Film 2010: Moments, Trends, Docs and the Best of the Bay Area

The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.

Film 2010: Moments, Trends, Docs and the Best of the Bay Area

The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.

Film 2010: Moments, Trends, Docs and the Best of the Bay Area

The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.

Film 2010: Moments, Trends, Docs and the Best of the Bay Area

The Bay Area film community sounds off on the best/worst trends, times, docs and Bay Area-made films of 2010.

Film 2010: Think Globally, View Locally

Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.

Film 2010: Think Globally, View Locally

Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.

Film 2010: Think Globally, View Locally

Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.

Film 2010: Think Globally, View Locally

Why one local cineaste has made a resolution to support his local theater, the Bridge.

'Left in the Dark' Savors the Bay Area's Cinema Past, Present

Photo/essay book 'Left in the Dark' offers a way in—and out of—San Francisco cinema's rich, gritty, glamorous past.

'Left in the Dark' Savors the Bay Area's Cinema Past, Present

Photo/essay book 'Left in the Dark' offers a way in—and out of—San Francisco cinema's rich, gritty, glamorous past.

'Left in the Dark' Savors the Bay Area's Cinema Past, Present

Photo/essay book 'Left in the Dark' offers a way in—and out of—San Francisco cinema's rich, gritty, glamorous past.

Reeling in the Years with the Red Vic

Look back in (anything but) anger: Members of the Red Vic Collective wax nostalgic on wild times, amazing meals and surprise visits from the theater's biggest fan, Danny Glover.

Reeling in the Years with the Red Vic

Look back in (anything but) anger: Members of the Red Vic Collective wax nostalgic on wild times, amazing meals and surprise visits from the theater's biggest fan, Danny Glover.

Reeling in the Years with the Red Vic

Look back in (anything but) anger: Members of the Red Vic Collective wax nostalgic on wild times, amazing meals and surprise visits from the theater's biggest fan, Danny Glover.

'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.

'Strand' Follows Thread to Rep Cinema's Glory Days

In Strand: A Natural History of Cinema, Christian Bruno pays homage to the pivotal and shifting role of movie theaters in San Francisco's cultural life.

'Strand' Follows Thread to Rep Cinema's Glory Days

In Strand: A Natural History of Cinema, Christian Bruno pays homage to the pivotal and shifting role of movie theaters in San Francisco's cultural life.

Bollywood By the Bay

Every morning I wake up with Bollywood movie tunes going through my head. Every. Single. Morning.

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks's Midnight Movie Empire

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

Dead Channels : The San Francisco Festival of Fantastic Film

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.

The Red Vic Movie House's Top 5

We asked the collectively owned and operated theater to come up with a list of their five favorite screenings over the years.

Frank Lee on 4 Star Theatre's Second Life

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

Teshigahara at The Castro

Filmmaking was just one among many creative outlets for Japanese multimedia artist Hiroshi Teshigahara.

50 Years of Janus Films

It doesn't seem like a stretch to group Janus with those American institutions which have represented a vision of what art is and can be.

Mary Badham, On a "Mockingbird" Mission

I was six months old when I went to my first movie — and I swear I remember images from it. You see, I sometimes have flashes of shots from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but all of them are upside-down. My mother tells me that I saw the film from a bassinette on the theater seat — thus began my life-long love affair with the film. I grew up in Alabama, which is also the setting of the book and the film. Every year, one of the three television stations we received would show “To Kill a Mockingbird.” My mom would gather the whole family in front of the TV, and we would watch the film — again. One year, it was opposite the Super Bowl. Now, the two things you don’t mess around with in the South are religion and football. But despite my brothers’ pleas, Atticus Finch took precedence over the Super Bowl at our house.

What is it about this film that — even today — inspires such devotion? Mary Badham, who played the memorable tomboy, Scout, believes as long as racism, bigotry, and intolerance exist, the film and the book provide a starting point for discussion and self-examination. Hence her own dedication to a film that has remained a driving part of her life for over 40 years — a dedication which prompted her to travel the world with the film sharing her experiences while making the film, growing up in the South, and fighting to spread the film’s message of tolerance and compassion. Badham visits San Francisco with the Marc Huestis program “In Praise of Mockingbirds,” Sun/19 at the Castro. I got a chance to speak with her last week.

SF360: Despite the fact that you never acted before, why do you think the filmmakers cast you as Scout?

Mary Badham: I think because I was a tomboy. The coloring was right. I looked like I could have been Gregory Peck’s daughter. I had a real big imagination as a kid — which they were looking for. The haircut was right. Everything they were lookin’ for just kind of jelled in me. They wanted kids who were real Southern children who were very natural and not actors.

SF360: When I watch the film, I’m struck by how natural you seem with Phillip Alford (who plays Scout’s brother Jem) and John Megna (Dill). It feels like we’re watching a real brother and sister.

Badham: Yes, they would let that happen on the set naturally because here were John and Phillip, and John just idolized Phillip and followed him around like a puppy dog. And here was this ratty little girl who wanted to get in the middle of whatever they were doing. You know, I just wanted somebody else to play with. And so, evidently we would have these big fights — I don’t remember any of it, but Phillip seems to think we fought all the time.

SF360: Phillip says he tried to kill you by rolling you in the tire toward a truck.

Badham: (Laughing.) Yeah, when it came to the tire scene they were so excited because ‘Oh, finally we can get rid of this menace.’ They thought they were going to do away with me. Too bad, so sad.

SF360: It’s seems like many women, including myself, see themselves in Scout. Why do you think the character is so memorable to women and girls?

Badham: I think because she was allowed to just be herself. Even Miss Dubose fussed at Atticus because he allowed her to wear the clothes that her brother had outgrown. But it was the Depression, a dress at that point would have been very expensive and money was in tight supply. And the fact that she was so educated. Atticus let her read and had real conversations with her. That’s the main role of a parent — to engage their children in conversation and teach them basically how to function in an adult world. Scout took to that tooth and nail. She wasn’t cut in the same mold as the little proper Southern young lady who had to wear dresses and not discuss anything important. It was that way even when I was growing up. Women were to be seen but not heard. They were not engaged intellectually much. So for Scout to be able to put her ideas out there, to see her think through situations is really important because you don’t see that very often. Most children when they would ask a question — I see it today with parents working and being tight on time — parents will be short with their kids… not wanting to engage the kids in conversation because they’re tired and they don’t have time. But that’s so critically important. I think that’s what we see with Atticus. He does engage his children in conversation, and he does try and let them think through situations and expand on them.

SF360: And that’s especially true in this film wi