The latest short film from San Francisco State University student and Sunset District resident Sam Goldberg premiers at the Balboa Theatre as part of Another Hole In The Head Film Festival’s Strictly Local lineup on Dec. 7. Fellow students Lee Ivy Voisin and Julia Li helped produce the film in conjunction with the school’s professional cinematic society, Delta Kappa Alpha.
Seeing millions of bats flying around at sunset might make a lot of people run away in horror. In contrast, Richmond District native Kristin Tièche draws inspiration from the spectacle of nature to continue working on her film about the flying mammals.
San Francisco movie-goers lined Clement Street on July 14, waiting their turn to file into the 4 Star Theater. While CinemaSF’s newest theater often has movie festivals, the tone of this one felt a bit different. Shelley Duvall, “one of the greatest actresses of all time,” according to the 4 Star’s website, passed away on July 11.
Jessie Fairbanks, director of programming for SFFILM, swiftly entered the Laureate Bar and Lounge at the Laurel Inn on opening night of the mini-festival, Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5), wearing a modern and professional outfit (black jeans, black crew-neck sweater over an orange blouse with an exaggerated Peter Pan collar and low-heeled black slides).
San Francisco Recreation and Park’s Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusion Services division hosted its first sensory-friendly movie on Nov. 4 at the Balboa Theater in the Outer Richmond for children, teens and young adults who signed up for Therapeutic Recreation Family Day.
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, co-directing, co-producing and co-writing partners since 1978, are promoting their latest documentary, “Música!” during the fall film festival circuit. Despite winning Oscars, Emmys and a Grammy, creating and releasing new work never gets old.
After decades of historical film he shot sat untouched in his basement, Richmond District resident Rev. Harry Chuck, with the help of his son filmmaker Josh Chuck, who lives in the Sunset District, is finally ready to show it to the world in the new documentary “Chinatown Rising” at the 4 Star Theater.
After decades of historical film he shot sat untouched in his basement, Richmond District resident Rev. Harry Chuck, with the help of his son filmmaker Josh Chuck, who lives in the Sunset District, is finally ready to show it to the world in the new documentary “Chinatown Rising” at the 4 Star Theater.
In the nearly nine years that it took to complete her first feature-length documentary, “How to Have an American Baby,” it was just Leslie Tai and her camera capturing all facets of the underground birth tourism industry. The director/producer/cinematographer/editor stayed with pregnant women from China, who were living in suburban Los Angeles maternity hotels.
As promised last time, I will talk about “The Mother and the Whore” (1973) and “The Role of Her Life” (2004), the last two on Mick LaSalle’s list of the the first 10 films that came to mind when he was asked by a reader what he would include in a “masterpieces of film” festival. Both are in French with English subtitles.
“The Creative High” will be screening at the San Francisco Main Public Library at 100 Larkin St. in the Koret Auditorium on May 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. There will be a Q&A session with filmmakers and artist subjects afterwards. FREE and open to the public.
Continuing on with the list of Mick LaSalle’s 10 masterpieces, (see last month’s column), I tried in vain to find “After Midnight” on Roku. I searched on Norma Shearer and they had a dozen of her films available but “After Midnight” was not one of them. It will remain an unknown silent masterpiece, at least to me.
A reader asked San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle, “If you hosted ‘Mick’s Masterpieces Film Festival,’ what films would you include in your program?” Here are his suggestions.
“Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles,” made in 1975 and written and directed by Chantel Ackerman “has become required viewing for informed cineastes, after topping the most recent Sight and Sound poll of the greatest movies of all time,” according to Mick LaSalle, film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle’s (Sunday Datebook, Jan. 8, 2023).
By Noma Faingold Longtime partners in life and in documentary filmmaking, Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow sat cozily close together, sipping frothy coffee drinks and sharing a pastry in a covered café […]
