Funding: TFI Documentary Fund

The TFI Documentary Fund provides grants and guidance to exceptional filmmakers developing engaging feature-length documentaries which emphasize character and that allow audiences to consider history, culture and society through the experiences of extraordinary individuals. ELIGIBILITY: Submissions must be non-fiction motion pictures with an intended length of at least 70 minutes and should creatively document unique character(s); submissions can be in the advanced stages of development, production or post-production and must not have aired on any form. Foreign language documentaries are eligible, but must be subtitled and suitable for an American audience. Applicants must be over 18-years old. $25 entry fee. AWARDS: Grants of at least $10,000 will be awarded in 2012. DEADLINE: October 10, 2011. WEBSITE: tribecafilminstitute.org/tfi_documentary/.

High Energy 'Point Blank' Is a Rush

Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.

High Energy 'Point Blank' Is a Rush

Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.

High Energy 'Point Blank' Is a Rush

Thrill ride 'Point Blank' loses nothing in translation—it's a prime example of cinematic globalization.

'Oki's Movie'

Prolific producer, art-house fave and proponent of "radical banality" Hong Sang-Soo juxtaposes moments from a young woman's relationships with two men, a year apart, in the formalist comedy/romance ‘Oki's Movie.’ Screens at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. More at ybca.org.

Dutch Director's Obsession Leads to Bay Area

One film was not enough to quench Frans Weisz’s fascination with Nazi-era artist Charlotte Salomon.

Dutch Director's Obsession Leads to Bay Area

One film was not enough to quench Frans Weisz’s fascination with Nazi-era artist Charlotte Salomon.

Dutch Director's Obsession Leads to Bay Area

One film was not enough to quench Frans Weisz’s fascination with Nazi-era artist Charlotte Salomon.

Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

An historical-romantic novel in screen form, 'Bride Flight' offers all the pleasures (some guilty ones) of a film made half a century ago.

Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

An historical-romantic novel in screen form, 'Bride Flight' offers all the pleasures (some guilty ones) of a film made half a century ago.

Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

An historical-romantic novel in screen form, 'Bride Flight' offers all the pleasures (some guilty ones) of a film made half a century ago.

YBCA Brings Attention to Embattled Iranian Artists

YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.

YBCA Brings Attention to Embattled Iranian Artists

YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.

YBCA Brings Attention to Embattled Iranian Artists

YBCA rallies behind Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof with its ‘Iran Beyond Censorship’ series.

Ido Haar Seeks Justice, Searches Soul

SFFS Artist in Residence speaks on cities, Siberia, family and life in the Middle East.

Ido Haar Seeks Justice, Searches Soul

SFFS Artist in Residence speaks on cities, Siberia, family and life in the Middle East.

Ido Haar Seeks Justice, Searches Soul

SFFS Artist in Residence speaks on cities, Siberia, family and life in the Middle East.

For Your Consideration

The Smith Rafael Film Center offers 'For Your Consideration,' a sampling of this year’s 65 submitted and accepted Oscar Foreign Language Films. The event begins with Italy's ‘The First Beautiful Thing.' More at cafilm.org.

'The Temptation of St. Tony'

Veiko Õunpuu's dream-like study of a middle-aged man’s morality struggle has drawn comparisons to the work of cinema’s most notorious surrealists. ‘The Temptation of St. Tony’ is Estonia’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. Plays at the Roxie. More at roxie.com.

Copyright Crosses Borders

Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.

Copyright Crosses Borders

Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.

Copyright Crosses Borders

Laws and treaties protect artists' rights overseas and make the permissions-gathering process all the more important for filmmakers.

Taiwan Film Days

The San Francisco Film Society presents a three-day showcase of contemporary Taiwanese films at VIZ Cinema at New People. Niu Doze's crime saga 'Monga' opens the festival and is Taiwan's entry to for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. More at sffs.org; look for a feature later this week on sf360.org.

Berlin & Beyond Film Festival

The Berlin & Beyond Film Festival returns to the Castro with its collection of contemporary cinema from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. ‘Die Fremde’ is the centerpiece film (and Germany’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards) about a young woman living in Istanbul who, along with her son, decides to leave her abusive husband and reunite with her family in Berlin. More at berlinbeyond.com.

Arab Film Festival

Lyes Salem’s dark comedy ‘Masquerades’ opens the Arab Film Festival at the Castro; it tells the story of Mounir, a young Algerian misfit who informs the whole town his narcoleptic sister Nim is engaged to a handsome, wealthy foreigner. The festival runs October 14–24. More at arabfilmfestival.org.

'Goodbye, Someday'

VIZ Cinema screens the local premiere of the foreign smash hit about an engaged Japanese man's passionate affair with a woman he meets in Bangkok.

Cinemalit: 'Love Affair'

The CinemaLit Film Series, curated by film critic and SF360.org contributor Michael Fox, presents Leo McCarey's 'Love Affair' at the Mechanics' Institute.

Toronto's New Lightbox Offers Transcendence

A festival transforms itself and transports audiences with a visionary new theater.

Toronto's New Lightbox Offers Transcendence

A festival transforms itself and transports audiences with a visionary new theater.

Toronto's New Lightbox Offers Transcendence

A festival transforms itself and transports audiences with a visionary new theater.

'Army of Crime' Revisits the Not-Always French Resistance

'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.

'Army of Crime' Revisits the Not-Always French Resistance

'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.

'Army of Crime' Revisits the Not-Always French Resistance

'Army of Crime’s' portraits in heroism remain admirably restrained, unlike so many Resistance fantasies.

SF Jewish Film Festival Lights 30 Candles

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival finds fans beyond its identity-based target audience with a wide array of international films and topics.

SF Jewish Film Festival Lights 30 Candles

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival finds fans beyond its identity-based target audience with a wide array of international films and topics.

'Wild Grass' Finds Resnais Still Growing

Resnais remains elusive and detached, his films beautiful abstracts of intellectual rather than emotional impact.

'Wild Grass' Finds Resnais Still Growing

Resnais remains elusive and detached, his films beautiful abstracts of intellectual rather than emotional impact.

Looking for Comedy in Ken Loach's 'Eric'

It s not a laugh-out-loud film, but Looking for Eric can be considered a comedy…in comparison to just about any other Ken Loach movie you could name.

SFIFF53: Deft Dussollier In 'Micmacs,' 'Wild Grass'

How many foreign stars do U.S. moviegoers know? Not many, alas. My favorite living French actor, André Dussollier, appears prominently in two high-profile festival films.

Bong Joon-ho's 'Mother' Pleases

One of the heroes of South Korean cinema's recent renaissance wisely sticks to home terrain with his follow-up to The Host.

As Oscars Approach, Winners Still Up in the Air

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.

Mostly British and Very Entertaining

Tragically underrepresented in the Bay Area's densely packed world of globally oriented film festivals is the land(s) of our erstwhile colonial rulers!

Jennifer Phang On Half-Life and Identity

Jennifer Phang has experienced more than enough culture shocks in her life to empathize with the identity challenges of the characters in her debut feature.

Feast Your Eyes: A Holiday Film Preview

Dennis Harvey weighs in on the upcoming films of the holiday season.

A Tour Through the 2009 Taiwan Film Days

For three days, the SFFS offers a chance to see contemporary Taiwanese cinema beyond the work of the usual Taiwanese film masters.

Toronto International Film Festival 2009

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.

'All About Evil'-doer Joshua Grannell in post

Blood-soaked, darkly comic All About Evil has writer-director Joshua Grannell and editor Rick LeCompte on an express-train schedule rare for an independent feature.

'All About Evil'-doer Joshua Grannell in post

Blood-soaked, darkly comic All About Evil has writer-director Joshua Grannell and editor Rick LeCompte on an express-train schedule rare for an independent feature.

Dinner and a Movie Discussion: Igor Sinyak

Michael Fox interviews Igor Sinyak, founder of Subtitles & Subtleties, about his dinner and a movie discussion forum.

The Year in Film 2008: Oscar Odds

Instead of breaking it down strictly category-by-category, Dennis Harvey meanders through some principal heat-seeking prestige films and their various chances.

Soviet-Critical 'Cargo 200' at YBCA

The controversial Cargo 200, a take-down of the Soviet era, makes its U.S. theatrical debut at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Crossing Borders with 'Fraulein'

A director who lives in both Switzerland and New York leads a Swiss-German coproduction about two women from former Yugoslavian territories who meet in Zurich.

A Talk With Arab Film Festival's Executive Director

We sat down with Michel Shehadeh, who joined the festival earlier this year, for a wide-ranging interview on Arab film.

SFFS's Inaugural French Cinema Now

The SFFS has added a Gallic counterpart to its long-running New Italian Cinema series.

"Shrooms" Screams Bloody Horror

The Irish flick might put the leper back in leprechaun, but it's still at heart a reassuringly formulaic hunk of bloody commercial horror.

Review: "The Violin"

Francisco Vargas' first feature has won a pile of international awards to date, and might have garnered more had it arrived on the scene earlier.

Review: "Diva"

How does Jean-Jacques Beineix's breakthrough hold up a quarter-century later, duly remastered and freshly subtitle-translated?

SFIFF50

A decade might be long enough in dog years, but in film festival terms it takes a bit more time to impress.

'The Departed' Wins Best Picture, Scorsese Best Director at 79th Oscars

When all was said and done in Los Angeles tonight, The Departed was the big winner at the 79th Academy Awards.

Von Donnersmarck's Oscar-nominated "The Lives of Others"

Von Donnersmarck talks about his Lola-winning and Oscar-nominated debut during a visit to San Francisco.

The Cities' Critics Speak

The language of film may be universal, as the Landmark trailer reminds us, but the critics in major U.S. cities speak their own dialects.

SF Film Critics Circle Announces Awards

The group chose ;Little Children as its Best Picture of 2006 and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth the Best Foreign Language Film.

Global Lens 2006

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

Night Listening with Patrick Stettner

The director of The Business of Strangers talks about his second feature, starring Robin Williams.

Filmmaking in 48 Hours

Leena Prasad talks about making a sci-fi comedy featuring a pillow and a character named Mark Pantagenet, Foreign Ambassador in just 48 hours.

Measuring Cities By Their Taste in Film

A quick guide to measuring a city's taste in films by its critics' organizations.

Variety: ''Die Fremde' wins in Ghent'

Variety: ''Die Fremde' wins in Ghent'