Funding: Catapult Film Fund

Nov 7, 2011

Catapult Film Fund provides early development funding to documentary filmmakers who have a compelling story to tell. It supports powerful stories, and moving storytelling, across a broad spectrum of issues and perspectives. ELIGIBILITY: Applicant must be 18 or older. Catapult Film Fund does not award grants for student films. Documentary projects must be 28 minutes or longer. Development funds must specifically be used to complete early writing, shooting and editing once story and characters are in place. Applicants must be independent producers. They must own the copyright of their production, and have artistic, budgetary and editorial control of their project. Applicants must have previous film or television production experience in a principal role as demonstrated by submitting previously completed work sample. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have successfully fund-raised for an independent documentary film, in line with its original budget. AWARDS: Catapult Film Fund development grants range from $5,000 to $20,000. DEADLINE: November 7, 2011. WEBSITE: catapultfilmfund.org/.

Opportunities: Center for Asian American Media Fellowship Program

Oct 17, 2011

Furthering CAAM's work to nurture Asian American media professionals and advance the field of Asian American media, the second annual CAAM Fellowship Program will connect young, talented individuals with leading professionals in the field. ELIGIBILITY: Participating fellows will have access to the leading Asian American talent in film, television and digital media. Each fellowship will be individually tailored to best fit the needs of the fellows and advisers. Fellowships will range from fully integrated collaborations to regular feedback on current projects to an ongoing dialogue about professional development. AWARDS: The CAAM Fellowship Program Retreat will allow the mentor-mentee pairs to spend two full days together in a quiet and peaceful environment where they can focus on the mentees' career, whether it is a script being developed or an acting career that needs some guidance. DEADLINE: October 17, 2011. WEBSITE: caamedia.org/filmmaker-resources/fellowship/caam-fellowship-program-2011/.

Funding: TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund

Oct 10, 2011

The TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund supports innovative film and video artists who are living or working in Mexico, Central and South America and working independently in their efforts to reach a larger audience. ELIGIBILITY: Submissions must be animation, documentary and/or hybrid feature-length films with an intended length of at least 70 minutes. Submissions must be in production or post-production and must not have aired on any form of television, been screened publicly or have been distributed in theaters or via the internet. Projects may be in any language or dialect. Applicants must be over 18 years old. Student films and stand-alone short films are not eligible for submission. $25 entry fee. AWARDS: Last year, the Fund administered $10,000 grants to four selected films. In addition to funding, each grantee will receive a U.S. based advisor and guidance from the Tribeca Film Institute. DEADLINE: October 10, 2011. WEBSITE: tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/latin_fund/.

‘New Environmentalists’ Salutes Gutsy Grassroots Guerillas

Michael Fox
Oct 7, 2011

Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.

‘New Environmentalists’ Salutes Gutsy Grassroots Guerillas

Michael Fox
Oct 7, 2011

Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.

‘New Environmentalists’ Salutes Gutsy Grassroots Guerillas

Michael Fox
Oct 7, 2011

Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.

TV Noir

Sep 30, 2011

Noir continues at the Roxie with Elliot Lavine's updated week-long program of star-studded classics and rediscovered TV noir rarities. More info at roxie.com.

TV Noir

Sep 30, 2011

Noir continues at the Roxie with Elliot Lavine's updated week-long program of star-studded classics and rediscovered TV noir rarities. More info at roxie.com.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

ITVS Celebrates 20th Tuned to Multi-Platform World

Michael Fox
Aug 24, 2011

Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.

Yoav Potash Takes 'Crime's' Case to Larger Audience

Judy Stone
Aug 1, 2011

Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.

Yoav Potash Takes 'Crime's' Case to Larger Audience

Judy Stone
Aug 1, 2011

Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.

Yoav Potash Takes 'Crime's' Case to Larger Audience

Judy Stone
Aug 1, 2011

Deborah Peagler's case in 'Crime After Crime' gets its time in court and on screen, with moving results.

ITVS's Indies Showcase

Jul 27, 2011

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Independent Television Service brings out an online festival, displaying 20 ITVS-supported docs between now and September 23. Representing only the tip of the iceberg of the locally based organization's vast film library, the festival features gems like 'Daughter from Danang,' 'King Corn' and 'The English Surgeon,' and screens the 20 films for three days each, for free. More info and scheduling at itvs.org.

Production Values: Michael Whalen

Adrianne Anderson
Jun 6, 2011

Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.

Production Values: Michael Whalen

Adrianne Anderson
Jun 6, 2011

Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.

Production Values: Michael Whalen

Adrianne Anderson
Jun 6, 2011

Whalen speaks from experience on the importance of story and drama in nonfiction filmmaking.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

‘Kiss the Cook’ Sparks Weidlinger’s Appetite

Michael Fox
Jun 1, 2011

Tom Weidlinger creates a cooking show that offers surprises for the slow-foodie.

ATA Film & Video Festival

Apr 20, 2011

Roxie Theater hosts Playback: ATA Film & Video Festival 2006-2010, a one-day event that showcases a selection of short films from the experimental media arts gallery. More at roxie.com.

Swimming in the Deep End of San Francisco International Film Festival

Max Goldberg
Apr 15, 2011

Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.

Swimming in the Deep End of San Francisco International Film Festival

Max Goldberg
Apr 15, 2011

Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.

Swimming in the Deep End of San Francisco International Film Festival

Max Goldberg
Apr 15, 2011

Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.

Swimming in the Deep End of San Francisco International Film Festival

Max Goldberg
Apr 15, 2011

Films in the 54th SFIFF immerse viewers in distant times, unique places.

Haynes Reaches Mainstream with Thoroughly Modern ‘Mildred’

Michael Fox
Mar 27, 2011

Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.

Haynes Reaches Mainstream with Thoroughly Modern ‘Mildred’

Michael Fox
Mar 27, 2011

Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.

Haynes Reaches Mainstream with Thoroughly Modern ‘Mildred’

Michael Fox
Mar 27, 2011

Todd Haynes talks melodrama, movies, TV, the Great Depression and personal motivation.

Merk Mixes ‘Cocktails’ for Television

Michael Fox
Mar 23, 2011

Ron Merk sends a San Francisco-set series into the ring.

Merk Mixes ‘Cocktails’ for Television

Michael Fox
Mar 23, 2011

Ron Merk sends a San Francisco-set series into the ring.

Merk Mixes ‘Cocktails’ for Television

Michael Fox
Mar 23, 2011

Ron Merk sends a San Francisco-set series into the ring.

Carl Theodor Dreyer Series Continues

Nov 16, 2010

The Pacific Film Archive’s series on film giant Carl Theodor Dreyer continues well into the month December and showcases the Danish director’s greatest achievements. Dreyer’s influence on cinema is colossal and ageless as proven in Lars Von Trier’s ‘Medea,’ which he directed for television decades after Dreyer penned the original screenplay. Dreyer’s ‘Michael’ precedes ‘Medea.’ ‘The Master of the House,’ and ‘Leaves from Satan’s Book’ also screen this weekend. More at bampfa.berkeley.edu.

'Sesame Street at 40: Milestones on the Street'

Oct 1, 2010

YBCA shows its programming breadth, moving from Charles Ludlam and Robert Gardner to this celebration of the iconic children's show as part of a series highlighting the legendary Jim Henson.

Lixin Fan's 'Train' Arrives

Michael Fox
Sep 20, 2010

The creator of award-winning documentary 'Last Train Home' speaks about the new China.

Lixin Fan's 'Train' Arrives

Michael Fox
Sep 20, 2010

The creator of award-winning documentary 'Last Train Home' speaks about the new China.

Lixin Fan's 'Train' Arrives

Michael Fox
Sep 20, 2010

The creator of award-winning documentary 'Last Train Home' speaks about the new China.

Essential SF: 'Berkeley in the Sixties,' 'Brother Outsider,' 'Weather Underground'

Michael Fox
Jul 28, 2010

Three Bay Area documentaries correct the historical record.

Essential SF: 'Berkeley in the Sixties,' 'Brother Outsider,' 'Weather Underground'

Michael Fox
Jul 28, 2010

Three Bay Area documentaries correct the historical record.

Essential SF: 'Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Crumb,' 'Cockettes'

Michael Fox
Jul 23, 2010

Three films document essential chunks of San Francisco's tragic and mythic past, told in empathetic but non-hagiographic testimony.

Essential SF: 'Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Crumb,' 'Cockettes'

Michael Fox
Jul 23, 2010

Three films document essential chunks of San Francisco's tragic and mythic past, told in empathetic but non-hagiographic testimony.

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.

Do You Pass the Test?

George Rush
Apr 26, 2010

You are awesome. Spectacular, incredible, interesting, accomplished and generally just way awesome. Everyone wants to hear every possible thing there is to know about you.

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.

Karim Ahmad on ITVS's Forward-Thinking FUTURESTATES

Adam Hartzell
Mar 21, 2010

Think of U.S. public television and science fiction or any type of fiction doesn't spring to mind. ITVS aims to change that perception with a series of mini-features.

Stephen Talbot's World Music

Ryan Prendiville
Jan 24, 2010

Stephen Talbot left PBS s Frontline World to create and develop original media properties, including a globe-trotting TV series about world music.

Stephen Talbot's World Music

Ryan Prendiville
Jan 24, 2010

Stephen Talbot left PBS s Frontline World to create and develop original media properties, including a globe-trotting TV series about world music.

After Sept. 11, 2001, A Decade Found Its Way

B. Ruby Rich
Dec 23, 2009

On Sept. 13, 2001, I stood in a Toronto park and spoke to Canadian television: Movies wouldn't be the same. I was wrong.

Legal Eagle Eye Kristine Enea Zooms 'Off the Grid'

Michael Fox
Dec 8, 2009

Kristine Enea's documentary shows The EcoCenter, a San Francisco environmental educational facility that treats and recycles wastewater and generates its own solar power.

The Sad Dance of 'Tony Manero'

Michael Guillen
Sep 9, 2009

Chilean director Pablo Larraín offers insight into his sophomore feature, Tony Manero, on a man obsessed with the idea of impersonating John Travolta.

Ellen Schneider's Active Voice

Michael Fox
Aug 31, 2009

Ellen Schneider speaks on the impact of social-issue documentaries and her San Francisco-based strategic communications company Active Voice.

Hess, Janos and the Volunteers of America

Michael Fox
Aug 25, 2009

With in-process Volunteer Nation: Stories of Service, veteran producer-directors Ben Hess and Dan Janos are mobilizing the millennials.

'A Wake for Analog'

Jonathan Kiefer
May 21, 2009

A Wake for Analog honors analog experimental films like Patrolling the Ether, Bassline Baseline and Zuse Strip.

Back to Nature with Ben Rivers

Dennis Harvey
Mar 27, 2009

Ben Rivers makes his Bay Area debut this week presenting in person two programs, both providing a slightly dislocative experience at once tranquil and sinister.

Back to Nature with Ben Rivers

Dennis Harvey
Mar 27, 2009

Ben Rivers makes his Bay Area debut this week presenting in person two programs, both providing a slightly dislocative experience at once tranquil and sinister.

Funder as Supplicant

John R. Killacky
Jan 20, 2009

First-Person: A program officer at the San Francisco Foundation has a sobering experience making a documentary.

Stephen Olsson and Link TV

Michael Fox
Aug 17, 2008

SF360.org talks to the senior director of original programming at Link TV, which provides an antidote to the standard television news mix.

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.

Capelle on Composers: Day Two

Staff
May 2, 2008

Errol Morris has a giant brain. Anybody who wants to argue against that thesis does not have a giant brain. So let's move on.

SFIFF51: Craig Baldwin Shoots the Moon, and the Desert

Michael Fox
Apr 18, 2008

The Mission filmmaker has slaved in the underground for some three decades, a guide and shaman for other artists working on the fringes.

SFIFF51: Renee Tajima- Pe–a's trip down “Calavera Highway'

Michael Fox
Apr 15, 2008

If making a movie about one’s family could be equated with a fire-walk in August, then making a documentary about one’s partner’s family might be akin to a midsummer sauna. Yet veteran L.A. filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pe–a (Who Killed Vincent Chin?) signed on to a road trip with her husband from L.A. to Washington state to Texas in search of "la verdad" about the father that abandoned Armando’s mother Rosa and his six brothers several decades ago. An intimate and elegantly crafted work of cinema verita, Calavera Highway encompasses universal familial tensions, Mexican-American identity, the responsibilities of fathers (and sons) and the psychic malleability of map-drawn borders.



Tajima-Pe–a, who’s an associate professor at UC Santa Cruz, will receive the Golden Gate Award for long-form television documentary at the S.F. International Film Festival, where Calavera Highway screens three times in early May. Via email, she talked about searching for "Calaveras" hidden in closets and elsewhere.

"A Genuine Tribute to Peter Bogdanovich"

Max Goldberg
Mar 5, 2008

"A Genuine Tribute to Peter Bogdanovich" is a major coup for Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, after all these years later, he's ready for a retrospective of his own.

Berlin & Beyond at 13

Michael Fox
Jan 10, 2008

The Goethe-Institut's festival offers a pointed reminder that Germany, Austria and Switzerland aren't just in the center of Europe, but in the middle of international cinema.

Jamie Meltzer on "Welcome to Nollywood"

Michael Fox
Oct 8, 2007

Jamie Meltzer talks about his new film on Nigeria, where the digital revolution enables entrepreneurs to churn out movies quickly and inexpensively.

Five from Madcat

Susan Gerhard
Sep 14, 2007

Here are a few quick takes on programs that look particularly worthwhile at Madcat.

Off the Lot With Mateen Kemet

Matt Sussman
Aug 28, 2007

SF360.org caught up with the Oakland director, who was one of seven finalists on the Fox reality show On the Lot.

Fabulous Fashion in Film

Dennis Harvey
Jul 26, 2007

Elegant screen sartorial highs and garishly campy lows alike will be well-represented in an eight-day series on fashion at the Castro.

"American Cannibal" and Reality TV

Claire Faggioli
Jun 22, 2007

List: American Cannibal documents two down on their luck television writers, Gil Ripley and Dave Roberts, as they sell their souls to the reality television circuit.

The art of Muppetry

Claire Faggioli
Jun 21, 2007

Muppets, Music, and Magic, a Jim Henson career retrospective pleases not only Muppet-lovers but also people whose tastes stretch beyond.

Dan Klores and "Crazy Love"

indieWIRE
Jun 4, 2007

Industy vets will identify Klores with his PR firm, but he's also produced and directed TV docs and Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story.

"Alternative Visions" at the PFA

Johnny Ray Huston
Feb 15, 2007

The Pacific Film Archive's standing as a cinema-centric educational institution brings the avant-garde into conversation with a broad program of film history.

Cheryl Eddy, Behind the New "SF360 Movie Scene"

Susan Gerhard
Feb 5, 2007

The latest launch under the SF Film Society's SF360 banner premieres this week on ComcastSF, Channel 11.

Music Videos At the Museum

Max Goldberg
Nov 29, 2006

MTV's boat has long since sailed, but music videos are as ubiquitous on YouTube and Myspace as YBCA brings music videos to its downstairs gallery.

KQED's Wild West in "Truly CA"

Justin Juul
Nov 16, 2006

The weekly series is a platform for independent filmmakers in California, showcasing short and full-length documentaries about the state.

Mary Badham, On a "Mockingbird" Mission

Laura Irvine
Nov 13, 2006



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