Official Secrets, Gavin Hood’s gripping retelling of the story of Katharine Gun, a British intelligence officer who leaked a confidential memo sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq, will screen as the Closing Night of the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival at the historic Castro Theatre on Sunday, April 21.
Actress Laura Dern will be honored during the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival with a special tribute, followed by an advance screening of her upcoming film Trial by Fire, directed by Edward Zwick. The moderated onstage conversation with Dern and the screening will take place Sunday, April 14, at 3:30 pm at the Castro Theatre. Zwick will also participate in the onstage conversation preceding the film.
The 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival will host the World Premiere of Fox Sports Films’ new MAGNIFY series documentary Q Ball, on Thursday, April 11 at the Castro Theatre. The film, executive produced by Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, provides an intimate portrayal of several players on the San Quentin State Prison basketball team. Director Michael Tolajian, producer Rebekah Fergusson, and executive producers Kevin Durant, Rich Kleiman, Jamie Patricof, Katie McNeill, and Jordan deBree are expected to attend.
The 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival will kick off with the World Premiere of Netflix’s new original series Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, on Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 pm at the Castro Theatre. Showrunner, writer, and executive producer Lauren Morelli; director and executive producer Alan Poul; author and executive producer Armistead Maupin; and star and executive producer Laura Linney are expected to attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A.
Damien Chazelle’s remarkable film First Man is the 2018 recipient of the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize, an award that celebrates the compelling depiction of science in a narrative feature film. Presented through a partnership between SFFILM and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, this annual award carries a $25,000 cash prize and shines a light on special achievement in rendering the worlds of science and technology through the language of film with a screening event and onstage conversation with the film’s creators and experts in the scientific fields being depicted.
On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling team up again for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story behind the first manned mission to the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the decade leading to the historic Apollo 11 flight. A visceral and intimate account told from Armstrong’s perspective, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the film explores the triumphs and the cost—on Armstrong, his family, his colleagues and the nation itself—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.
EIGHTH GRADE[/caption]
After over two weeks of screening 186 films from 45 countries, the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival came to a close on Tuesday, April 17th.
[caption id="attachment_28203" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet[/caption]
The 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Festival Audience Awards gave festival-goers the opportunity to select their favorite narrative and documentary features. The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade (USA), with Un Traductor by Rodrigo Barriuso and Sebastián Barriuso (Canada/Cuba) also scoring highly with Festival audiences. The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Sam Green’s A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet, while Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s RBG (USA) was another favorite at the Festival.
Scary Mother[/caption]
This afternoon the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award (GGA) competitions and awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers. The jury awarded the Golden Gate prize and $10,000 cash prize to Ana Urushadze for Scary Mother “for its confident tone and unquestioning commitment to its fearless protagonist, a complicated artist caught between motherhood and the wilds of her own imagination.”
The SFFILM Golden Gate Awards have honored deserving filmmakers and their projects for over 60 years, bringing recognition for unique and innovative filmmaking to the Bay Area’s local and international audiences. Among the most significant awards for emerging global film artists in the United States, the Golden Gate Awards embody SFFILM’s commitment to global storytelling and independent filmmaking.
GOLDEN GATE NEW DIRECTORS AWARD (FICTION FEATURE)
The New Directors award is given to a debut feature by an international filmmaker whose work exhibits unique artistic sensibility or vision.
GGA New Directors Award winner: Scary Mother, Ana Urushadze (Georgia/Estonia)
MCBAINE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AWARD
Special Jury Mention, McBaine Documentary Feature: City of the Sun, Rati Oneli (Georgia/USA/Qatar/Netherlands)
The jury granted this mention to Oneli’s film “for its stunning use of cinematography and sound design that immerses us in a place that is at once stark and stirring.”
McBaine Documentary Feature Award Winner: The Distant Barking of Dogs, Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark/Sweden/Finland) – Receives $10,000 cash prize
The jury described the Feature Award winner as “Remarkable, exquisite and unforgettable.”
McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award: The Judge, Erika Cohn (USA/Palestine) – Receives $5,000 cash prize
The jury applauded The Judge for “turning a lens on a charismatic and influential woman who is fighting for equality against all odds, and for its nuanced portrayal of a culture that is often misunderstood.”
GOLDEN GATE AWARDS FOR SHORT FILMS
Special Jury Mention, Narrative Short: Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month, Carlo Francisco Manatad (Philippines)
The jury noted: “Carlo Francisco Manatad’s impressive and rebellious movie, from the opening credits until the very end, explodes with the energy of a Molotov.”
Narrative Short Winner: Shadow Animals, Jerry Carlsson (Sweden) – Receives $2,000 cash prize
In a statement, the jury applauded Shadow Animals for “its masterful control of tone and pacing. Shot from the perspective of a young girl at a dinner party, Jerry Carlsson’s short strikes a delicate balance of dread and intrigue, delightfully incorporating surreal, beautiful dance while exploring group mentality anxieties and the potential of one outsider.”
Documentary Short Winner: Crisanto Street, Paloma Martinez (USA) – Receives $2,000 cash prize
The jury awarded this prize to Paloma Martinez’s film with a statement: “So often overlooked and avoided, the issue of the affordable home crisis gets a front row seat from an unexpected view. With a bold choice to arm an 8-year-old boy with a camera, Crisanto Street skillfully renders a touching and powerful portrait of a family trying to survive on the edges. Never sentimental, Martinez captures the family’s struggle with dignity and the ephemeral possibility of hope.”
Special Jury Mention, New Visions Short: Fair Grounds, Ameer Kazmi (USA/France/Germany)
The jury recognized the film for its “tenacious yet elegant abstract critique and exploration of youthful masculinity.”
New Visions Short Winner: .TV, G. Anthony Svatek (USA/Tuvalu/New Zealand/France) – Receives $2,000 cash prize
The Best New Visions Short Prize was awarded to G. Anthony Svatek’s consideration of Tuvalu’s highly desired national domain suffix. .TV for being “an illuminating and surprising account of the hidden economies of technology and the island nation’s eminent risk of extinction due to climate-change.”
Animated Short Winner: Icebergs, Elrini Vianelli (USA/Greece) – Receives $2,000 cash prize
The jury found Icebergs to be “like looking through the windows of a high-rise—Elrini Vianelli’s short weaves together the small, funny, mundane, and most important moments of its characters’ lives, presenting only snippets of what are full, complex people: the human condition in 10 minutes.”
Bay Area Short First Prize Winner: Weekends, Trevor Jimenez (USA) – Receives $2,000 cash prize
The jury acknowledged that “It is rare that a short film, let alone an animated short with no dialogue, has the depth and narrative arc of a feature. The back and forth travels of a young child between his divorced parents’ dwellings reminds us all of what constitutes family, and what makes a place, something we call home. Perhaps it is somewhere in between.”
Bay Area Short Second Prize Winner: 49 Mile Scenic Drive, Bradley Smith, Tyler McPherron (USA) – Receives $1,500 cash prize
In a statement, the jury noted that “Through thoughtful and captivating use of archival footage and humor, this charming short film tells the history of San Francisco’s iconic 49 Mile Scenic Drive signs and the journey to restore them to their perfectly designed glory.”
GOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR YOUTH WORK
Special Jury Mention: Elle, Florence Winter Hill (UK)
The jury granted this special mention to Florence Winter Hill’s short for “striking an emotional chord for all of us who had to face growing up and letting go of childhood dreams.”
Youth Works Prize: Goodbye Sam, Theo Taplitz (USA) – Receives $1,000 cash prize
The jury lauded “the playful quirkiness of Goodbye Sam for emotionally embracing the power of friendship, making us laugh and cry and wanting to see more of the oddball story of a boy and his pet bird.”
GOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR FAMILY FILM
Special Jury Mention: Bird Karma, William Salazar (USA)
The jury praised Bird Karma for “taking on astonishing depth with playfulness, simplicity, humor, and beauty.”
Family Film Prize Winner: Crisanto Street, Paloma Martinez (USA) – Receives $1,500 cash prize
The jury noted: “One of the rare films that truly shows us the world through a child’s eyes, this multilayered short doesn’t shy away from life’s struggles, but it demonstrates that joy and home can be found everywhere.”
A Boy. A Girl. A Dream – the critically-acclaimed one-take film that premiered at Sundance in January – will screen at the 2018 San Francisco Film Festival (SFFILM) on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:00pm and Friday, April 13 at 9:00pm.
Director Qasim Basir and producer Datari Turner will attend on individual nights and participate in a Q&A talk-back (Turner on 4/10 and Basir on 4/13).
Starring Omari Hardwick (Starz’ “Power”), Meagan Good (Hulu’s upcoming “Foxy Brown”), Jay Ellis (HBO’s “Insecure”), and Kenya Barris (ABC’s “black-ish”), A Boy. A Girl. A Dream is set on the night of the 2016 Presidential election, when “Cass” (Hardwick), an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with “Free” (Good), a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers.
Written by Basir and Samantha Turner, A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM was produced by Datari Turner through his Production Banner Datari Turner Productions. Executive producers on the film are Jash’d Kambui Belcher, Louis Steyn, TJ Steyn, Jamal Chilton, Tim Weatherspoon, Phil Thornton, Meagan Good, and Omari Hardwick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlrZrGG1d8U
Damsel[/caption]
Two new films – David Zellner and Nathan Zellner’s Damsel (USA 2018) and Gene Graham’s This One’s For the Ladies (USA 2018) have been added to the schedule for the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 4 to 17, 2018.
“I’m goin’ West, of course!” exclaims Samuel (Robert Pattinson, a hoot), who has enlisted the help of Parson Henry (David Zellner) to save his beloved Penelope (Mia Wasikowska) so that he may propose to her, in David and Nathan Zellner’s (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, Festival 2014) upended Western. The journey is made, things go awry, and they encounter a slew of interesting characters—including a miniature horse named Butterscotch—but in the hands of the Zellner brothers, nothing is as it seems. Damsel screens Saturday, April 14, 8:00 pm at the Victoria Theatre. Both directors are expected to attend. Magnolia Pictures will release Damsel in theaters this summer.
[caption id="attachment_27827" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
This One’s For the Ladies[/caption]
On Thursday evenings, a children’s karate school transforms into a male strip joint. Hundreds of women convene for a potluck fundraiser and the opportunity to throw singles at the hot New Jersey Nasty Boyz. This One’s For the Ladies isn’t just about the tips or the dancing. It’s a heartwarming story about friendship, community, these incredible women, and the resilience they show toward whatever comes their way. Winner, Special Jury Recognition for Best Cast Award, SXSW. This One’s For the Ladies screens Sunday, April 15, 8:00 pm at the Victoria Theatre. NEON will open the film theatrically later this year.
Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, and Leo James Davis appear in A Kid Like Jake by Silas Howard[/caption]
The complete lineup was unveiled today for the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, running April 4 to 17. The festival will open with independent filmmaker Silas Howard’s drama A Kid Like Jake, starring Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, and Octavia Spencer; and Closing Night will be Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Gus Van Sant’s biopic of cartoonist John Callahan, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black. Van Sant.
A Kid Like Jake, directed by Silas Howard and adapted from Daniel Pearle’s lauded Off-Broadway play, is the most exceptional and timely of social dramas, exploring issues at the heart of multiple national debates with great intensity and sly humor. Pregnant Alex (Claire Danes) and her psychiatrist husband Greg (Jim Parsons) are anxiously navigating the minefield of New York’s exclusive private schools. Their young son Jake’s intelligence and imagination have helped him win impressive test scores, but he is also expressing a preference for what Judy (Octavia Spencer), the proprietor of his preschool, delicately describes as “gender-variant play,” ranging from imaginative cross-dressing to a slavish devotion to all things “princess.” While at first encouraged to play up their son’s possible transgender leanings so he might be considered a “diverse” candidate for a progressive school, the parents begin a round of self-questioning once Jake begins acting out when confronted with bullies and teachers looking for more normative behavior. A Kid Like Jake will be released theatrically this summer by IFC Films.
In the caustic and wickedly funny, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, celebrated quadriplegic Portland cartoonist John Callahan had a knack for depicting taboo subjects—especially people with physical disabilities—without political correctness. With an engrossing and shape-shifting performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Callahan, accompanied by scene-stealing support from Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black, Gus Van Sant’s (Milk, My Own Private Idaho) newest film follows the life of this troubled alcoholic who journeys from rock-bottom to an oddball AA group to ultimately channeling his demons into sometimes shocking and always humorous profane art.
The Festival’s 2018 award and tributes include honors for Wayne Wang (A Tribute to Wayne Wang), Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award), Annette Insdorf (Mel Novikoff Award), and Nathaniel Dorsky (Persistence of Vision Award), along with the previously announced Tribute to Charlize Theron.
Special live events include Blonde Redhead performing live with Yasujiro Ozu’s I Was Born, But… , A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet, A Celebration of Oddball Films with Marc Capelle’s Red Room Orchestra, and the 2018 State of Cinema Address by Canadian iconoclast Guy Maddin.
The Rescue List[/caption]
SFFILM’s Launch program returns to the San Francisco International Film Festival to provide a platform for a select group of exceptional films just beginning their distribution journey.
In Launch’s second year, five documentary features within the official lineup of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival have been selected to have their world premieres.
Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson appear in Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley[/caption]
Sorry to Bother You, the Sundance hit and Bay Area production, will have its hometown special screening in dual locations, in both Oakland and San Francisco, as a special Centerpiece event at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival. Director and screenwriter Boots Riley and cast are expected to participate in intros and Q&As.
On Thursday, April 12, the film will screen at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco at 6:30 pm, and also screen that same night at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland at 8:00 pm.
“Boots Riley is family to us,” said SFFILM’s Executive Director Noah Cowan. “He was a resident of SFFILM FilmHouse when he developed this project, he is a four-time recipient of our SFFILM / Rainin Filmmaking Grant; and he has been a huge booster of the Bay Area film community. And so this year’s Centerpiece is an especially joyous celebration, as Boots continues to expand our horizons by inspiring the Festival to expand its footprint into Oakland for the first time with this and several other screenings.”
The wait is over—Bay Area icon Boots Riley’s outrageous and orginal, breakout sensation of this year’s Sundance film festival, Sorry To Bother You marks the feature debut of this visionary director. In an alterate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe. Starring Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), Tessa Thompson (Creed and Dear White People), and Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name), Sorry To Bother You is unlike anything you have ever seen. It is a searing social satire about greed, racial dynamics and capitalism in a universe not unlike our own. The film received funding and creative support through SFFILM artist development programs, FilmHouse Residency and SFFILM / Rainin Filmmaking Grant.
Activist, filmmaker, and musician, Boots Riley studied film at San Francisco State University before rising to prominence as the front man of hip hop groups The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He previously directed The Coup music videos “Eating Forever” and “Me and Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Granada Last Night.”