-
News & Blogs
Balboa Theatre Saved: SFNTF Partners With Gary Meyer to Keep Theatre Open
Oct 27, 2011Press release: The San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Gary Meyer to keep the City’s historic Balboa Theatre (1926) open and to develop a sustainable long-term plan for the theater. The Theater Foundation also announced it has reached an agreement to lease the theater through 2024—securing the future of one of San Francisco’s oldest operating cinemas. More at sfntf.org.
-
Home
Turturro Makes a Case for 'Passione'
Max Goldberg
Sep 29, 2011John Turturro shares his passion for the Neapolitan songbook.
-
Reviews
Turturro Makes a Case for 'Passione'
Max Goldberg
Sep 29, 2011John Turturro shares his passion for the Neapolitan songbook.
-
September 29 2011
Turturro Makes a Case for 'Passione'
Max Goldberg
Sep 29, 2011John Turturro shares his passion for the Neapolitan songbook.
-
September 13 2011
Donizetti's 'Elixir of Love,' the Movie
Sep 17, 2011The San Francisco Opera & CFI Education co-present a one-hour kid-friendly version of the famous opera at the Smith Rafael Film Center, along with educational take-home materials and an introduction by SF Opera staff. Free this Saturday, more info cafilm.org.
-
August 2, 2011
'Carmen Jones' with Kalup Linzy
Aug 8, 2011SFMOMA's Opera on Film series continues with a screening of Otto Preminger's 'Carmen Jones,' based on George Bizet's 'Carmen' but recast as a WWII-era yarn with an all-black cast featuring Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, who received an Oscar nom for her performance. Screening will be preceded by an introduction and live performance by entrancing New York artist Kalup Linzy. More info at sfmoma.org.
-
July 19, 2011
'Diva'
Jul 21, 2011SF Museum of Modern Art's Opera on Film series screens Jean-Jacques Beineix's under-appreciated 'Diva' on Thursday. The Caesar Award-winning romance/thriller hybrid deftly handles a complex, opera-centric plot littered with brilliant pop-art inspired chase scenes and features a number of standout performances, including those by Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon and real-life opera singer Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez. More info sfmoma.org.
-
News & Blogs
SF Chronicle: 'Gary Meyer Leaving Balboa Theatre'
Jul 21, 2011"Balboa Theatre operator Gary Meyer said Wednesday that this summer will be his last at the Richmond District movie house, leaving the future of the scrappy independent theater in doubt," reports Peter Hartlaub. More at sfgate.com.
-
News & Blogs
Red Vic Movie House to Close July 25
Jul 7, 2011The Red Vic collective announced today that after 31 years of continuous operation as a cooperatively-run, single screen neighborhood theater, the theater will be closing its doors July 25.
-
Home
Graham Leggat Steps Down as Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society
Jul 5, 2011Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
-
July 7, 2011
Graham Leggat Steps Down as Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society
Jul 5, 2011Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
-
News & Blogs
Graham Leggat Steps Down as Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society
Jul 5, 2011Film Society’s leader for more than five years resigns due to health issues.
-
Home
Soap-Operatic 'Bride Flight' Is an Entertaining Ride
Dennis Harvey
Jun 10, 2011An 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, 2011An 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, 2011An historical-romantic novel in screen form, 'Bride Flight' offers all the pleasures (some guilty ones) of a film made half a century ago.
-
Home
'Into Eternity' Ponders a Present-Day Paradox
Susan Gerhard
May 27, 2011Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
-
June 2, 2011
'Into Eternity' Ponders a Present-Day Paradox
Susan Gerhard
May 27, 2011Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
-
Reviews
'Into Eternity' Ponders a Present-Day Paradox
Susan Gerhard
May 27, 2011Danish filmmaker/artist Michael Madsen turns questions around a European nuclear-waste project into an operatic doc.
-
Home
The Unsinkable Joel Hodgson Floats New Show
Damon O'Donnell
May 6, 2011Mystery 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, 2011Mystery 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, 2011Mystery Science Theater returns to the Castro in the form of ‘Cinematic Titanic.’ Fans rejoice.
-
April 7, 2011
The Power of ‘Poetry’
Adam Hartzell
Apr 7, 2011A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
-
Home
The Power of ‘Poetry’
Adam Hartzell
Apr 7, 2011A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
-
Reviews
The Power of ‘Poetry’
Adam Hartzell
Apr 7, 2011A South Korean gem, Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Poetry’ inspires.
-
Home
Seely Treks Long Distances for Shorts
Michael Fox
Mar 16, 2011Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
-
In Production
Seely Treks Long Distances for Shorts
Michael Fox
Mar 16, 2011Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
-
March 17, 2011
Seely Treks Long Distances for Shorts
Michael Fox
Mar 16, 2011Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
-
Home
SFIAFF Director Primed for Debut
Michael Fox
Mar 7, 2011Masashi Niwano, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival's new director, speaks about bringing new worlds to this world cinema event.
-
March 10, 2011
SFIAFF Director Primed for Debut
Michael Fox
Mar 7, 2011Masashi Niwano, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival's new director, speaks about bringing new worlds to this world cinema event.
-
Q & A
SFIAFF Director Primed for Debut
Michael Fox
Mar 7, 2011Masashi Niwano, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival's new director, speaks about bringing new worlds to this world cinema event.
-
Home
Costa's 'Ne change rien' Captures Singer's Dreaminess, Rigor
Sara Dosa
Jan 20, 2011A Portuguese filmmaker builds a rich visual landscape from French singer Jeanne Balibar's vocal practice.
-
January 20, 2011
Costa's 'Ne change rien' Captures Singer's Dreaminess, Rigor
Sara Dosa
Jan 20, 2011A Portuguese filmmaker builds a rich visual landscape from French singer Jeanne Balibar's vocal practice.
-
Reviews
Costa's 'Ne change rien' Captures Singer's Dreaminess, Rigor
Sara Dosa
Jan 20, 2011A Portuguese filmmaker builds a rich visual landscape from French singer Jeanne Balibar's vocal practice.
-
Festivals
New Italian Cinema Puts Focus on Ferzan Ozpetek
Dennis Harvey
Nov 14, 2010'When in Rome,' or outside it: NIC offers fresh voices, new locations.
-
Home
New Italian Cinema Puts Focus on Ferzan Ozpetek
Dennis Harvey
Nov 14, 2010'When in Rome,' or outside it: NIC offers fresh voices, new locations.
-
November 11, 2010
New Italian Cinema Puts Focus on Ferzan Ozpetek
Dennis Harvey
Nov 14, 2010'When in Rome,' or outside it: NIC offers fresh voices, new locations.
-
November 18, 2010
New Italian Cinema Puts Focus on Ferzan Ozpetek
Dennis Harvey
Nov 14, 2010'When in Rome,' or outside it: NIC offers fresh voices, new locations.
-
Festivals
Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments
Max Goldberg
Oct 22, 2010A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
-
Home
Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments
Max Goldberg
Oct 22, 2010A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
-
October 28, 2010
Berlin & Beyond Provides Genius Genre Treatments
Max Goldberg
Oct 22, 2010A pair of expert heist films top Berlin & Beyond.
-
August 10 2010
'Madame Butterfly' in High-Def
Aug 12, 2010As a final curtain call for the summer-long Grand Opera Cinema Series, the California Film Institute and San Francisco opera present a chance to see an encore high -definition recording of Madame Butterfly at the Rafael Film Center on August 12-14.
-
Home
Essential SF: 'Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Crumb,' 'Cockettes'
Michael Fox
Jul 23, 2010Three films document essential chunks of San Francisco's tragic and mythic past, told in empathetic but non-hagiographic testimony.
-
In Depth
Essential SF: 'Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Crumb,' 'Cockettes'
Michael Fox
Jul 23, 2010Three films document essential chunks of San Francisco's tragic and mythic past, told in empathetic but non-hagiographic testimony.
-
Q & A
On the Road with 'Joan,' Stern and Sundberg Talk Big Picture
Michael Fox
Jun 14, 2010The makers of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work speak about their latest, as well as the state of documentary filmmaking.
-
In Production
Koppelman Maps International Cybercrime, Cuban Opera
Michael Fox
Jun 9, 2010Charles Koppelman's documentary in progress, Zero Day, exposes each of three threats to the Internet: cybercrime, cyberespionage and cyberwarfare.
-
Reviews
The Roxie's New Leadership
Michael Fox
Apr 21, 2010The Statton era has begun. Kate and Chris Statton have officially assumed the positions of co-executive directors of the venerable Mission District cinema.
-
Festivals
Words from Sundance Staffers: Jesse Dubus
Hilary Hart
Jan 28, 2010Hilary Hart, who annually holds down the late-night shift at the Egyptian at Sundance, offers interviews with fellow workers at the festival.
-
Festivals
Words from Sundance Staffers: Krissy Bailey
Hilary Hart
Jan 27, 2010Hilary Hart, who annually holds down the late-night shift at the Egyptian at Sundance, offers interviews with fellow workers at the festival.
-
Festivals
Words from Sundance Staffers: Robyn Arville
Hilary Hart
Jan 27, 2010Hilary Hart, who annually holds down the late-night shift at the Egyptian at Sundance, offers interviews with fellow workers at the festival.
-
Reviews
Workin' It: 'La Danse" and "Everything Strange and New'
Michael Fox
Dec 4, 2009Frederick Wiseman documents the frantic routine of choreographers for the Paris Opera Ballet as Frazer Bradshaw gives a more familiar portrayal of workplace satisfaction.
-
Q & A
Roy Andersson on "You, the Living"
Erik Augustin Palm
Sep 25, 2009A study in contrasts, Everyman and intellectual, Roy Andersson speaks about his career and new film, You, the Living.
-
Q & A
Shelley Diekman Reflects on Well-Spent life
Hilary Hart
Jul 27, 2009Newly-retired Pacific Film Archive publicist Shelley Diekman discusses her cinephile tastes, her past and her future.
-
In Production
Recession-Proof Theaters, to a Point
Michael Fox
May 14, 2009Arthouse theaters like The Roxie, Red Vic and The Balboa resist the economic downturn and adjust calendars to meet audience demands.
-
Q & A
SFIFF52: Light and Saraf's 'Empress Hotel'
David Winks Gray
Apr 13, 2009Local filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf's latest film Empress Hotel delves into the lives of the residents at the titular building, a Tenderloin housing facility for the recently homeless. The film makes visible an area many city dwellers may only experience in the fringe of their consciousness and provides insight into the lives of the residents within.
-
Festivals
SF International Film Festival Lineup
Susan Gerhard
Mar 31, 2009The two weeks of programs offers 151 films from 55 countries, awards and prices, and a wide array of San Francisco talent, from legendary names to the fledgling artists.
-
Q & A
'Medicine for Melancholy' in the City it Re-discovered
Michael Fox
Mar 5, 2009Barry Jenkins talks abut his background, making movies in San Francisco and the issues of black identity, assimilation and gentrification, which are at the heart of his film.
-
Digital
Basics of Web 3.0?
Hannah Eaves
Oct 31, 2008The 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.
-
Reviews
'Full Battle Rattle' On the Endless War
Matt Sussman
Oct 16, 2008Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss's film candidly explores 'the ground truth' of Iraq without setting foot in the country.
-
Festivals
SFIAF: 'Mordake' and Week Two -- Reviewed, Previewed
Robert Avila
May 28, 2008Composer Erling Wold's solo chamber opera enjoys a thrillingly intimate world premiere this week under the banner of the San Francisco International Arts Festival.
-
Festivals
SFIAF: 'Mordake' and Week Two -- Reviewed, Previewed
Robert Avila
May 28, 2008Composer Erling Wold's solo chamber opera enjoys a thrillingly intimate world premiere this week under the banner of the San Francisco International Arts Festival.
-
Festivals
S.F. International Arts Festival
Robert Avila
May 23, 2008In addition to bringing a host of worldwide performers to the Bay Area for the first time, the San Francisco International Arts Festival (May 2-June 8), now in its fifth year, has become an indispensable showcase for collaborative work by leading Bay Area artists and their peers across all manner of geographical, cultural and disciplinary borders. The more than 40 performances in this year’s lineup, taking place at 14 separate venues across the city and in Berkeley, span the worlds of dance, music, opera, theater, visual arts and multidisciplinary work. The following four highlights are all hybrid productions with strong film and/or video components.
-
Q & A
The Doctor and the Documentarian Behind "The English Surgeon"
Jennifer Preissel
May 19, 2008When The English Surgeon had its U.S. premiere at the SFIFF this month, Geoffrey Smith and Henry Marsh received a standing ovation.
-
Reviews
Finding Warren Sonbert
Max Goldberg
May 14, 2008Unlike 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.
-
Festivals
"Standard Operating Procedure" and the Stories We Tell
Staff
May 9, 2008Joan Didion famously said, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." We've internalized the American narrative of Abu Ghraib and accepted its implications.
-
Festivals
Capelle on Composers: Day Two
Staff
May 2, 2008Errol Morris has a giant brain. Anybody who wants to argue against that thesis does not have a giant brain. So let's move on.
-
Festivals
In Other Words: Standard Operating Procedure
Staff
Apr 30, 2008Joan Didion famously said, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." We have internalized the narrative of Abu Ghraib and accepted its implications.
-
Q & A
SFIFF51: Katherin McInnis Cues the Carnival Music
Jennifer Preissel
Apr 28, 2008The longtime Bay Area resident, who recently relocated to Brooklyn, screens Woodward's Gardens in the shorts program "In A Lonely Place: New Experimental Cinema."
-
Festivals
SF Int'l announces its 51st program and year-round screen
Susan Gerhard
Apr 1, 2008The SFIFF announced its 2008 program and the June 13 launch of its year-round programming on one screen at the Sundance Kabuki
-
Festivals
SF Indiefest, From Day One
Eve O'Neill
Feb 13, 2008Despite the blanket of financial and technical doom constantly smothering Independent Filmdom, Indiefest serves as a satisfying reminder that great indie film isn't going anywhere.
-
Reviews
Review: "Diva"
Dennis Harvey
Dec 4, 2007How does Jean-Jacques Beineix's breakthrough hold up a quarter-century later, duly remastered and freshly subtitle-translated?
-
Reviews
"In Search of Mozart"
Max Goldberg
Sep 25, 2007"In Search of Mozart" is a comprehensive overview of the composer's generous genius and one of the finest examples of the PBS-style, talking heads-and-cutaways documentaries in recent memory.
-
Q & A
Ariella Ben-Dov, Madcat Mastermind
Susan Gerhard
Sep 24, 2007As 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.
-
Q & A
Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart"
SF360.org
Jun 18, 2007The prolific British director, known for a large and eclectic body of work, has done something very unusual in the past half decade.
-
Festivals
Picturing Politics at SFIFF50
Robert Avila
May 1, 2007A shot in Wonders Are Many makes visual reference to Guernica as shorthand for art's charge to speak for the voiceless.
-
Q & A
Jon Else On Acts of Creation
Michael Fox
Apr 23, 2007Wonders 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.
-
Q & A
The Red Vic Movie House's Top 5
Susan Gerhard
Feb 9, 2007We asked the collectively owned and operated theater to come up with a list of their five favorite screenings over the years.
-
Reviews
"Absolute Wilson"; "Army of Shadows"
Robert Avila
Jan 9, 2007A documentary provides an in-depth description of Robert Wilson's life and art. Melville's spy story on a Resistance cell in Nazi-occupied French challenges our idea of heroism.
-
Q & A
"Man Push Cart" Director's New York-by-Way-of-Pakistan Story
Brian Brooks/indieWIRE
Dec 4, 2006Ramin Bahrani's debut feature follows a solitary, quiet immigrant struggling to make a go of it in New York City.
-
Reviews
The Mafia Doc "Excellent Cadavers"
Dennis Harvey
Nov 2, 2006Who knows what the Mafia, or Cosa Nostra as it's called in Sicily, is really like? Marco Turco's really-real chronicle, Excellent Cadavers.
-
Q & A
MPAA in Sights of This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Michael Fox
Sep 12, 2006Filmmaker Kirby Dick talks about censorship, and discrimination against independent films.
-
Festivals
Arab Film Festival 2006
Robert Avila
Sep 7, 2006Executive director Bashir Anastas discusses this year's lineup.
Follow Us on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook© Copyright 2024 San Francisco Film Society