for a single admission price. Directors Tim Hunter, Jonathan Kaplan and others will be in attendance at the screening. More at roxie.com. Look for a full 'Over the Edge' feature by Dennis Harvey in Tuesday's edition of SF360.org.
Jakob Kornbluth hopes to turn another of brother Josh’s monologues, ‘Love & Taxes,’ into celluloid gold.
Jakob Kornbluth hopes to turn another of brother Josh’s monologues, ‘Love & Taxes,’ into celluloid gold.
Jakob Kornbluth hopes to turn another of brother Josh’s monologues, ‘Love & Taxes,’ into celluloid gold.
One day of Frameline35 finds Witi Ihimaera offering insight into the writing of 'Kawa,' dour Norweigan drag kings processing endlessly and Ma Rainey being well-remembered.
One day of Frameline35 finds Witi Ihimaera offering insight into the writing of 'Kawa,' dour Norweigan drag kings processing endlessly and Ma Rainey being well-remembered.
One day of Frameline35 finds Witi Ihimaera offering insight into the writing of 'Kawa,' dour Norweigan drag kings processing endlessly and Ma Rainey being well-remembered.
Louie Psihoyos' and Roc O'Barry's immersive, award-winning eco-doc 'The Cove' screens with a live performance by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and post-film discussion with both directors at the Smith Rafael. Ticket sales benefit the Earth Island Institute and Save Japan Dolphins. More at cafilm.org.
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.
Directors Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton inspect the treasures held in the Library of Congress' revered National Film Registry and consider their lasting impact on the American experience. The locally made doc features insightful interviews with prominent celebrities and critics. Both filmmakers will be present for Q&A after screening at Smith Rafael Film Center. More at cafilm.org.
YBCA digs a delightfully disturbing live Kinski document from the archives.
YBCA digs a delightfully disturbing live Kinski document from the archives.
The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.
The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.
The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.
Asking the right questions is an art; a consultant speaks on how to conduct documentary interviews that will help structure your film.
Asking the right questions is an art; a consultant speaks on how to conduct documentary interviews that will help structure your film.
Asking the right questions is an art; a consultant speaks on how to conduct documentary interviews that will help structure your film.
An SF Chronicle editor speaks about his third feature, a Texas-set sex comedy making its debut at Frameline35.
An SF Chronicle editor speaks about his third feature, a Texas-set sex comedy making its debut at Frameline35.
An SF Chronicle editor speaks about his third feature, a Texas-set sex comedy making its debut at Frameline35.
Red Vic Movie House hosts ‘Big In Bollywood,’ a film about a struggling 27-year-old actor who lands a dream role in a overly successful Bollywood film. Directors Kenny Meehan and Bill Bowles are in attendance. More at redvicmoviehouse.com.
Red Vic Movie House hosts ‘Big In Bollywood,’ a film about a struggling 27-year-old actor who lands a dream role in a overly successful Bollywood film. Directors Kenny Meehan and Bill Bowles are in attendance. More at redvicmoviehouse.com.
Margaret Cho, transgender cinema are highlights of 2011 LGBT festival.
Margaret Cho, transgender cinema are highlights of 2011 LGBT festival.
Margaret Cho, transgender cinema are highlights of 2011 LGBT festival.
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.
Castro Theatre hosts a double feature of films by writers-directors Joel and Ethan Coen, beginning with 1987's ‘Raising Arizona’ and followed by 1998's ‘The Big Lebowski.’ More at castrotheatre.com.
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.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
The director of South Korean film 'The Journals of Musan,' a prize winner at SFIFF54, speaks about bringing cinematic light to social darkness.
Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'
Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'
Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'
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...
Screenwriter Frank Pierson talks production at SFIFF54; Bay Area-made 'These Amazing Shadows' screens after the Festival closes.
Screenwriter Frank Pierson talks production at SFIFF54; Bay Area-made 'These Amazing Shadows' screens after the Festival closes.
Screenwriter Frank Pierson talks production at SFIFF54; Bay Area-made 'These Amazing Shadows' screens after the Festival closes.
Writers for the Festival’s daily ‘Scoop’ capture live director-audience interactions.
Writers for the Festival’s daily ‘Scoop’ capture live director-audience interactions.
Writers for the Festival’s daily ‘Scoop’ capture live director-audience interactions.
Beginnings, endings and the dazzling cinema in between honored in SFFS's annual awards show.
Beginnings, endings and the dazzling cinema in between honored in SFFS's annual awards show.
Beginnings, endings and the dazzling cinema in between honored in SFFS's annual awards show.
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.
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.
Bay Area directors are high profile in the 54th San Francisco International Film Festival; catch them in person this week. Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega appear Tuesday with Bradley Crowder, a principal of ‘Better This World,’ a documentary that traces the paths of activists deemed the "Texas Two." The film plays at Pacific Film Archive on April 26 and Sundance Kubaki Cinemas on April 29. More at fest11.sffs.org.
A soundtrack staple in the Denis oeuvre, Tindersticks play their beautifully brooding music live to clips at SFIFF54.
A soundtrack staple in the Denis oeuvre, Tindersticks play their beautifully brooding music live to clips at SFIFF54.
A soundtrack staple in the Denis oeuvre, Tindersticks play their beautifully brooding music live to clips at SFIFF54.
Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor lit up the Castro on San Francisco International's opening night.
Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor lit up the Castro on San Francisco International's opening night.
Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor lit up the Castro on San Francisco International's opening night.
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.
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.
Christine Vachon examines her varied indie successes while offering notes on the world of change engulfing cinema.
Christine Vachon examines her varied indie successes while offering notes on the world of change engulfing cinema.
Christine Vachon examines her varied indie successes while offering notes on the world of change engulfing cinema.
Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.
Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.
Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.
Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.
Richard Press and Philip Gefter pay tribute to a worker's devotion in making 'Bill Cunningham New York.'
Richard Press and Philip Gefter pay tribute to a worker's devotion in making 'Bill Cunningham New York.'
Richard Press and Philip Gefter pay tribute to a worker's devotion in making 'Bill Cunningham New York.'
A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
Jennifer Juelich uses California carnivals as atmosphere for her DIY drama.
Jennifer Juelich uses California carnivals as atmosphere for her DIY drama.
Jennifer Juelich uses California carnivals as atmosphere for her DIY drama.
Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.
Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.
Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.
SF International's 54th wide-ranging program is announced.
SF International's 54th wide-ranging program is announced.
SF International's 54th wide-ranging program is announced.
Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.
Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.
Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.
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.
Kiarostami’s ‘Certified Copy’ is a puzzling provocation that gets better with multiple viewings.
Kiarostami’s ‘Certified Copy’ is a puzzling provocation that gets better with multiple viewings.
Kiarostami’s ‘Certified Copy’ is a puzzling provocation that gets better with multiple viewings.
A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.
A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.
A new Burroughs documentary revisits a familiar story, but delivers fresh insight.
Breaking down the common licensing terms.
Breaking down the common licensing terms.
Breaking down the common licensing terms.
Press release: The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21 - May 5) today announced its documentaries in competition for the Golden Gate Awards and films in competition for the New Directors Prize. The International will award close to $100,000 in total prizes this year. Sixty thousand dollars will be awarded to winners in three categories: investigative documentary feature ($25,000), documentary feature ($20,000) and Bay Area documentary feature ($15,000). The New Directors Prize of $15,000 is given to a narrative first feature that exhibits a unique artistic sensibility and deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Seventeen countries contributed to the production of the 11 films in this year's competition. Click through for titles or visit sffs.org.
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.
Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.
Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.
Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.
On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.
On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.
On the amoral goodness of nature, shapelessly shaped things and the hereness of bodies.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
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.'
SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.
SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.
SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.
Scary Cow matches makers with crews, and, every quarter, finds audiences for both.
Scary Cow matches makers with crews, and, every quarter, finds audiences for both.
Scary Cow matches makers with crews, and, every quarter, finds audiences for both.
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.
The Castro Theatre hosts a tribute to ‘Airplane!’ in conjunction with the SF Sketchfest. Following the film is a Q&A with leading actor Robert Hays, screenwriter Jim Abrahams and directors David and Jerry Zucker. More at sfsketchfest.com.
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.'
Sean Uyehara: "If you wanted, you could say that Calvin Lee Reeder channels the love child of Dario Argento and Maya Deren..."
Sean Uyehara: "If you wanted, you could say that Calvin Lee Reeder channels the love child of Dario Argento and Maya Deren..."
Sean Uyehara: "If you wanted, you could say that Calvin Lee Reeder channels the love child of Dario Argento and Maya Deren..."
Filmmakers make plans, stay calm, hone their messages for Park City audiences in days before festival opens.
Filmmakers make plans, stay calm, hone their messages for Park City audiences in days before festival opens.
Filmmakers make plans, stay calm, hone their messages for Park City audiences in days before festival opens.
Filmmakers make plans, stay calm, hone their messages for Park City audiences in days before festival opens.
Sofia Coppola's 'Somewhere' nails the spiritual erosion of constant, effortless indulgence.
Sofia Coppola's 'Somewhere' nails the spiritual erosion of constant, effortless indulgence.
Sofia Coppola's 'Somewhere' nails the spiritual erosion of constant, effortless indulgence.
'The Strange Case of Angelica' finds Manoel de Oliveira, at 102 years old, in fine form.
'The Strange Case of Angelica' finds Manoel de Oliveira, at 102 years old, in fine form.
'The Strange Case of Angelica' finds Manoel de Oliveira, at 102 years old, in fine form.
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.
The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.
The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.
The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.
The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.
Outspoken and rarely understated, Bay Area filmmakers took center stage in 2010.
Outspoken and rarely understated, Bay Area filmmakers took center stage in 2010.
Outspoken and rarely understated, Bay Area filmmakers took center stage in 2010.
Outspoken and rarely understated, Bay Area filmmakers took center stage in 2010.
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.
Sundance announces its competition class of 2011, which includes Bay Area projects by Tiffany Shlain, Yoav Potash, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and David Weissman.
Sundance announces its competition class of 2011, which includes Bay Area projects by Tiffany Shlain, Yoav Potash, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and David Weissman.
Sundance announces its competition class of 2011, which includes Bay Area projects by Tiffany Shlain, Yoav Potash, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and David Weissman.
Sundance announces its competition class of 2011, which includes Bay Area projects by Tiffany Shlain, Yoav Potash, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and David Weissman.
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.
A first-team non-fiction feature filmmaker hits it big with miniatures story.
A first-team non-fiction feature filmmaker hits it big with miniatures story.
A first-team non-fiction feature filmmaker hits it big with miniatures story.
The year closes with six weeks of strong foreign and arthouse awards-seekers as well as solid franchise holiday entertainments.
The year closes with six weeks of strong foreign and arthouse awards-seekers as well as solid franchise holiday entertainments.
The year closes with six weeks of strong foreign and arthouse awards-seekers as well as solid franchise holiday entertainments.
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.
Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.
Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.
SFIAF's Online Screening Room gives the festival's animation another dimension.
SFIAF's Online Screening Room gives the festival's animation another dimension.
SFIAF's Online Screening Room gives the festival's animation another dimension.
Eat, dance, love: Les Blank brings nonfiction back to life in a long and storied career.
Eat, dance, love: Les Blank brings nonfiction back to life in a long and storied career.
Eat, dance, love: Les Blank brings nonfiction back to life in a long and storied career.
Eat, dance, love: Les Blank brings nonfiction back to life in a long and storied career.
SF360.org profiles the 2011 roster of Essential SF, an ongoing compendium of the film community’s vital figures and institutions.
Ed Burns offers ideas about art and marketing as he releases his new film, 'Nice Guy Johnny,' into the world.
Ed Burns offers ideas about art and marketing as he releases his new film, 'Nice Guy Johnny,' into the world.
Ed Burns offers ideas about art and marketing as he releases his new film, 'Nice Guy Johnny,' into the world.
Mike Ott, now up for a Gotham Award, speaks on filmmaking process and his indie film 'Littlerock.'
Mike Ott, now up for a Gotham Award, speaks on filmmaking process and his indie film 'Littlerock.'
Mike Ott, now up for a Gotham Award, speaks on filmmaking process and his indie film 'Littlerock.'
A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
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.'
Missing children, justice gone potentially awry: Directors Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio journey back to the Staten Island streets they grew up on to investigate the urban legend of Cropsey, an alleged escaped mental patient who was said to terrorize their community. The San Francisco Bay Guardian's Cheryl Eddy named it one of the best films of 2009; it arrives this week for its SF theatrical release at the Red Vic Movie House.
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.
What to consider when you're considering hiring a producer.
What to consider when you're considering hiring a producer.
What to consider when you're considering hiring a producer.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
A film about the legendary band Fishbone brings California's past 25 years into close relief.
Two critics offer opposing views on an audience-dividing arthouse buzz-magnet, Gaspar Noé's 'Enter the Void.'
Two critics offer opposing views on an audience-dividing arthouse buzz-magnet, Gaspar Noé's 'Enter the Void.'
Mill Valley brings an eclectic collection of indies and world cinema to audiences.
Mill Valley brings an eclectic collection of indies and world cinema to audiences.
Mill Valley brings an eclectic collection of indies and world cinema to audiences.
Bay Area filmmakers find a platform at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Bay Area filmmakers find a platform at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Bay Area filmmakers find a platform at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Three decades of Robert Gardner films scrutinize the human condition.
Three decades of Robert Gardner films scrutinize the human condition.
Three decades of Robert Gardner films scrutinize the human condition.
Judy Irving goes from parrots to pelicans with her new documentary.
Judy Irving goes from parrots to pelicans with her new documentary.
A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.
A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.
A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.
A filmmaker revisits '70s gay erotic life in the work of Wakefield Poole.
A filmmaker revisits '70s gay erotic life in the work of Wakefield Poole.
A filmmaker revisits '70s gay erotic life in the work of Wakefield Poole.
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.
'Change of Plans' charts an eventful year in the lives of a dozen or so disparate Parisians.
'Change of Plans' charts an eventful year in the lives of a dozen or so disparate Parisians.
'Change of Plans' charts an eventful year in the lives of a dozen or so disparate Parisians.
'Change of Plans' charts an eventful year in the lives of a dozen or so disparate Parisians.
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.
A Greek film incriminates the viewer.
A Greek film incriminates the viewer.
A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.
A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.
A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.
Lisa Fruchtman moves from feature-film editing to documentary film directing with a hopeful story out of Rwanda.
Lisa Fruchtman moves from feature-film editing to documentary film directing with a hopeful story out of Rwanda.
Lisa Fruchtman moves from feature-film editing to documentary film directing with a hopeful story out of Rwanda.
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.'
The stories of an assassinated soccer star and the nation's most notorious criminal merge in a portrait of '80s-'90s Colombia.
The stories of an assassinated soccer star and the nation's most notorious criminal merge in a portrait of '80s-'90s Colombia.
The stories of an assassinated soccer star and the nation's most notorious criminal merge in a portrait of '80s-'90s Colombia.
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.
Ruba Nadda speaks of sultry actors and tenacious directors in the making of 'Cairo Time.'
Ruba Nadda speaks of sultry actors and tenacious directors in the making of 'Cairo Time.'
Ruba Nadda speaks of sultry actors and tenacious directors in the making of 'Cairo Time.'
A filmmaker offers a script excerpt in appreciation of Jules Laforgue on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
A filmmaker offers a script excerpt in appreciation of Jules Laforgue on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
A filmmaker offers a script excerpt in appreciation of Jules Laforgue on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
The Lebanon War of 1982 informs Samuel Maoz's 'Lebanon.'
Scott Kirschenbaum's 80-minute doc aims to convey the experience of Alzheimer’s from the patient’s point of view.
Scott Kirschenbaum's 80-minute doc aims to convey the experience of Alzheimer’s from the patient’s point of view.
Scott Kirschenbaum's 80-minute doc aims to convey the experience of Alzheimer’s from the patient’s point of view.
A few simple ideas can help nervous fundraisers take the leap.
A few simple ideas can help nervous fundraisers take the leap.
Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.
Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.
Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.
Every film needs one person devoted to the distribution and marketing of the film from the start, just as they have a line producer, assistant director, or editor.
Every film needs one person devoted to the distribution and marketing of the film from the start, just as they have a line producer, assistant director, or editor.
A festival and awards-buzz favorite since its January Sundance premiere, The Kids Are All Right has real depth and drama yet is largely comedic in tone.
A festival and awards-buzz favorite since its January Sundance premiere, The Kids Are All Right has real depth and drama yet is largely comedic in tone.
A festival and awards-buzz favorite since its January Sundance premiere, The Kids Are All Right has real depth and drama yet is largely comedic in tone.
No matter what kind of film you’re making, eventually all filmmakers encounter the common legal problem of filming in a crowd.
No matter what kind of film you’re making, eventually all filmmakers encounter the common legal problem of filming in a crowd.
Critical consensus on Frameline34 marks it a good year. The audience wanted something different, and the festival has largely obliged.
Making a film called Stagecoach in the Sky as part of the 48 Hour Film Project requires planning, as well as a flying boat.
Charles Koppelman's documentary in progress, Zero Day, exposes each of three threats to the Internet: cybercrime, cyberespionage and cyberwarfare.
Ondine finds Neil Jordan back on personal terra firma with a story (his own, in conception and screenplay) that sits exactly on the thin line separating reality and fantasy.
What s the difference between streaming and download rights? Here s a glossary of terms filmmakers should know before signing a contract or hiring a web developer.
San Francisco filmmaker Jon Bowden brings a second comic feature, The Full Picture, to screens.
For many, the mother of all brain-scrambling cinematic boondoggles is Troll 2; a documentary takes stock of the phenomenal success of this epic failure.
Bay Area filmmakers report back from film festivals far (Cannes) and wide (Marfa).
William Shatner has survived as a unique sort of elder showbiz statesman, one who is willing to be the butt of jokes because he is in on them.
Today s fun fact: San Francisco has more nail salons per capita than any city in the country.
Almost $300,000 was given out Wednesday night for awards and grants honoring documentary winners.
We caught up with several Bay Area makers, fresh off their high-energy screenings at SFIFF53 and primed to keep the momentum rolling.
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.'
Along with selfless sacrifices and random luck, low-budget independent films often depend on the timely intervention of an angel.
Don t let Hollywood crow about The Hurt Locker and the year of the woman until more filmmakers of the sort featured at this year s festival benefit.
San Francisco itself took a lead role at Film Society Awards Night, the dinner and awards program benefiting the Film Society s year-round Youth Education initiative.
You know someone is well liked when they re used as the standard by which you fall short.
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.
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.
You are awesome. Spectacular, incredible, interesting, accomplished and generally just way awesome. Everyone wants to hear every possible thing there is to know about you.
To be from the Bay Area and called The Butcher Brothers might mean you get mixed up with purveyors of grass fed meats.
The Statton era has begun. Kate and Chris Statton have officially assumed the positions of co-executive directors of the venerable Mission District cinema.
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.
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.
From Michael Powell to Carlos Saura to Sally Potter, a stratum of directors has progressively reimagined the relationship between dance and film.
From Michael Powell to Carlos Saura to Sally Potter, a stratum of directors has progressively reimagined the relationship between dance and film.
The Victoria Theater is shut up tight, with no sign of life. After a few raps on the door, a woman peeks out and leads me inside.
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.
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.
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.
One of the heroes of South Korean cinema's recent renaissance wisely sticks to home terrain with his follow-up to The Host.
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,
Deann Borshay Liem's 1999 doc First Person Plural recounted her experience as an orphaned Korean adoptee raised in an East Bay suburb.
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.
There will probably never be a theatrical release for James Benning's landscape movies. Amazingly, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor have scored distribution and made a splash.
When Laos revised its visa structure to allow visitors to stay for more than one week, Westerners with digital cameras surged over the border.
The moving arrow anoints a new hot spot of contemporary cinema every few years, and then moves on. Yet Germany never makes the cool list.
YBCA has sustained a major place in S.F.'s cultural landscape without receiving the due it would have had its mission been narrower and more easily defined.
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.
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.
Hilary Hart, who annually holds down the late-night shift at the Egyptian at Sundance, offers interviews with fellow workers at the festival.
Writer-director Andrea Arnold created a stir with her first feature Red Road, but her new film is arguably an even stronger work.
As soon as the silent era hit sound circa 1927, musicals became a leading genre worldwide. How could their appeal possibly die out?
Horror movies were once dismissed by most grownups (and nearly all critics) as juvenile, silly, even offensive. Val Lewton seriously challenged that thinking,
In late January, many tune their radar to the snowy, showy glare of Sundance. With Noir City here, the stay-at-homes are the luckier ones.
Riding the crest of the Tati tsunami hitting our shores is The Magnificent Tati by Michael House, who lived in S.F. for 12 years before moving to Paris.
In Michael Haneke's masterful film, everyone lives in fear and suspicion.
You could make a case for Tati as the last great silent comedian even if he didn't begin making features until two decades into the sound era.
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.
Seems like every filmmaker I know is ready to party! Everyone s throwing fundraising events for their films. So many babes in the party-planning woods.
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.
Not surprisingly, Bay Area critics, fans, exhibitors and filmmakers did not arrive at a consensus on the best films of the decade.
It was a big year for 3D, but Bay Area critics and film-industry folk found many other dimensions in the cinema of 2009.
It was a big year for 3D, but Bay Area critics and film-industry folk found many other dimensions in the cinema of 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.
Claire Denis proves her unpredictability and versatility as a director with the 2008 release 35 Shots of Rum.
Claire Denis proves her unpredictability and versatility as a director with the 2008 release 35 Shots of Rum.
Filmmakers Justine Jacob And Alex da Silva release the documentary Ready, Set, Bag!, which follows competitive grocery baggers from across the country.
Kristine Enea's documentary shows The EcoCenter, a San Francisco environmental educational facility that treats and recycles wastewater and generates its own solar power.
Frederick Wiseman documents the frantic routine of choreographers for the Paris Opera Ballet as Frazer Bradshaw gives a more familiar portrayal of workplace satisfaction.
Marin County filmmaker John Antonelli talks about his documentary on influential late singer-songwriter Sam Cooke for PBS's "American Masters" series.
In town for the premiere of Wasteland Utopias, the artist, curator and administrative director of Canyon Cinema gives us the scoop on Wilhelm Reich and other shadowy figures.
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.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: The Doc examines patience in filmmaking.
Susan Gerhard caught up with the director of an Oakland-shot domestic drama whose first-time feature was chosen for Sundance.
Reminiscent of Marcel Ophuls' fearless provocations in Hotel Terminus (1988), Yoav Shamir breaks every rule of polite documentary filmmaking in Defamation.
Aroy's film excavates the history and contributions of Filipino farmworkers in the Golden State since the 1920s.
George Rush skips legal concerns and instead speaks to a larger issue: the lack of quality independent filmmaking today.
The documentary chronicles several large-scale pranks devised in the hopes of fooling corporate/government event attendees and/or the media.
It’s hard to imagine a venue where the new documentary Holding On to Jah will sound better than it did at Mezzanine last Wednesday night.
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.
From the steep slope of 22nd Street down to La Taqueria, from the Attic to Boogaloos, this droll feature showcases the Mission to glowing advantage.
Chick Strand, a crucial pioneer of West Coast experimental cinema, died July 11 at 78.
There's an advantage to being an insulated American while watching Tom Hooper's dramatization of an important part of the life of football coach Brian Clough.
At their respective festival tributes, the actors gave entertaining and revealing onstage interviews.
Where the Wild Things Are is directed by Spike Jonze from a screenplay by Jonze and Bay Area–based writer Dave Eggers, based on the classic 1963 picture book by Maurice Sendak.
Probably no one pushed the artistic carte blanche of "pink" films further—at least into the realm of serious political engagement—than the Japanese auteur.
Beyond Words: The people who back up the main character are often key sources of revelation, unmasking aspects of personality, motivation and backstory.
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.
First Person: How can people respond in diametric and, at times, vitriolic opposition to the same film? Mine.
AnyClip and Clicker are standouts at TechCrunch's annual conference, where startups a chance to pitch to expert judges and investors.
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.
A study in contrasts, Everyman and intellectual, Roy Andersson speaks about his career and new film, You, the Living.
The Edit Room: Learning how to organize saves you time and money in the editing process; a walk-through just how to do it.
Franny Armstrong talks about the moral imperative of her films, the importance of Hopenhagen, and the unexpected magnitude of her success.
The Toronto International Film Festival has always allowed a generosity of pursuits to co-exist, rewarding the adventurous and satiating the lazy, all without judgment.
To viewers of Lucrecia Martel's earlier work, The Headless Woman is the crowning achievement; the filmmaker speaks about her vision of the world.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Notes on assembling the basic ingredients for a great foundation funding proposal.
High-concept cabaret-act favorite in the Bay Area who sidelines as a filmmaker, Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) speaks about his latest, Stingray Sam.
The rapid adoption of e-newsletters by documentary filmmakers is the latest example of resourcefulness and efficiency among contemporary independents.
A mini-retrospective of the work of Kim Longinotto plays during the Women Make Movies Film Festival at the Roxie.
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.
Behind any narrative for the screen is the story that came before it—the life that shaped the central character, who arrives fully formed as your story opens
Bay Area favorite Bob Goldthwait, whose pop culture moment seemed to expire in the mid '80s, returns with comedic vengeance via World's Greatest Dad.
Flame & Citron, one of the most expensive Danish films ever made, is an historical drama that plays like an espionage thriller.
East Bay documentary producer Pete Nicks places interactive storytelling booths in hospital waiting rooms.
Avoiding Disaster: Festivals are a good way to have your film discovered by distributors, to build buzz and to build an audience—if you're well prepared.
Josef von Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters caused a small sensation within the industry when it appeared, and is visually assured time capsule of urban poverty.
Dina Ciraulo's debut feature reconsiders the curious case of nature writer Opal Whiteley, who burst to prominence—and controversy— in the 1920s.
The Edit Room: I knew the right thing to do was to turn the project over to an editor. The problem was that I didn't have the $45,000 a good editor would require.
Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman combine live-action period drama and animation in retelling of Ginsburg's Howl
The Sixth Screen: Veteran journalists and filmmakers alike are polishing up their resumes, contemplating the hospitality industry, and wondering: Who stole my career?
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival arrives with an expansive program spotlighting the Jewish tradition of social justice and human rights.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: How do I choose the right crew for my story?
A peripatetic childhood laid fertile ground for the heated imagination of Berkeley-based author Barry Gifford, who has written Wild at Heart and Lost Highway.
Sjogren threads her vexations with feminist film theory into a study of sound and voice in "women's film" touchstones like Letter from an Unknown Woman.
J.P. Allen and Janis DeLucia Allen's latest imagining, Sex and Imagining, is a two-character piece thick with dialogue and psychological undercurrents.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Are Your "Friends" Worthless?
Adam Goldstein and Eric Kutner discuss their debut, The Snake, an unapologetically impertinent, made-in-S.F, comedy that marks its creators as resourceful wiseguys.
The Edit Room: I decided to set my New Doc Editing research team on a mission to find out what structural models are getting funded these days.
Turkey may be lonely, but it is indeed beautiful in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Three Monkeys.
When Rick Tejada-Flores decided to explore his family's checkered Bolivian past, he accepted that he had to be a character.
One can't help but think about the concept of cinematic language, as well as spoken language, when talking with Munyurangabo filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung.
Berkeley-based filmmaking team Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan speak about social justice as a career and their film Soldiers of Conscience.
Berkeley-based filmmaking team Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan speak about social justice as a career and their film Soldiers of Conscience.
Fados, about a Portuguese musical genre, reveals Carlos Saura as an effortless master at weaving together disparate performances.
The Miller brothers take their memoir-release to the local ballpark.
Michael Fox reviews Brant Smith's In-World War, a dark sci-fi comedy about a beta tester trapped in a futuristic war on terror.
The Roxie present Fear and Desire and Delinquents by Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman
The San Francisco Film Society awarded Francis Ford Coppola the Founder & Directing Award this week. Justin Juul offers us five reasons why San Francisco loves Coppola.
The San Francisco Film Society honored Francis Ford Coppola, Carroll Ballard, Robert Redford and James Toback. Coppola surprised the audience by turning over the Founder's Directing Award he received to longtime colleague Carroll Ballard.
Once Upon a Time in the West is grand, cynical, lavish and above all huge, Sergio Leone's penchant for the iconically gargantuan (perhaps at the willing expense of relatable human detail) expressed in ultimate form.
The Professionals an ambitious array of panels, case studies and discussions, makes its debut as a forum for encouraging Bay Area moviemakers to engage with guests and colleagues.
The Professionals an ambitious array of panels, case studies and discussions, makes its debut as a forum for encouraging Bay Area moviemakers to engage with guests and colleagues.
Four independent narratives - La Mission, My Suicide, Everything Strange and New and (Untitled) - are adding to the Bay Area's repertoire, historically regarded as a breeding ground for documentary filmmakers.
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.
Where would cinema be without good, old-fashioned youthfulness? Hence: Youth Bring the Truth, a showcase for promising pre-adult media-makers including several local teenagers from this year's San Francisco International Film Festival.
Bringing Rainer's work to a larger audience: Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer, a feature-length documentary about the choreographer and experimental filmmaker.
National Film Preservation Foundation, Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986, is a splendid package of 26 films, drawn from New York and San Francisco.
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.
Michael Jacobs talks about his documentary, which follows Pentecostal Pastor Richard Gazowsky engaged in the creation of an ambitious, multi-million dollar sci-fi-feature on God.
The films of William Kentridge make up a significant and absorbing part of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art enthralling survey of recent work by the acclaimed South African artist
An engaging documentary sampler of nine leading contemporary theorists, interviewed in settings that one way or another in real world terms illustrate (or contrast with) the concepts they discuss.
What you'll get at Cinequest's three downtown San Jose venues is a mix of tributes, seminars, parties and, of course, a whole lot of movies, including no fewer than 18 world premiere features.
Like the strictest kind of verite doc, Gomorrah simply presents activity, without "introducing" characters or spelling out their circumstances or motivations.
Carlos Reygadas' third film is an unmistakably serious work, emblematic of the kind of brooding, large-canvas filmmaking which has become a rarity.
The throughline of Micha Peled's film is a farmer in a village in Vibharba, in central India's cotton belt, over a farming season.
This "dramatized documentary" was a labor of love–if also a graphic portrayal of the vast LA detached from Hollywood's success-bubble glamour.
The tentatively titled Winter of Love uses Prop. 8 as a framework for a look at the increasing acceptance of gay marriage.
SF360.org interviews Davila on his film about a bottom-rung Tenderloin drug dealer with aspirations of becoming an artist.
With films that focus a patient eye on common human conditions, Belgian-born auteur Chantal Akerman is a formalist with heart–and global interests.
The S.F. Silent Film Festival's Winter Event allows you to spend hours in the dark with the madcap movie entertainments of 80-plus years ago.
When we're finally all watching movies on the most expedient of platforms–our mobile phone–Ellen Lake will be at the head of the parade.
Davies' latest film recalls his earlier autobiographical narratives, but is also unlike anything he has done before, being nonfiction.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: If my doc doesn't follow a fiction three-act model, will it fail in the market?
SF360.org joined in on a conversation about Cinematheque's past and present when Steven Jenkins lunched with Jonathan Marlow at Caffe Centro.
13 Most BeautifulÉSongs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests offers a cherry-picking of the famous Warhol reels accompanied by live original-soundtracking.
Grants totaling $3 million for narrative feature films made in the Bay Area will be distributed by the SFFS and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
Susie Gerhard gives an overview of a festival moving back to the basics of art-making.
In this documentary, Walker tells the tale of his delayed popularity the ever-more adventurous music with which he feeds his latterday cult.
First-Person: A program officer at the San Francisco Foundation has a sobering experience making a documentary.
Avoiding Disaster: George Rush writes on the conundrum of not getting money for a project without a known cast, and not getting a cast without a bunch of money.
Wenders, one of the stellar directors of "New German Cinema," is this year's honoree at the 14th annual Berlin & Beyond festival.
Wenders, one of the stellar directors of "New German Cinema," is this year's honoree at the 14th annual Berlin & Beyond festival.
The forthcoming film Speaking in Tongues follows four diverse local public-school students enrolled in language-immersion programs.
Levy offers thoughts on the program she's presenting at Sundance and what's being called the "New Documentary Movement."
Certain questions in 2008 endlessly plagued the film world, leading to outlandish predictions, flame-war mayhem and an outbreak of opinionated public speaking.
If you've been waiting for a punk-rock doc about sewage and wastewater treatment–admit it–it's in the pipeline and heading your way by year's end.
50 California students talk about their problems with gender in the new documentary Straightlaced–How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up.
Matt Sussman draws conclusions about women and Hollywood from three big women-oriented films of 2008.
Bay Area filmmakers, critics and industry pros list their favorite unreleased films of 2008.
Dennis Harvey reviews The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Oakland's Pamela Harris and Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media are connecting media makers with financial resources.
Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master and Glenn Lovell's Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges are splendid biographies by critics with local ties.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million on how donor cultivation can make you a successful film fundraiser.
Dennis Harvey reviews some of 2008's year-end sobering dramas.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: Fernanda Rossi discusses pros and cons of having to sit through a screening of one's own film.
Gini Reiticker's fine documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, opens at SF's Red Vic Movie House and Berkeley's Shattuck Cinemas.
The Pacific Film Archive shows Discovering Teuvo Tulio, a four-film retrospective of works from Finland's master of over-the-top melodrama in the 1930s and '40s.
Former San Francisco Examiner film critic Michael Sragow talks about his newly released book Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master.
Bay Area filmmaker Jennifer Kroot talks about her inspiration to make a documentary on legendary, underground filmmaking twins George and Mike Kuchar.
A newly restored print of Bergman's Monika, which deals with underage, guiltlessly unfaithful femininity, plays the Red Vic.
Michael Tully's 51-minute documentary Silver Jew proves semi-revealing as it records the Jews' tour dates in the Holy Land itself.
Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, Let the Right One In is a poignant, nuanced, original addition to the cinematic vampire canon.
The Sixth Screen: If you're interested in the future of online technology, 'jaguar' is the evergreen example used to explain what's called The Semantic Web.
The PFA senior curator talks about her cinematic influences, curating in Canada and the U.S., and recent additions to the world of film.
Robb Moss and Peter Galison's deliberative, atmospheric and engrossing documentary, Secrecy, puts democratic transparency to the test.
In its 12th season, the country's first and largest independent exhibitor of Arab cinema has gotten to be one of the bigger small fests in the Bay Area.
Hammer discusses his debut feature premiered at Sundance to resounding critical fanfare, winning prizes for best director and cinematography.
Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss's film candidly explores 'the ground truth' of Iraq without setting foot in the country.
The extreme, the strange, the silly and surreal all have big seats at the SF DocFest table.
Marilyn Mulford collaborated with Quique Cruz on the pensive, humanistic, and inspiring Archaeology of Memory: Villa Grimaldi.
The SFFS has added a Gallic counterpart to its long-running New Italian Cinema series.
Those inclined toward healthy doses of sleaze, gore, and retro-shlock can rejoice that it's time for the second annual edition of Dead Channels.
Religulous is a desperately awaited and already vehemently decried film by Bill Maher and director Larry Charles.
In 'Crooked Beauty,' mental health is re-imagined and redefined.
It used to be standard for San Francisco to be portrayed in movies as a magical, mythical, and slightly mysterious catalyst for transformation.
The Sixth Screen: Here are some browser-based legal zones for free online feature film viewing pleasure. No installation required.
The seventh San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival has the potential to be every bit as raucous as the other festivals under the organization's umbrella.
Parr licenses film and video footage, and presents some of the best screenings in town through his Oddball Films series.
'It takes your guts and your entrails and your soul to make a film,' Mikels once proclaimed. 'It takes everything you possess within you!'
"Horror films can hold a lot of crazy ideas and political ideas and no one blinks," says Pig Hunt writer and producer Robert Mailer Anderson, "and that serves our purposes."
This year's Mill Valley Film Festival shows healthy signs of life for the independent film business.
Scott Crocker's documentary brings the truth behind the "Lord God" bird phenomenon out of the bushes.
A Telluride veteran gives a festival overview, and explains why film lovers and filmmakers travel to a remote corner of Colorado on blind faith.
A Telluride veteran gives a festival overview, and explains why film lovers and filmmakers travel to a remote corner of Colorado on blind faith.
SF360.org asked this veteran indie auteur for his thoughts, which he gamely and intelligently offers here.
A local filmmaker looks at Mimi Weddell, a perennial bit part-player with a jaw-dropping collection of hats and endless show biz energy.
Film Arts Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed by 15 independent filmmakers in 1976, joins forces with SFFS.
Sharma might never have made his film had he not felt guilty about causing unhappiness to his dying mother by telling her he was homosexual.
Dyspeptic rather than tragic, Jacques Nolot's Before I Forget may be the best gay feel-bad movie ever.
A film from 1961, The Exiles is a long-in-making unvarnished look at 12 hours in the lives of a group of American Indians who have come to Los Angeles.
Andrea Kreuzhage speaks about her documentary, 1000 Journals, which raises a host of fascinating questions about creativity, collaboration, community, and communication.
The first of SF360.org's In Production columns looks at two works-in-progress: Laura Lukitsch's film about beards and Lise Swenson's Salton Sea pic.
Programmers for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Peter Stein and Nancy Fishman, speak about never taking the path of least resistance.
French author and director Catherine Breillat speaks about the fierce passion play of her latest, The Last Mistress.
Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.
SF360.org sits down with director Alex Gibney, whose film, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson played at the 51st SFIFF.
A documentary tribute to Derek Jarman, Isaac Julien's Derek does not seek to enlarge or complicate the filmmaker's legacy so much as succor its loss.
Critic Dennis Harvey reviews select films screened at the 32nd San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.
Eric Rohmer's latest "moral tale," The Romance of Astrea and Cèladon, filled with evanescent beauty, plays as part of SFFS Screen.
Woman on the Beach is a wonderful introduction to South Korean director Hong Sang Soo's films, in large part due to its subtle comedy.
Exhibitions in San Jose feature art drawn from and inspired by online social networking sites, Youtube, video games and blogs.
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."
When The English Surgeon had its U.S. premiere at the SFIFF this month, Geoffrey Smith and Henry Marsh received a standing ovation.
Part Luis Bunuel parable, Artforum spread, Jonestown ballet and Warhol camp, Harmony Korine's latest is a prime, insomniac two hours of midnight-movie drifting.
Rivera's debut centers on a young man grappling with a technological future in which neural implants, telerobotics and ubiquitous computing serve a global economy.
Unlike most experimental filmmakers, Sonbert's collected works have had the benefit of full retrospectives at major museums (SFMOMA, NYMOMA, Guggenheim) and a strong preservation effort.
Joan Didion famously said, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." We've internalized the American narrative of Abu Ghraib and accepted its implications.
Food scents and film sensibilities mingled in a pungent party atmosphere at the California Culinary Academy.
The second installment of Alex Gibney's interview about Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, which closes the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Warren Beatty on the sexual and political message of Shampoo and a new film in the works about romantic revolutionary journalist John Reed.
You know a festival is working its way into your brain when, in a landscape of intersecting ideas, you begin to witness the collisions.
You know a festival is working its way into your brain when, in a landscape of intersecting ideas, you begin to witness the collisions.
Errol Morris has a giant brain. Anybody who wants to argue against that thesis does not have a giant brain. So let's move on.
Joan Didion famously said, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." We have internalized the narrative of Abu Ghraib and accepted its implications.
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts is a very close-quartered and loving documentary, a year in the life of the composer.
SF Film Society’s Founder’s Directing Award winner Mike Leigh's work has created a distinctive insider’s portrait of working-to-middle class English life.
A self-described "cultural archeologist," the noir expert's debut short, The Grand Inquisitor, pays homage to the Dashiell Hammett-style detective story.
Founded in 1968, San Francisco-based Newsreel is the oldest nonprofit, social-issue documentary film center in the U.S.
The Mission filmmaker has slaved in the underground for some three decades, a guide and shaman for other artists working on the fringes.
Touching Home by Bay Area-raised identical twins Logan and Noah Miller is a largely autobiographical coming-of-age film that radiates sincerity.
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.
East Bay filmmaker Johnny Symons' documentary "Ask Not" moves beyond stereotypes to examine what experience is really like for gays and lesbians in the military.
Will "the Thrill" Viahro, impresario of East Bay cult movie extravaganza "Thrillville," discusses the difference between "trash" and "garbage" in film.
Two films at the Arab Film Festival's program Palestine: Interior/Exterior map physical, personal and ideological terrain.
The Sonoma Valley Film Festival has gone to great lengths to enfold the event in its culinary surroundings. Complimentary food tastings will be offered before every single screening.
Small-town "heartland" America that once held our majority populace is now seldom seen on screen. Jeff Nichols debut feature Shotgun Stories is an exception.
Two top winners at the SFIAAFF focused on breakadancing, an art form taken up with vengeance by Asians, with Koran teams a particularly dominant force.
SFIAAFF has grown from a niche event to a major international festival - with more than enough voices to justify its unwieldy moniker.
Filipino Director Brillante Mendoza discusses his aesthetic: a basic approach that resists facade and pretense and desires to depict to things as they really are.
The 26th annual SFIAAFF plays in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose, and kicks off with Wayne Wang's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
Ira Sachs' third feature Married Life is both a crime thriller and a satire of complacency and intrigue in the restless climate of Eisenhower-era suburbia.
Just when Gus Van Sant seemed on the verge of turning into just another Hollywood selloutÑhe did a total about-face. His four features since have been true art films
A "discovery" festival from Day OneÑmeaning they premiere a lot of films, including many other fests might pass overÑSan Jose's Cinequest actually adopted "Discover" as motto for its 16th year.
"A Genuine Tribute to Peter Bogdanovich" is a major coup for Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, after all these years later, he's ready for a retrospective of his own.
San Francisco Irish Film Festival begins this Wednesday at the Roxie with a slate of narratives and documentaries imbued with Ireland's particularly unique sense of time and place
Warts & All: The Films of Danny Plotnick: 10 short comic narratives are exemplars of an unpolished, unpretentious school of moviemaking that aims at every moment to be audience-friendly.
Girls Rock watches a few select 8-18 -year-olds overcome the obstacles to claim their rightful place on Earth and wail away.
The Associazone Piemontesi of Northern California, with the Italian Cultural Institute and Regione Piemonte, presents "Cinema Piemonte," four movies made in that beautiful region.
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.
Fresh insight into the Iranian director is offered in a remarkable DVD featuring Five, an experimental, meditative film set on the shores of the Caspian.
In addition to practically every extant band you’d want to see, an art exhibit, and comedy shows, there are movies at Noise Pop.
The list of talking dog movies is long and storied, but one stands head and forelocks above the others: A Boy and His Dog.
Even as the country has become a typically affluent Western society, its cinema has retained its status as a crucial component of the national dialogue.
An idea so vivid yet simple you've got to wonder why more movies haven't used it: Something happens that turns the populace into irrational maniacs.
“Passion & Power, the Technology of Orgasm” gives Rachel Maines’ entertaining academic book on the subject a new life onscreen.
It probably wasn't Romero's original dream to become semi-famous for movies about the flesh-eating undead.
Underneath The Band's Visit's poignant humor, the film subtly reflects the director's attempt to comprehend Israel's pull between the Middle East and the West.
The unassuming young director and producer spent five years on their optimistic yet unsentimental doc spotlighting four teenagers from the S.F.-based Youth Speaks project.
Alan K. Rode, a cofounder of the Film Noir Foundation, sang the praises of San Francisco movie audiences on the horn from L.A., then got down to brass tacks.
Galison, whose film is competing at Sundance '08, answers questions about the world of hidden national security policy.
Even when just stringing gags together in his early comedies, Woody raised the level of the game, making humor intellectual and the intellectual humorous.
The Goethe-Institut's festival offers a pointed reminder that Germany, Austria and Switzerland aren't just in the center of Europe, but in the middle of international cinema.
Susan Gerhard enjoys an hour or so inside the wilds of Gondry's brain at the Apple Store, SF.
His enthusiasm practically radiates from the screen; he doesn't seem to be interviewing or investigating his subjects so much as amiably hanging out with them.
His enthusiasm practically radiates from the screen; he doesn't seem to be interviewing or investigating his subjects so much as amiably hanging out with them.
The Sundance feature follows a 70-year-old novelist trying to complete the book he's been working on for the last 10 years.
The Sundance feature follows a 70-year-old novelist trying to complete the book he's been working on for the last 10 years.
Yu's latest doc centers on four rather damaged individuals, applying the dramatic structure of Greek playwright Euripedes to contemporary life.
In honor of Gus Van Sant's new film, 'Paranoid Park,' five skate films that matter to the skate junkie, and three honorable mentions.
Somewhere between iPhone and YouTube there’s a wee festival known as miniPAH. A more slender version of PAH-FEST, the touring weeklong digital film festival founded a year and a half ago by filmmaker Christopher Coppola, “miniPAH: San Francisco” happens this weekend at Coppola’s alma mater, San Francisco Art Institute, ahead of a full-fledged Bay Area PAH sometime next year.
"I suddenly found myself surrounded by a group of 15 little [Cambodian] girls aggressively soliciting me for prostitution," Guy Jacobson told a MVFF audience.
Midnites for Maniacs unearths populist yet esoteric genre and exploitation flicks that have mostly disappeared into the netherworld of discarded VHS rental tapes.
The entire Bay Area is invited to watch a film simultaneously in the comfort of home, and the selection is a delicate and heartfelt depiction of the director's autistic sister.
SF360.org sits down with a criminally little-known director of stage and screen who is arguably the most imaginative, talented multi-hyphenate of his generation.
Meet Phil Chambliss, a 54-year-old, recently retired gravel pit nightwatchman who makes what might be termed cinematic folk art.
SFFS programmer Sean Uyehara gives some perspective on the shifting dimensions of animated filmmaking.
Let SF360 count the ways Penn can take on the President, the paparazzi, and the possibilities for peace in our time.
SF360.org spoke with director Finn Taylor about ÔThe Darwin Awards' and all the films he's directed in a Bay Area that's offered him years of inspiration.
Matt Sussman looks at the final products of the talented young directors in TILT's Summer Film Camp showcase (screening as part of of Straight Outta Film Arts program at YBCA).
SF360.org caught up with the Oakland director, who was one of seven finalists on the Fox reality show On the Lot.
Delpy, who studied film at NYU in the early '90s, spoke fluent, rapid-fire English during a late-July visit to San Francisco.
Delpy, who studied film at NYU in the early '90s, spoke fluent, rapid-fire English during a late-July visit to San Francisco.
S.F.Ôs Italian Cultural Institute is launching an extensive if not quite exhaustive retrospective of Pasolini's features.
A conversation with the Oscar-nominated Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound) on his new feature, which screened at the S.F. International Film Festival.
Tirard takes an ingenious tack in conjuring the creative evolution of France's master of satiric comedy.
Few people not employed as directors, producers, cinematographers, costume or production designers have had as much impact on the "look" of movies.
The '05 feature imagines a 21-year-old Indian American returning to India to visit her family and discover where she was born.
The List: San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is showing five great films that showcase the moxie and smart fighting style of Jewish boxers, both old and new.
Sunshine tells the story of the eight astronauts aboard the ominously named "Icarus II," a vessel bound to kick-start the sun, Earth's last hope for survival.
George Ratliff talks about his first feature narrative Joshua, described by Sundance as a "horror story disguised as a sophisticated family drama."
Sperling's Itty Bitty Titty Committee closes the SF International LGBT Film Festival, at which Sperling—17 films strong—receives the Frameline Award.
Roadside Pictures signed Colma: The Musical for national release. A sort of anti-"High School Musical," "Colma" follows three friends in their new post-high school freedom.
The prolific British director, known for a large and eclectic body of work, has done something very unusual in the past half decade.
Frameline directors Michael Lumpkin and Jennifer Morris speak about the programming, controversy and the landscape of LGBT films.
Despite the best efforts of method actors, methodical directors, and talented costume designers, biopics can usually be relied upon to disappoint.
Walking in to interview John Carney and actors/musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the frenetic edge to their on-the-road exhaustion is apparent.
San Franciscans have a poignant symbiotic relationship with William Kaufman's freshman feature, The Prodigy, which returns to the city this week.
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 four-day festival offered over 100 films, with an emphasis on documentaries, and attracted some 60 filmmakers, including Albert Maysles.
Changes in Hal Hartley's geography and work styles have put distance between his early films and also given the director a chance to experiment with form.
The Unbelievable Truth helped jumpstart the independent film movement in the U.S. in 1989, followed by eight more Hartley features in the next decade.
When then-unknown Spike Lee premiered She's Gotta Have It at the SF International in 1986, there was an instance of filmus interruptus.
Daniel Wu and fictitious boy band Alive from his directorial debut The Heavenly Kings on Cantpop, the Bay Area, and Hong Kong film.
The List: An Amerindie helmer well before the term was invented, Nilsson names 10 films which deeply affected him.
Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic blends World War II history with composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars’ staging of a new opera on the subject.
in Claude Chabrol's latest film, Isabelle Huppert plays a judge plunging headlong into a dangerous investigation of french corruption and gender dynamics.
White's heroes and heroines are content with their mundane lives until some uninvited intruder or unforeseen event exposes their frustration and complacency.
Verhoeven's career can be divided between the character-driven movies he made in Holland and the slick genre films he directed in Hollywood after 1985.
When Bay Area filmmaker Amanda Micheli approaches, you can see that she is an athlete. She's sure of herself.
A look at critics' responses to Antonioni through the ages shows there is, and always was, plenty to say about his work.
An interview with documentary and narrative filmmaker Philip Haas upon the release of his latest film, The Situation.
Director Grace Lee talks about the personal horror movie genre in American Zombie and the ethical dilemmas documentary filmmakers face.
When all was said and done in Los Angeles tonight, The Departed was the big winner at the 79th Academy Awards.
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Little Miss Sunshine made a Cody's San Francisco bookstore appearance promoting the publication of the shooting script.
Filmmaker Rory Kennedy talks about her process and approach with making her new chilling documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.
The Pacific Film Archive's standing as a cinema-centric educational institution brings the avant-garde into conversation with a broad program of film history.
This year's 125 films follow the fest's growth from 13 films in 1982 in the wake of Wayne Wang's Chan is Missing.
This year's 125 films follow the fest's growth from 13 films in 1982 in the wake of Wayne Wang's Chan is Missing.
Tears of the Black Tiger is Thai eye candy, an exercise pastiche where color just about leaps off the screen, and a star-crossed love story.
The Pacific Film Archive retrospective on Ernst Lubitsch encompasses 21 features, including many seldom-seen silent movies.
The Pacific Film Archive retrospective on Ernst Lubitsch encompasses 21 features, including many seldom-seen silent movies.
The director talks about his movie Perfume and his perspective as a filmmaker and artist.
The 1959 reworking of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a bossa nova adventure through Brazilian Carnival, with actor Breno Mello as the black Orpheus.
SF360.org ended the year the way we started it--asking enormous favors from some of our favorite filmmakers: Caveh Zahedi, Sam Green, and Danny Plotnick.
The product of a true cinematic innovator and gloriously individual poet, Broughton's film work remains much too idiosyncratic to be deconstructed,
San Francisco artist James T. Hong is currently working on a documentary, tentatively titled New History Zero, which explores his interest in revisionist World War II history.
It would not seem to bode well for the stewardship of studio classics that Preston Sturges's indomitable comedies have been so slow to DVD.
At least three Bay Area-based filmmakers will be making the trek to Park City this year, Jon Else, Steven Okazaki, and Jay Rosenblatt.
Song and Solitude, is a twilight sojourn to a secret world much like our own, rendered with profound patience and a hint of wistfulness.
Ramin Bahrani's debut feature follows a solitary, quiet immigrant struggling to make a go of it in New York City.
The director, producer and sometime actor enjoyed a painless ride from well-off circumstances to well-connected beginnings to one of Hollywood's biggest names for decades.
The filmmaker talks about tagging along with three renegade activists on their self-funded humanitarian excursions to war zones and disaster sites.
Filmmaking was just one among many creative outlets for Japanese multimedia artist Hiroshi Teshigahara.
Filmmaking was just one among many creative outlets for Japanese multimedia artist Hiroshi Teshigahara.
One month ago today, the maverick filmmaker was at the Hamptons International Film Festival reflecting upon his career at a tribute in his honor.
The weekly series is a platform for independent filmmakers in California, showcasing short and full-length documentaries about the state.
The relationship between intellectualism and passion, a distinctly Italian concern, propels the 2006 edition of New Italian Cinema.
Through a close examination of his own family, filmmaker Doug Block explores universal questions about our own mothers and fathers in 51 Birch Street.
The veteran documentary maker describes the making of Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.
Eric Steel's disturbing, controversial documentary, The Bridge, focuses on people who end their lives at the famous landmark at the edge of the continent.
Segueing from network television news to documentary features, Amy Berg makes her debut with a shocking, powerful film about pedophile priest Oliver Grady.
For close to a decade now, Miranda July has been exploring and often crossing the traditional boundaries between life and the movies.
After weeks of Western Europe, what better way for the young cineaste to crash the City of Light than a trip to the silver screen?
When Brent Hoff was checking into a hotel for a film festival, the concierge thrust a business card into his hand, “Remember me next time you’re casting a film." So he asked the biggest directors he knows to cast the concierge in a series of short films.
Joseph McBride's What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of An Independent Career catalogs the director's amazingly prolific final 15 years.
Mark Andrews and Andrew Jimenez co-wrote and co-directed the unexpected, surprisingly funny short about two musicians vying for a young girl's lone coin.
When onlookers or bystanders disparagingly refer to experimental film as torturous or a bore, it’s a safe bet that they’ve never seen anything by Bruce Baillie.
John Cameron Mitchell's latest film: A bright, sexually explicit ensemble piece featuring American friends and acquaintances who might have made good primetime TV.
Why do updates of Jerry Lewis flicks get more slack from critics than Zailian's "All the King's Men" and Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate?"
The annual series of films from countries with less developed or out-of-favor national cinemas has several winners.
Filmmaker Georgia Lee discusses her narrative feature with family member Frances Chang.
The Maquilapolis filmmakers talk about empowering their subjectsÑwomen factory workers in Tijuana.
Filmmaker Kirby Dick talks about censorship, and discrimination against independent films.
Director Laura Poitras’ traveled to Iraq for her latest film, “My Country, My Country.”
The author's cult gets another buck-up from the release of Norwegian director Bent Hamer;s first English-language feature, Factotum.
The author's cult gets another buck-up from the release of Norwegian director Bent Hamer;s first English-language feature, Factotum.
Ryan Fleck talks about his new film Half Nelson, his filmmaking career, and his creative inspirations and tastes.
The director of The Business of Strangers talks about his second feature, starring Robin Williams.
The co-director talks about his provocative fictional documentary about conjoined twins groomed for rock Ôn' roll stardom.
The co-director talks about his provocative fictional documentary about conjoined twins groomed for rock Ôn' roll stardom.
Ozon's Time to Leave demonstrates how central he's become to European cinema, and reminds us that he's among gay world cinema's most accomplished writer/directors.
Ozon's Time to Leave demonstrates how central he's become to European cinema, and reminds us that he's among gay world cinema's most accomplished writer/directors.
Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer talk about their acclaimed debut Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, their influences, and making films in San Francisco.
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura screens Visconti's signature features, from his 1942 debut Ossessione through 1976's The Innocent, which he died before completing.
Back at the Castro this weekend for the 13th year, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents a variety of titillating titles.
Danielle Beverly, director of Learning to Swallow, offers some backstory on her filmmaking relationship with artist Patsy Desmond.
SF360 talked to the director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, which opened last week, after his recent stop through the City.
Jean-Pierre Melville's remarkable 1969 nail biter is on a different plane than contemporary spy thrillers.
Conference discusses the difficulties for lesbian features to get made and do well at the box office.
Mat Whitecross talks about his documentary The Road to Guantanamo, which takes a look at the inhumanity of U.S. "detainment" camps in Cuba.
Wong weighs in on the hardest song to bring to life in Colma: The Musical, a story about a city in which the dead outnumber the living.
Benjamin Morgan talks about his San Francisco-made drama, Quality of Life, and his favorite graffiti sites on the web.
Sheerly Avni talks about his book, Cinema by the Bay, a rich, visual history of San Francisco Bay Area filmmaking.
Sheerly Avni talks about his book, Cinema by the Bay, a rich, visual history of San Francisco Bay Area filmmaking.
Highlights of San Francisco Black Film Festival's eighth annual edition.
San Francisco Cinematheque guest curator Jenni Olson reflects on her show, Kees Kino: The Film Work of Weldon Kees.
Carrie Lozano talks about her inspiration to make Reporter Zero, a documentary on Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts, who documented the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
Newly appointed S.F. Cinematheque executive director Caroline Savage discusses the state of experimental film.
Insights into the initial process of bringing the screenplay adaptation of a short story to the screen.
The second week of the 49th SFIFF was packed with tributes and special events, luring diverse crowds with honorees like Werner Herzog and Ed Harris.
A conversation with director Michael Glawogger on his film, Workingman's Death, which screens at the 2006 SFIFF.
Memorize these words that supposedly can bring you under government scrutiny when said over the phone, or written in a text message or email.
David Munro and Xandra Castleton speak about making their indie Full Grown Men and taking it to the Tribeca Film Festival.
This English comedy, the second feature made by the guys behind that genius horror spoof, 'Shaun of the Dead,' satirizes fake cinematic testosterone.
For people who know their rock trivia, or saw Gimme Shelter, Altamont represents one of the most infamous moments in Bay Area cultural history.
Filmmaker Carlos Reygadas discusses his life and work upon the release of his second film, Battle in Heaven.
The List: How JT LeRoy went from fiction to fact in the media.
Vietnamese American filmmaker Ham Tran rights an historical wrong in his debut feature film on the Vietnam War.
Asian America everywhere: A talk with San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival directors Chi-hui Yang and Taro Goto.
A conversation with David Kipen about his book, The Schreiber Theory, which reclaims the contribution of screenwriters to motion pictures.
A conversation with David Kipen about his book, The Schreiber Theory, which reclaims the contribution of screenwriters to motion pictures.
HRW's series of films chosen for aesthetic value and human rights content continues to grow as it stays true to its roots.
With a Leacock-Pennebaker tribute, SF State's Documentary Film Institute proves there's no reason to "revive" cinema verite; it never died.
Michael Fox goes behind the scenes on Peaches Christs' slice-'em-up.