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  • Deadlines

    Opportunities: Cinequest Screenwriting Competition

    Oct 17, 2011

    Cinequest Screenwriting Competition, held in conjunction with the Cinequest Film Festival (February 28-March 11, 2012), is accepting submissions. ELIGIBILITY: The competition is open to screenplays of all genres and lengths up to 140 pages that have not been optioned, purchased, produced, or put into production. Scripts should be in English, properly formatted, and submitted in PDF format. Scripts written as adaptations of other works must have secured rights before being submitted. Entry fee $45-65. AWARDS: Finalists receive non-cash prizes, including exposure to literary agents, film studios, and producers. Top prize is $5,000. DEADLINE: September 26, 2011 (early); October 17, 2011 (late). WEBSITE: cinequest.org/sp_agent.php.

  • Home

    Unbound by Genre, Taiwan's Films Travel Unique Paths

    Adam Hartzell
    Oct 13, 2011

    Expectations defied in Taiwan Film Days. It could be argued that Taiwanese cinema, best known through the work of three auteurs, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, is not tied to audience-generating genres. It’s certainly been able to travel more diverse cinematic avenues than some of its neighbors. San Francisco Film Society's Taiwan Film Days running from October 14–16, however, offers evidence for any number of arguments you’d like to make about Asian cinema and Taiwan in particular. On the docket this year are ...

  • Events

    Paul Sharits: An Open Cinema

    Oct 12, 2011

    PFA finishes a short program of experimental films by teacher, multi-genre artist and Fluxus collaborator Paul Sharits this Thursday with a screening of his later work on Thursday. The Berkeley institution also screens a selection of Sharits' midcareer work this Wednesday. More info bampfa.edu.

  • October 11, 2011

    Paul Sharits: An Open Cinema

    Oct 12, 2011

    PFA finishes a short program of experimental films by teacher, multi-genre artist and Fluxus collaborator Paul Sharits this Thursday with a screening of his later work on Thursday. The Berkeley institution also screens a selection of Sharits' midcareer work this Wednesday. More info bampfa.edu.

  • Festivals

    SFFS's Hong Kong Cinema Series Brings Fan Fare to New Screen

    Adam Hartzell
    Sep 22, 2011

    Audience-engaging stories in a variety of genres highlight SFFS's inaugural Hong Kong Cinema weekend.

  • Home

    SFFS's Hong Kong Cinema Series Brings Fan Fare to New Screen

    Adam Hartzell
    Sep 22, 2011

    Audience-engaging stories in a variety of genres highlight SFFS's inaugural Hong Kong Cinema weekend.

  • september 22 2011

    SFFS's Hong Kong Cinema Series Brings Fan Fare to New Screen

    Adam Hartzell
    Sep 22, 2011

    Audience-engaging stories in a variety of genres highlight SFFS's inaugural Hong Kong Cinema weekend.

  • Home

    He-Men Command Belief in MMA Film 'Warrior'

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 13, 2011

    Gavin O'Connor does a remarkable job making his two-and-a-half-hour fight film gritty, involving and as credible as humanly possible.

  • Reviews

    He-Men Command Belief in MMA Film 'Warrior'

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 13, 2011

    Gavin O'Connor does a remarkable job making his two-and-a-half-hour fight film gritty, involving and as credible as humanly possible.

  • September 15, 2011

    He-Men Command Belief in MMA Film 'Warrior'

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 13, 2011

    Gavin O'Connor does a remarkable job making his two-and-a-half-hour fight film gritty, involving and as credible as humanly possible.

  • September 8 2011

    He-Men Command Belief in MMA Film 'Warrior'

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 13, 2011

    Gavin O'Connor does a remarkable job making his two-and-a-half-hour fight film gritty, involving and as credible as humanly possible.

  • August 25, 2011

    San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates

    SF360 Staff
    Aug 20, 2011

    The Golden Gate Bridge remains in heavy rotation in sci-fi, action genres.

  • Home

    San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates

    SF360 Staff
    Aug 20, 2011

    The Golden Gate Bridge remains in heavy rotation in sci-fi, action genres.

  • News & Blogs

    San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates

    SF360 Staff
    Aug 20, 2011

    The Golden Gate Bridge remains in heavy rotation in sci-fi, action genres.

  • Home

    Rapaport Brings Depth to Tribe Called Quest Doc

    Adam Hartzell
    Jul 15, 2011

    Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.

  • July 21, 2011

    Rapaport Brings Depth to Tribe Called Quest Doc

    Adam Hartzell
    Jul 15, 2011

    Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.

  • Q & A

    Rapaport Brings Depth to Tribe Called Quest Doc

    Adam Hartzell
    Jul 15, 2011

    Actor’s first documentary outing pays tribute to Quest’s influence.

  • Home

    The Naked Truth on Nudity in Film

    George Rush
    Jul 12, 2011

    A legal expert offers advice on staying within the law while shedding extra layers.

  • July 14, 2011

    The Naked Truth on Nudity in Film

    George Rush
    Jul 12, 2011

    A legal expert offers advice on staying within the law while shedding extra layers.

  • Legal

    The Naked Truth on Nudity in Film

    George Rush
    Jul 12, 2011

    A legal expert offers advice on staying within the law while shedding extra layers.

  • Home

    Border Trouble Comes to Pacific Film Archive

    Max Goldberg
    Jun 30, 2011

    New series spotlights the fascination with Mexico in American noir.

  • June 30, 2011

    Border Trouble Comes to Pacific Film Archive

    Max Goldberg
    Jun 30, 2011

    New series spotlights the fascination with Mexico in American noir.

  • Reviews

    Border Trouble Comes to Pacific Film Archive

    Max Goldberg
    Jun 30, 2011

    New series spotlights the fascination with Mexico in American noir.

  • Festivals

    Frameline35 Opens, Features Wildly Diverse Program

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 16, 2011

    The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.

  • Home

    Frameline35 Opens, Features Wildly Diverse Program

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 16, 2011

    The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.

  • June 16, 2011

    Frameline35 Opens, Features Wildly Diverse Program

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 16, 2011

    The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival delivers internationally as well as locally made films of every identity and genre stripe.

  • Home

    Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 10, 2011

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

  • June 16, 2011

    Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 10, 2011

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

  • Reviews

    Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 10, 2011

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

  • Home

    'Blank City' Looks Back at Underground 'B' Heyday

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 3, 2011

    A documentary digs into New York's 'No Wave' movement that briefly flourished in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

  • June 9, 2011

    'Blank City' Looks Back at Underground 'B' Heyday

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 3, 2011

    A documentary digs into New York's 'No Wave' movement that briefly flourished in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

  • Reviews

    'Blank City' Looks Back at Underground 'B' Heyday

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 3, 2011

    A documentary digs into New York's 'No Wave' movement that briefly flourished in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

  • Festivals

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • Home

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • June 2, 2011

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • June 9, 2011

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • Festivals

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • Home

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • June 2, 2011

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • June 9, 2011

    Another Hole in the Head Scares Up New Round

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 2, 2011

    The adventure of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival requires you risk seeing the occasional dud to seek out the gems.

  • Home

    YBCA Revisits Vintage Erotica

    Dennis Harvey
    May 19, 2011

    YBCA uncorks another era's eros.

  • May 19, 2011

    YBCA Revisits Vintage Erotica

    Dennis Harvey
    May 19, 2011

    YBCA uncorks another era's eros.

  • Reviews

    YBCA Revisits Vintage Erotica

    Dennis Harvey
    May 19, 2011

    YBCA uncorks another era's eros.

  • Home

    New Approaches Embolden Doc Genre

    Karen Everett
    May 17, 2011

    Nonfiction filmmakers are re-engaging audiences with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on creative narrative strategy.

  • May 19, 2011

    New Approaches Embolden Doc Genre

    Karen Everett
    May 17, 2011

    Nonfiction filmmakers are re-engaging audiences with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on creative narrative strategy.

  • Story Structure

    New Approaches Embolden Doc Genre

    Karen Everett
    May 17, 2011

    Nonfiction filmmakers are re-engaging audiences with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on creative narrative strategy.

  • Home

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • May 19, 2011

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • Reviews

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • Home

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • May 19, 2011

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • Reviews

    Lost Legends Haunt Roxie's Latest Noir Series

    Matt Sussman
    May 13, 2011

    The devil is in the details of I Wake Up Screaming, the Roxie's annual two-week spring celebration of noir's shadiest titles.

  • Home

    'Meek's Cutoff' a Minimalist Masterpiece

    Michael Read
    May 7, 2011

    Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'

  • May 12, 2011

    'Meek's Cutoff' a Minimalist Masterpiece

    Michael Read
    May 7, 2011

    Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'

  • Reviews

    'Meek's Cutoff' a Minimalist Masterpiece

    Michael Read
    May 7, 2011

    Kelly Reichardt creates a moving meditation on open space with 'Meek's Cutoff.'

  • Home

    The Unsinkable Joel Hodgson Floats New Show

    Damon O'Donnell
    May 6, 2011

    Mystery Science Theater returns to the Castro in the form of ‘Cinematic Titanic.’ Fans rejoice.

  • May 12, 2011

    The Unsinkable Joel Hodgson Floats New Show

    Damon O'Donnell
    May 6, 2011

    Mystery Science Theater returns to the Castro in the form of ‘Cinematic Titanic.’ Fans rejoice.

  • Q & A

    The Unsinkable Joel Hodgson Floats New Show

    Damon O'Donnell
    May 6, 2011

    Mystery Science Theater returns to the Castro in the form of ‘Cinematic Titanic.’ Fans rejoice.

  • April 7, 2011

    Ozon's 'Trophy Wife' Is a Winner

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 1, 2011

    Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.

  • Home

    Ozon's 'Trophy Wife' Is a Winner

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 1, 2011

    Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.

  • Reviews

    Ozon's 'Trophy Wife' Is a Winner

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 1, 2011

    Ozon's Deneuve vehicle, filled with comedy and politics, travels well.

  • Home

    Poetry in Motion: Working in Action

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Mar 1, 2011

    Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.

  • March 3, 2011

    Poetry in Motion: Working in Action

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Mar 1, 2011

    Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.

  • Screenwriting

    Poetry in Motion: Working in Action

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Mar 1, 2011

    Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.

  • February 17, 2011

    Noise Pop 2011's Film Series Rawks

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 17, 2011

    Noise Pop brings the noise as well as great filmmaking to its annual music-and-movie event.

  • Festivals

    Noise Pop 2011's Film Series Rawks

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 17, 2011

    Noise Pop brings the noise as well as great filmmaking to its annual music-and-movie event.

  • Home

    Noise Pop 2011's Film Series Rawks

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 17, 2011

    Noise Pop brings the noise as well as great filmmaking to its annual music-and-movie event.

  • February 10, 2011

    Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

    Michael Fox
    Feb 10, 2011

    SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

  • Festivals

    Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

    Michael Fox
    Feb 10, 2011

    SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

  • Home

    Silent Film Festival Is in the Money

    Michael Fox
    Feb 10, 2011

    SF Silent Film Festival's Winter Event offers financial dramas that speak volumes.

  • February 10, 2011

    Mostly British Looks Beyond Speechifying Kings

    Michael Fox
    Feb 7, 2011

    Australian films comprise fully a third of the Mostly British Film Festival lineup.

  • Festivals

    Mostly British Looks Beyond Speechifying Kings

    Michael Fox
    Feb 7, 2011

    Australian films comprise fully a third of the Mostly British Film Festival lineup.

  • Home

    Mostly British Looks Beyond Speechifying Kings

    Michael Fox
    Feb 7, 2011

    Australian films comprise fully a third of the Mostly British Film Festival lineup.

  • Home

    Red Lantern Meetup Reels in Film Fans

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 24, 2011

    The Red Lantern Meetup group brings Asian film fans together.

  • January 27, 2011

    Red Lantern Meetup Reels in Film Fans

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 24, 2011

    The Red Lantern Meetup group brings Asian film fans together.

  • Q & A

    Red Lantern Meetup Reels in Film Fans

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 24, 2011

    The Red Lantern Meetup group brings Asian film fans together.

  • Home

    Temporary Insanity Takes Hold at Noir City

    Max Goldberg
    Jan 21, 2011

    Noir City 9's "madness" theme means a few more gothic titles and a fresh context to appreciate noir’s signature motifs.

  • January 27, 2011

    Temporary Insanity Takes Hold at Noir City

    Max Goldberg
    Jan 21, 2011

    Noir City 9's "madness" theme means a few more gothic titles and a fresh context to appreciate noir’s signature motifs.

  • Reviews

    Temporary Insanity Takes Hold at Noir City

    Max Goldberg
    Jan 21, 2011

    Noir City 9's "madness" theme means a few more gothic titles and a fresh context to appreciate noir’s signature motifs.

  • Home

    Alexander Excavates Educational Film Treasures

    Michael Fox
    Jan 18, 2011

    Geoff Alexander opens a window into the 20th century with a book about films for/from the classroom.

  • January 20, 2011

    Alexander Excavates Educational Film Treasures

    Michael Fox
    Jan 18, 2011

    Geoff Alexander opens a window into the 20th century with a book about films for/from the classroom.

  • Q & A

    Alexander Excavates Educational Film Treasures

    Michael Fox
    Jan 18, 2011

    Geoff Alexander opens a window into the 20th century with a book about films for/from the classroom.

  • Home

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • January 20, 2011

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • Q & A

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • Home

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • January 20, 2011

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • Q & A

    Patrick Marks Takes a Green Eye to Noir

    Adam Hartzell
    Jan 17, 2011

    Notable Noir City enthusiast Patrick Marks, owner of the Green Arcade, offers thoughts on the genre as well as festival's 2011 selections.

  • Home

    'Deathstalker' Muscles its Way Back to Big Screen

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 6, 2011

    Sword, sandals and a sinister real-life epilogue: 'Deathstalker' earns top billing in a Midnite for Maniacs evening at the Castro. As one of 1982's bigger box-office hits, Conan the Barbarian accomplished two things. First, it finally made a movie star out of thick-bodied, thicker-accented Arnold Schwarzenegger after several failed attempts. Second, it spawned a legion of cheaper imitations cashing in on the early 1980s' seemingly bottomless need for films to fill cable airtime and video rental shelves. (Remember, until that time there the only commercial outlets for movies were theatrical release and network TV—so these were entirely...

  • January 6, 2010

    'Deathstalker' Muscles its Way Back to Big Screen

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 6, 2011

    Sword, sandals and a sinister real-life epilogue: 'Deathstalker' earns top billing in a Midnite for Maniacs evening at the Castro. As one of 1982's bigger box-office hits, Conan the Barbarian accomplished two things. First, it finally made a movie star out of thick-bodied, thicker-accented Arnold Schwarzenegger after several failed attempts. Second, it spawned a legion of cheaper imitations cashing in on the early 1980s' seemingly bottomless need for films to fill cable airtime and video rental shelves. (Remember, until that time there the only commercial outlets for movies were theatrical release and network TV—so these were entirely...

  • December 16, 2010

    Film 2010: Big Pictures Light up the Small Screen

    Michael Fox
    Dec 16, 2010

    Perhaps it's OK to bring art film home for the holidays with sophisticated collections of DVDs and must-buy film books.

  • December 28, 2010

    Film 2010: Big Pictures Light up the Small Screen

    Michael Fox
    Dec 16, 2010

    Perhaps it's OK to bring art film home for the holidays with sophisticated collections of DVDs and must-buy film books.

  • Home

    Film 2010: Big Pictures Light up the Small Screen

    Michael Fox
    Dec 16, 2010

    Perhaps it's OK to bring art film home for the holidays with sophisticated collections of DVDs and must-buy film books.

  • Reviews

    Film 2010: Big Pictures Light up the Small Screen

    Michael Fox
    Dec 16, 2010

    Perhaps it's OK to bring art film home for the holidays with sophisticated collections of DVDs and must-buy film books.

  • Festivals

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • Home

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • October 28, 2010

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • Festivals

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • Home

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • October 28, 2010

    Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments

    Max Goldberg
    Oct 22, 2010

    A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.

  • Home

    Essential SF: 'Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter,' 'Paulina,' 'First Person Plural'

    Michael Fox
    Oct 6, 2010

    The Bay Area's best first-person documentaries take us through a lens, darkly.

  • In Depth

    Essential SF: 'Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter,' 'Paulina,' 'First Person Plural'

    Michael Fox
    Oct 6, 2010

    The Bay Area's best first-person documentaries take us through a lens, darkly.

  • October 7, 2010

    Essential SF: 'Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter,' 'Paulina,' 'First Person Plural'

    Michael Fox
    Oct 6, 2010

    The Bay Area's best first-person documentaries take us through a lens, darkly.

  • Home

    'Howl' Revisits Key Literary Chapter in SF History

    Susan Gerhard
    Sep 23, 2010

    Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman offer insight into the making of 'Howl,' a movie about a poem and a time.

  • September 23, 2010

    'Howl' Revisits Key Literary Chapter in SF History

    Susan Gerhard
    Sep 23, 2010

    Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman offer insight into the making of 'Howl,' a movie about a poem and a time.

  • Home

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • Reviews

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • September 23, 2010

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • Home

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • Reviews

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • September 23, 2010

    Altman Versus the World

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 20, 2010

    A series at the Roxie mines the fault lines in Robert Altman's varied oeuvre.

  • Home

    Going McCarey's Way

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 2, 2010

    A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.

  • Reviews

    Going McCarey's Way

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 2, 2010

    A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.

  • September 2, 2010

    Going McCarey's Way

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 2, 2010

    A Mechanics' Institute series appreciates Leo McCarey's genius with comedy.

  • August 26 ,2010

    A Vampire Weekend at YBCA

    Max Goldberg
    Aug 26, 2010

    Three vampire films capture more than the imagination. That the vogue for vampire melodramas may have run its course is clear enough from the appearance of Vampires Suck (in theaters as of this writing, though not likely much past it) and the news that the American redo of the 2008 Swedish indie hit, Let the Right One In, will be titled "Let Me In." Just like that, a lovely slice of pop-baroque gets reprocessed as a pathetic whine. No matter: as long there is cinema, the vampire will reemerge. Ever since the twin pinnacles of Nosferatu (1922) and Vampyr (1932), in which two of early cinema’s. . .

  • Home

    A Vampire Weekend at YBCA

    Max Goldberg
    Aug 26, 2010

    Three vampire films capture more than the imagination. That the vogue for vampire melodramas may have run its course is clear enough from the appearance of Vampires Suck (in theaters as of this writing, though not likely much past it) and the news that the American redo of the 2008 Swedish indie hit, Let the Right One In, will be titled "Let Me In." Just like that, a lovely slice of pop-baroque gets reprocessed as a pathetic whine. No matter: as long there is cinema, the vampire will reemerge. Ever since the twin pinnacles of Nosferatu (1922) and Vampyr (1932), in which two of early cinema’s. . .

  • August 17, 2010

    What is Noir?

    Aug 20, 2010

    The pairing of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and 'The Creeping Unknown'–the first of many double features with a "decidedly bent perspective on the human condition"– kicks off the Roxie's genre-busting series Not Necessarily Noir.

  • August 19 2010

    Noirish New Lavine Series Hits the Roxie

    Sura Wood
    Aug 19, 2010

    Elliot Lavine speaks of noir, noirishness, and the series of potent, paranoid, and often genre-busting classics he brings to the Roxie.

  • Home

    Noirish New Lavine Series Hits the Roxie

    Sura Wood
    Aug 19, 2010

    Elliot Lavine speaks of noir, noirishness, and the series of potent, paranoid, and often genre-busting classics he brings to the Roxie.

  • Q & A

    Noirish New Lavine Series Hits the Roxie

    Sura Wood
    Aug 19, 2010

    Elliot Lavine speaks of noir, noirishness, and the series of potent, paranoid, and often genre-busting classics he brings to the Roxie.

  • August 19 2010

    Back with a 'Vengeance'

    Matt Sussman
    Aug 13, 2010

    Johnnie To delivers on his trademark themes with 'Vengeance.'

  • Home

    Back with a 'Vengeance'

    Matt Sussman
    Aug 13, 2010

    Johnnie To delivers on his trademark themes with 'Vengeance.'

  • Reviews

    Back with a 'Vengeance'

    Matt Sussman
    Aug 13, 2010

    Johnnie To delivers on his trademark themes with 'Vengeance.'

  • 08-05-2010

    Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 3, 2010

    Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

  • Home

    Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 3, 2010

    Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

  • Screenwriting

    Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 3, 2010

    Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

  • 08-05-2010

    'Winnebago Man' Hits the Road

    Susan Gerhard
    Aug 2, 2010

    Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.

  • Home

    'Winnebago Man' Hits the Road

    Susan Gerhard
    Aug 2, 2010

    Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.

  • Q & A

    'Winnebago Man' Hits the Road

    Susan Gerhard
    Aug 2, 2010

    Director Ben Steinbauer and Bay Area-based producer Malcolm Pullinger talk about anger, RVs, and "going viral" with their new film.

  • Home

    Crime on the Mind

    Sura Wood
    Jul 29, 2010

    The Pacific Film Archive's Criminal Minds series offers a liberating mix of asocial outlaws and sordid stories based on the ripped-from-the-headlines exploits of real-life gangsters and killers.

  • Reviews

    Crime on the Mind

    Sura Wood
    Jul 29, 2010

    The Pacific Film Archive's Criminal Minds series offers a liberating mix of asocial outlaws and sordid stories based on the ripped-from-the-headlines exploits of real-life gangsters and killers.

  • Home

    Crime on the Mind

    Sura Wood
    Jul 29, 2010

    The Pacific Film Archive's Criminal Minds series offers a liberating mix of asocial outlaws and sordid stories based on the ripped-from-the-headlines exploits of real-life gangsters and killers.

  • Reviews

    Crime on the Mind

    Sura Wood
    Jul 29, 2010

    The Pacific Film Archive's Criminal Minds series offers a liberating mix of asocial outlaws and sordid stories based on the ripped-from-the-headlines exploits of real-life gangsters and killers.

  • Home

    Getting Down, Dirty with Bob Ray and Chad Holt

    Sean Uyehara
    Jul 26, 2010

    Bob Ray brings his Down & Dirty Austin Film Tour to the Bay Area. And you can't stop him.

  • Q & A

    Getting Down, Dirty with Bob Ray and Chad Holt

    Sean Uyehara
    Jul 26, 2010

    Bob Ray brings his Down & Dirty Austin Film Tour to the Bay Area. And you can't stop him.

  • Story Structure

    Thinking Like a Screenwriter for your Documentary

    Karen Everett
    May 31, 2010

    Moving past genre distinctions may help some filmmakers find the best dramatic arc and the most powerful truths.

  • Festivals

    San Francisco International's Local Filmmakers Next Step

    Michael Fox
    May 6, 2010

    We caught up with several Bay Area makers, fresh off their high-energy screenings at SFIFF53 and primed to keep the momentum rolling.

  • Festivals

    SFIFF53 Reports: Divine Madness at 'All About Evil' Premiere

    Dennis Harvey
    May 4, 2010

    Judging from Saturday night s festivities, half the capacity Castro Theatre audience had worked on or otherwise invested in Joshua Grannell a.k.a. Peaches Christ s debut feature.

  • Festivals

    SFIFF53 Reports: James Schamus, Roger Ebert and the Writing Life

    Dennis Harvey
    May 3, 2010

    Few would argue that a good movie often starts with a good story. Yet it has been the screenwriter s lot to be underappreciated.

  • Festivals

    SFIFF53: Women's Worlds

    Max Goldberg
    May 1, 2010

    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.

  • Festivals

    Local Filmmakers In SFIFF Spotlight

    Michael Fox
    Apr 27, 2010

    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.

  • Festivals

    SFIFF53 Reports: The Butcher Block; Opening Night

    SF360
    Apr 24, 2010

    To be from the Bay Area and called The Butcher Brothers might mean you get mixed up with purveyors of grass fed meats.

  • Reviews

    Independent Inuit Films at YBCA

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 8, 2010

    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.

  • Reviews

    Epic Expectations in 'The Warlords'

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 7, 2010

    When television first became a dire threat, Hollywood fought the small screen by making the big one really big with vast spectacles worth leaving home for.

  • Digital

    Sights and Sounds of South by Southwest

    Hannah Eaves
    Mar 24, 2010

    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.

  • Reviews

    Bong Joon-ho's 'Mother' Pleases

    Dennis Harvey
    Mar 18, 2010

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

  • Festivals

    Cinequest at 20

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 21, 2010

    Wasn't it just yesterday that Cinequest was the scrappy upstart amongst Bay Area festivals? Apparently not: San Jose's annual cinematic blowout is entering its third decade.

  • Reviews

    Can't Stop the Musical: PFA's Classics

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 27, 2010

    As soon as the silent era hit sound circa 1927, musicals became a leading genre worldwide. How could their appeal possibly die out?

  • Reviews

    Val Lewton's Brooding Mood, Chilling Themes

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 21, 2010

    Horror movies were once dismissed by most grownups (and nearly all critics) as juvenile, silly, even offensive. Val Lewton seriously challenged that thinking,

  • Festivals

    Darkness Of Noir City On Castro Screen

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 20, 2010

    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.

  • In Production

    Joe Graham's Soulful 'Strapped'

    Michael Fox
    Jan 19, 2010

    "I wish gay cinema would die", Joe Graham declares. It s not queer movies the San Francisco filmmaker hates, but categories and pigeonholing.

  • Q & A

    Michael House's Translation of Tati at YBCA

    Michael Guillen
    Jan 17, 2010

    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 Production

    Connie Field's Magnum Opus on Anti-Apartheid Movement

    Michael Fox
    Jan 12, 2010

    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.

  • Reviews

    Thoughts On the Aughts: Best/Worst Trends

    Susan Gerard
    Dec 31, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    Holiday Film Preview, Part II

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 11, 2009

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

  • Reviews

    The Cockettes' Celluloid Afterglow Still Strong at 40

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 3, 2009

    The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art honors the 40th anniversary of The Cockettes with a one-night-only program.

  • Reviews

    Chilean Film 'The Maid' and the Liberation of a Genre

    Dennis Harvey
    Nov 13, 2009

    This little no-budget film has picked up a slew of festival prizes for its character depth, unpredictable storytelling, humor and warmth.

  • Reviews

    On the Road Before 'The Recess Ends'

    Michael Fox
    Nov 10, 2009

    Shot in depressed burgs and 'burbs across the country, this documentary looks at the U.S. at its lowest economic ebb in generations.

  • Reviews

    The Exiled Ingrid Bergman at PFA

    Dennis Harvey
    Nov 6, 2009

    The PFA is offering a rare overview of Bergman's European films in the series, A Woman's Face: Ingrid Bergman in Europe.

  • Festivals

    French Cinema Now—and then

    Dennis Harvey
    Oct 29, 2009

    Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is being revived as part of San Francisco Film Society’s second annual French Cinema Now festival, which runs the week of October 29 through November 4 at the city’s Clay Theatre.

  • Q & A

    Robert Mailer Anderson on Mendo Madness of 'Pig Hunt'

    Dennis Harvey
    Oct 26, 2009

    After ripping it up at various genre fests, the Bay Area indie horror flick settles in for a theatrical run at the Red Vic.

  • Q & A

    Robert Mailer Anderson on Mendo Madness of 'Pig Hunt'

    Dennis Harvey
    Oct 26, 2009

    After ripping it up at various genre fests, the Bay Area indie horror flick settles in for a theatrical run at the Red Vic.

  • In Production

    Anne, Anne, Anne: McGuire Comes Alive

    Michael Fox
    Oct 20, 2009

    Anne McGuire finds the beauty in the strange, and the strangeness in the beautiful. That's not perversity, people; that's poetry.

  • Reviews

    The Turn-off Sex Cinema of Koji Wakamatsu

    Dennis Harvey
    Oct 16, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    Columbia Pictures' noir lights at the Roxie

    Dennis Harvey
    Sep 17, 2009

    The Roxie's Best of Columbia Noir seroes features great films capitalizing on a simple formula: a girl, a guy and a gun.

  • Screenwriting

    Understanding Backstory

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 25, 2009

    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

  • Q & A

    Bob Goldthwait, Fate and 'World's Greatest Dad'

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 23, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    WWII as Genre Busted by 'Flame & Citron'

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 20, 2009

    Flame & Citron, one of the most expensive Danish films ever made, is an historical drama that plays like an espionage thriller.

  • Reviews

    'District 9' a Summer Sci-fi Surprise

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 14, 2009

    This fanboy-anticipated New Zealand-produced film set in South Africa, with gang activity, theft, riots, and ever-mounting interspecies hostility, is a summer breakout.

  • Q & A

    Seiji Horibuchi on VIZ Cinema

    Michael Fox
    Aug 8, 2009

    Seiji Horibuchi, founder and chairman of VIZ Media, speaks about VIZ Cinema, a built-from-scratch venue located in the New People building in Japantown.

  • Reviews

    'Thirst' and the Vampire Genre Still Bleeding

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 7, 2009

    Vampires are still the It Ghoul of our cultural moment and South Korean film Thirst is as precisely crafted as it is gleefully over-the-top in content both carnal and carnivorous.

  • Reviews

    'Thirst' and the Vampire Genre Still Bleeding

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 7, 2009

    Vampires are still the It Ghoul of our cultural moment and South Korean film Thirst is as precisely crafted as it is gleefully over-the-top in content both carnal and carnivorous.

  • Q & A

    Shelley Diekman Reflects on Well-Spent life

    Hilary Hart
    Jul 27, 2009

    Newly-retired Pacific Film Archive publicist Shelley Diekman discusses her cinephile tastes, her past and her future.

  • Q & A

    Berkeley-based writer Barry Gifford's wild screen-rides

    Sura Wood
    Jul 19, 2009

    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.

  • Q & A

    Britta Sjogren and "Women's Film"

    Max Goldberg
    Jul 16, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    An Ample Display of Tilda Swinton's Edge

    Dennis Harvey
    Jul 10, 2009

    Tilda Swinton's edge of riskiness is on ample display in Julia, a new film by French director Erick Zonca.

  • Festivals

    SF Silent Film Festival

    Dennis Harvey
    Jul 9, 2009

    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho is one of the many highlights on screen during the three-day San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

  • News & Blogs

    'The Greatest Year in Film' at the Castro

    Dennis Harvey
    Jul 2, 2009

    A series at the Castro marks 1939 as the high-water mark of cinema.

  • In Production

    The horror, the horror: 'Tweaker With an Axe'

    Michael Fox
    Jul 1, 2009

    An interview with Flynn Witmeyer about his debut feature Tweaker With an Axe, and the desire to make genre films—horror or sci-fi or fantasy—that incorporate gay and lesbian characters.

  • In Production

    The horror, the horror: 'Tweaker With an Axe'

    Michael Fox
    Jul 1, 2009

    An interview with Flynn Witmeyer about his debut feature Tweaker With an Axe, and the desire to make genre films—horror or sci-fi or fantasy—that incorporate gay and lesbian characters.

  • Festivals

    Frameline33: Icons and Unsung Heroes

    Matt Sussman
    Jun 25, 2009

    A festival full of drama finds no more emotional screening than the homophobia-in-sports double bill of Training Rules and Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics on Trial.

  • Reviews

    Frameline33: Youth in Revolt

    Lynn Rapoport
    Jun 22, 2009

    In this year's Frameline Fest, as so often in life, it's all about the one(s) that got away.

  • Festivals

    Frameline33: Something Old, Something New

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 17, 2009

    A dose of self-affirmation arrives with Frameline33 (or, if you prefer, the multiple-breath-intake-requiring San Francisco International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Film Festival.)

  • In Production

    'All About Evil'-doer Joshua Grannell in post

    Michael Fox
    Jun 17, 2009

    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.

  • Popular

    'All About Evil'-doer Joshua Grannell in post

    Michael Fox
    Jun 17, 2009

    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.

  • Festivals

    Another Hole in the Head

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 4, 2009

    At a film festival called Another Hole in the Head, dedicated to sci-fi, horror and fantasy, catastrophic carnage meets comedy more often than not.

  • Festivals

    Another Hole in the Head

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 4, 2009

    At a film festival called Another Hole in the Head, dedicated to sci-fi, horror and fantasy, catastrophic carnage meets comedy more often than not.

  • Reviews

    Raimi's Return to Horror: Drag Me to Hell

    Dennis Harvey
    May 29, 2009

    Despite a few flaws in story and continuity, Drag Me to Hell offers the pleasures of a first-class entertainer thoroughly enjoying himself.

  • Festivals

    Bruce Goldstein: From NY to SF to 'Con'

    Judy Stone
    May 17, 2009

    Bruce Goldstein recalls his adventures in film land as he prepares to host the Con Film Festival at the Film Forum in New York.

  • Reviews

    SFIFF52: Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in the West'

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 30, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    SFIFF52: Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in the West'

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 30, 2009

    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.

  • Reviews

    "Observe and Report:" Seth Rogen Strikes Again

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 9, 2009

    If it grows darker than one might expect, Observe still hesitates at becoming a true black comedy; it's more medium-gray, earning stripes for breaking from current comedy norms on a moment-to-moment basis without quite arriving at an original, fully-developed whole. But Hill has a good eye, ear (the soundtrack choices are notably sharp), sense of off-kilter pacing, and, most importantly, a firm grasp on character.

  • Q & A

    Michael Jacobs 'Audience of One' at the Roxie

    Susan Gerhard
    Mar 30, 2009

    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.

  • Festivals

    Kiyoshi Kurosawa and a Cinema of Disaster

    Matt Sussman
    Mar 11, 2009

    The retrospective offers fascinating, if not always exemplary, viewing of what could be called a cinema of disaster: characters face the worst, or are living in its aftermath, and like the audience, they are provided with no easy answers.

  • Legal

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

    George Rush
    Mar 3, 2009

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

  • Reviews

    Re-Viewing 'The Savage Eye'

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 18, 2009

    This "dramatized documentary" was a labor of love–if also a graphic portrayal of the vast LA detached from Hollywood's success-bubble glamour.

  • Q & A

    Intersections of 'Harrison Montgomery' with Daniel Davila

    Michael Fox
    Feb 16, 2009

    SF360.org interviews Davila on his film about a bottom-rung Tenderloin drug dealer with aspirations of becoming an artist.

  • Festivals

    SF Indiefest 2009

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 5, 2009

    With a roster that sprawls from horror to softcore to verite-style drama and documentary, the only constant is that you won't be bored.

  • Reviews

    Sundance '09: Award-Winners, Bloggers, and More

    Susan Gerhard
    Jan 26, 2009

    Susie Gerhard gives an overview of a festival moving back to the basics of art-making.

  • Q & A

    Eddie Muller and Noir City

    Sura Wood
    Jan 18, 2009

    SF360.org spoke with Eddie Muller, who launched Noir City, an annual noir festival that has attracted an avid following in the Bay Area and beyond.

  • Reviews

    The Year in Film 2008: Oscar Odds

    Dennis Harvey
    Jan 2, 2009

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

  • Reviews

    The Year in Film: What did Women Want?

    Matt Sussman
    Jan 1, 2009

    Matt Sussman draws conclusions about women and Hollywood from three big women-oriented films of 2008.

  • Reviews

    Bursting with 'Button'

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 23, 2008

    Dennis Harvey reviews The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

  • Reviews

    Season's Gleanings, a Holiday Preview

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 15, 2008

    Dennis Harvey reviews some of 2008's year-end sobering dramas.

  • Reviews

    Supernaturalism with 'Let the Right One In'

    Dennis Harvey
    Nov 4, 2008

    Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, Let the Right One In is a poignant, nuanced, original addition to the cinematic vampire canon.

  • Reviews

    'Full Battle Rattle' On the Endless War

    Matt Sussman
    Oct 16, 2008

    Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss's film candidly explores 'the ground truth' of Iraq without setting foot in the country.

  • Festivals

    Dead Channels 2008 Comes Alive

    Dennis Harvey
    Oct 3, 2008

    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.

  • Reviews

    Baloney Sandwiches With No Cheese: Ted V. Mikels' Wild World

    Matt Sussman
    Sep 18, 2008

    'It takes your guts and your entrails and your soul to make a film,' Mikels once proclaimed. 'It takes everything you possess within you!'

  • In Production

    Mendocino's Swine Country

    Michael Fox
    Sep 17, 2008

    "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."

  • Reviews

    Toronto 2008: Slow Food, Fast Festival

    B. Ruby Rich
    Sep 12, 2008

    Every year, people grumble. Every year, someone points out how much worse it is than before. And every year, there are films that pull everyone out of the doldrums and guarantee it all continues. Welcome to this season’s Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Reviews

    Curators at Bay Area Now 5

    Sean Uyehara
    Sep 11, 2008

    YBCA's triennial exhibition has developed a deserved reputation for presenting an energetic survey of current Bay Area artistic practice.

  • Reviews

    Vertigo's 50th Anniversary

    Miguel Pendás
    Aug 8, 2008

    Not many movies call for a celebration of their anniversaries, but one exception is what many have called 'the ultimate San Francisco film.'

  • Reviews

    'The Dark Cinema of David Goodis' at the PFA

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 7, 2008

    The Pacific Film Archive screens a survey of Goodis-related works from both the big and small screen, spanning nearly five decades.

  • Reviews

    'The Dark Cinema of David Goodis' at the PFA

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 7, 2008

    The Pacific Film Archive screens a survey of Goodis-related works from both the big and small screen, spanning nearly five decades.

  • Reviews

    The Mystical and Everyday in 'A Listener's Tale'

    Max Goldberg
    Jul 15, 2008

    A Listener's Tale is a lovely if unclassifiable mixture of ethnography and poetic reverie which screened at last winter's Rotterdam Film Festival.

  • Reviews

    Swinging '60s suburbs in 'Viva'

    Dennis Harvey
    Jul 8, 2008

    Viva's cautionary tale is aptly encapsuled by the poster line: 'They were housewives seeking kicks, in a world of swingers, orgies, booze, and sin.'

  • Reviews

    Travel Guide Through Another Hole in the Head Film Festival

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 5, 2008

    The Hole Head Festival takes audiences back to terrifying locales and dangerous situations that should be pleasantly familiar to horror aficionados.

  • Festivals

    Capelle on Composers: Day Three

    Staff
    May 8, 2008

    The final installment in the San Francisco composer and musician's blog from the 2008 SFIFF.

  • Festivals

    Capelle on Composers: Back to Back

    Marc Capelle
    May 7, 2008

    Back to music.

    I have some friends that were in a Sub Pop band that pre-dated Nirvana. They were known as the Dwarves. Their music is and was a snotty suburban unholy mixture of the Sonics, the Orlons, the Stooges and a vat of amphetamines. Their record covers usually featured midgets and half-naked woman covered in either blood or some sort of Nestle syrup of some sort. Here is one of their lines.

    [Editor’s note: For the San Francisco International’s 51st edition, SF360.org has asked Bay Area musician/composer/cineaste Marc Capelle to blog his thoughts on movies, music, and the films showing in the Festival. This is the third of three installments.]

  • Festivals

    I [heart] Jason Lee

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 25, 2008

    The star of My Name Is Earl is (alongside Grindhouse superstarlet Rose McGowan) the recipient of this year's SFIFF Midnight Award.

  • Festivals

    Asia Argento, In Full Flower

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 23, 2008

    Motherhood has supposedly had a slowing-down effect on Asia Argento, though at present evidence points rather wildly to the contrary. Not only does she star in this week’s San Francisco International Film Festival official opener, Catherine Breillat’s costume intrigue The Last Mistress, she also figures heavily in two other SFIFF features. Both are programmed in the culty "Late Show" section: Go Go Tales, Abel Ferrara’s most acclaimed film in years, and The Mother of Tears, a latest horror opus directed by her own fan-idolized gorehound dad Dario Argento. A couple weeks ago yet another vehicle opened commercially, Olivier Assayas’ Boarding Gate, which is entirely dominated by her feverish and highly physical performance.

    Conventional logic might suggest all this visibility means it’s "breakthrough" time for Asia Argento, that moment when an actor goes from being a familiar face to a marquee name that can singlehandedly draw folks into the multiplex, or at least the arthouse. (In Europe she’s already quite well-known.) But as her project choices among other things bear out, Argento probably isn’t very interested in becoming a "star" in the conventional sense. In fact, she seems the girl most likely to run from any such fate.

  • Q & A

    'Thrillville' turns 11

    Michael Fox
    Apr 9, 2008

    Will "the Thrill" Viahro, impresario of East Bay cult movie extravaganza "Thrillville," discusses the difference between "trash" and "garbage" in film.

  • Q & A

    'Thrillville' turns 11

    Michael Fox
    Apr 9, 2008

    Will "the Thrill" Viahro, impresario of East Bay cult movie extravaganza "Thrillville," discusses the difference between "trash" and "garbage" in film.

  • Q & A

    Thomas Beard exposes "Live Cinema"

    Michael Fox
    Apr 7, 2008

    Bodies of work have emerged from the intersections of performance, film and electronic art. Cinematograph 7ÑLive Cinema: A Contemporary Reader, edited by Thomas Beard's provides thoughtful writing on the subject.

  • Festivals

    SF Int'l announces its 51st program and year-round screen

    Susan Gerhard
    Apr 1, 2008

    The SFIFF announced its 2008 program and the June 13 launch of its year-round programming on one screen at the Sundance Kabuki

  • Reviews

    SFMOMA's "Nonwestern Westerns" Series

    Dennis Harvey
    Mar 26, 2008

    A series of films at SFMOMA present an outsiders take on the outmoded American staple, the Western.

  • Reviews

    SFMOMA's "Nonwestern Westerns" Series

    Dennis Harvey
    Mar 26, 2008

    A series of films at SFMOMA present an outsiders take on the outmoded American staple, the Western.

  • Q & A

    "Girls Rock" with Arne Johnson & Shane King

    Susan Gerhard
    Mar 2, 2008

    Girls Rock watches a few select 8-18 -year-olds overcome the obstacles to claim their rightful place on Earth and wail away.

  • Reviews

    Undying Love for George A. Romero

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 14, 2008

    It probably wasn't Romero's original dream to become semi-famous for movies about the flesh-eating undead.

  • Reviews

    "Shrooms" Screams Bloody Horror

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 8, 2008

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

  • Reviews

    "Shrooms" Screams Bloody Horror

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 8, 2008

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

  • Reviews

    SFMOMA's Emile de Antonio Series

    B. Ruby Rich
    Jan 3, 2008

    As this retrospective makes clear, de Antonio's documentaries are a different species entirely from the kind of celebrity-driven, headline chasing theatricals now in favor.

  • Reviews

    Reviews: "Walk Hard"; "Charlie Wilson's War"

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 18, 2007

    Judd Apatow has come to so dominate American comedy that I often find myself thinking, "If only this movie had been written by Apatow..."

  • Q & A

    Jesse Hawthorne Ficks's Midnight Movie Empire

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 3, 2007

    Midnites for Maniacs unearths populist yet esoteric genre and exploitation flicks that have mostly disappeared into the netherworld of discarded VHS rental tapes.

  • Q & A

    Jesse Hawthorne Ficks's Midnight Movie Empire

    Dennis Harvey
    Dec 3, 2007

    Midnites for Maniacs unearths populist yet esoteric genre and exploitation flicks that have mostly disappeared into the netherworld of discarded VHS rental tapes.

  • Reviews

    "Hannah Takes the Stairs"

    Dennis Harvey
    Nov 27, 2007

    A perfect example of the emerging genre of improv-based, digitally shot, minimally budgeted seriocomedies about twentysomethings stumbling through, you know, relationship stuff.

  • Reviews

    A Sean Penn Top 10

    Susan Gerhard
    Sep 28, 2007

    Let SF360 count the ways Penn can take on the President, the paparazzi, and the possibilities for peace in our time.

  • Festivals

    SF Docfest Report

    Robert Avila
    Sep 27, 2007

    Reality, generally considered over-rated by the moving-going public, is the unapologetic core of SF DocFest.

  • Q & A

    Ariella Ben-Dov, Madcat Mastermind

    Susan Gerhard
    Sep 24, 2007

    As the Madcat Women's International Film Festival heads into its final stretch this coming week in San Francisco, SF360.org felt it was important to catch up with its chief curator, Ariella Ben-Dov.

  • Reviews

    Tomo Uchida at the PFA

    Matt Sussman
    Sep 19, 2007

    Does Tomo Uchida, whose retrospective is currently at the PFA, merit the same sort of reverent revival treatment that has been given many times over to other Japanese filmmakers of his generation?

  • Reviews

    "The King of Kong;" "2 Days in Paris"

    Dennis Harvey; Kristi Mitsuda
    Aug 21, 2007

    SF360.org reviews a masterpiece of train-wreck voyeurism and "Sunset" stripped.

  • Q & A

    'Joshua's' George Ratliff

    indieWIRE
    Jul 11, 2007

    George Ratliff talks about his first feature narrative Joshua, described by Sundance as a "horror story disguised as a sophisticated family drama."

  • Festivals

    Jackson Hole Film Festival

    Ben Friedland
    Jun 13, 2007

    Strangely enough, perhaps the most compelling reason to attend the Jackson Hole fest is precisely the reason not to see a film: Jackson Hole itself.

  • Reviews

    "The Prodigy," The Roxie, Delirium, God

    Michael Guillen
    May 30, 2007

    San Franciscans have a poignant symbiotic relationship with William Kaufman's freshman feature, The Prodigy, which returns to the city this week.

  • Reviews

    Dead Channels : The San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 19, 2007

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

  • Reviews

    Dead Channels : The San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film

    Dennis Harvey
    Apr 19, 2007

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

  • Reviews

    Reviews: 'Comedy of Power'

    Robert Avila
    Apr 17, 2007

    in Claude Chabrol's latest film, Isabelle Huppert plays a judge plunging headlong into a dangerous investigation of french corruption and gender dynamics.

  • Q & A

    Paul Verhoeven and His "Black Book"

    Howard Feinstein/indieWIRE
    Apr 13, 2007

    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.

  • Q & A

    Grace Lee on the Zombie in You and Me

    Miljenko Skoknic
    Mar 23, 2007

    Director Grace Lee talks about the personal horror movie genre in American Zombie and the ethical dilemmas documentary filmmakers face.

  • News & Blogs

    Signs of the Zodiac

    Susan Gerhard
    Feb 28, 2007

    As this week's blanket coverage of David Fincher's Zodiac shows, it's axiomatic that nothing intrigues San Franciscans more than San Francisco. And why not?

  • Reviews

    The Eye Candy of 'Tears of the Black Tiger'

    Dennis Harvey
    Feb 6, 2007

    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.

  • Festivals

    Noir City5, Fun with Dicks and Janes

    Robert Avila
    Jan 25, 2007

    A preview of the festival's rich program with festival's organizer Eddie Muller

  • Festivals

    Noir City5, Fun with Dicks and Janes

    Robert Avila
    Jan 25, 2007

    A preview of the festival's rich program with festival's organizer Eddie Muller

  • Festivals

    Indiefest Lineup Announcement

    Miljenko Skoknic
    Jan 19, 2007

    SF IndieFest's founder/director Jeff Ross announced the ninth edition of the Bay Area's indie showcase festival

  • Reviews

    "Samoan Wedding"; "Romantico"

    Robert Avila
    Jan 16, 2007

    A delightfully funny movie on boy-men redeeming themselves from New Zealand, and Mark Becker's absorbing documentary on a musician in the Mission.

  • Reviews

    Written and Directed by Preston Sturges

    Max Goldberg
    Dec 13, 2006

    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.

  • Q & A

    Frank Lee on 4 Star Theatre's Second Life

    Laura Irvine and Jennifer Young
    Dec 11, 2006

    Last week, theater operators Frank and Lida Lee won the battle to save the 4 Star, and announced they'd purchased the building.

  • Reviews

    Cheryl Eddy's Badder Santas

    Susan Gerhard
    Dec 1, 2006

    You can't imagine a critic like Cheryl Eddy,with her dazzlingly caustic skepticism, ever believed in Santa Claus.

  • Reviews

    Cheryl Eddy's Badder Santas

    Susan Gerhard
    Dec 1, 2006

    You can't imagine a critic like Cheryl Eddy,with her dazzlingly caustic skepticism, ever believed in Santa Claus.

  • Q & A

    A Word From Our Sponsored Films

    Max Goldberg
    Nov 28, 2006

    Collector and archivist Rick Prelinger puts on a show at the Other Cinema to celebrate his new book, A Field Guide to Sponsored Films.

  • Q & A

    Arnold On the Auction Block

    Michael Fox
    Oct 31, 2006

    Make a bid on Schwarzenegger's low-budget 1970 travesty, Hercules in New York.

  • Q & A

    Mary Woronov Visits Midnight Mass

    Dennis Harvey
    Aug 3, 2006

    An appreciation of the great actress of cult and mainstream films, before her appearance at a Midnight Mass screening of Death Race 2000.

  • Reviews

    Francois Ozon, Mortal

    B. Ruby Rich
    Aug 2, 2006

    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.

  • Q & A

    Adrian Belic and Just Think Youth Media Educators

    Susan Gerhard
    Jul 26, 2006

    Belic helped a group of youths learn about documentary filmmaking in a program designed to offer media skills to under-served Bay Area high schoolers.

  • Festivals

    Rare Horror

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 8, 2006

    Highlights from the 4th year ofAnother Hole in the Head, the S.F. Indiefest-produced celebration of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and just plain sick cinema.

  • Reviews

    "Songbirds" New Tune

    Dennis Harvey
    Jun 1, 2006

    Songbirds is a "documentary musical" Ñ something that sounds like a pure contradiction-in-terms until you actually see it.

  • Festivals

    Frameline's 30th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival

    Susan Gerhard
    May 23, 2006

    The 2006 program for the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival features an eclectic mix of genres and narrative types.


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