The Big Nights selections are revealed for the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 23 – May 7, 2015. including the Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Night programs. The two-week festival kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Alex Gibney’s fascinating documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA 2015), about the tech icon. The End of the Tour (USA 2015), James Ponsoldt’s acclaimed portrait of David Foster Wallace starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, is slated for the Festival’s high-profile Centerpiece spot. Finally, the Festival will come to a close with celebrated veteran director Michael Almereyda’s drama Experimenter (USA 2015), starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder.
Opening Night: Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
When Steve Jobs died in 2011, the world mourned. But why, asks Alex Gibney, were people who never knew him moved to tears by the death of a businessman who sold them products? Featuring frank interviews with close friends and former colleagues, the film adds detail, nuance and counterpoint to the burnished tale of Jobs’ journey from garage to corner office, offering a bracingly candid inquiry into his genius and his flaws as well as our own relationship to technology.
Centerpiece: The End of the Tour
A novelist of modest success wins an assignment from Rolling Stone to follow David Foster Wallace on the end of his Infinite Jest publicity tour. Over the course of five days, the two engage in heady discourse about art, the modern world and the pitfalls of self-conscious living while skirting the borders between friendship and professional distance. Based on writer Dave Lipsky’s memoir, James Ponsoldt’s melancholy chamber piece exhibits the director’s characteristic generosity toward human imperfection embodied in Jason Segel’s quietly affecting performance as Wallace.
Closing Night: Experimenter
This inventive and playful biography of scientist Stanley Milgram revisits his famous experiment, in which subjects were made to believe they were administering electric shocks to others in order to test why people will cede to authority, no matter how brutal the request. An examination of scientific ethics, the drama also explores the moral consequences of “just following orders.” Anchored by a riveting performance from Peter Sarsgaard as Milgram, iconoclastic genius Michael Almereyda (Hamlet) has delivered a timely and important film about the role of science in our society.San Francisco International Film Festival
Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for two weeks and highly anticipated by its loyal, passionate audiences, SFIFF is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring some 150 films and live events with more than 100 filmmakers in attendance and nearly two dozen awards presented for excellence in film craft.
San Francisco International Film Festival started in 1957 and takes place in San Francisco, California, U.S.
-
Steve Jobs Documentary to Open 2015 San Francisco International Film Festival
The Big Nights selections are revealed for the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 23 – May 7, 2015. including the Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Night programs. The two-week festival kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Alex Gibney’s fascinating documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA 2015), about the tech icon. The End of the Tour (USA 2015), James Ponsoldt’s acclaimed portrait of David Foster Wallace starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, is slated for the Festival’s high-profile Centerpiece spot. Finally, the Festival will come to a close with celebrated veteran director Michael Almereyda’s drama Experimenter (USA 2015), starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder.
Opening Night: Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
When Steve Jobs died in 2011, the world mourned. But why, asks Alex Gibney, were people who never knew him moved to tears by the death of a businessman who sold them products? Featuring frank interviews with close friends and former colleagues, the film adds detail, nuance and counterpoint to the burnished tale of Jobs’ journey from garage to corner office, offering a bracingly candid inquiry into his genius and his flaws as well as our own relationship to technology.
Centerpiece: The End of the Tour
A novelist of modest success wins an assignment from Rolling Stone to follow David Foster Wallace on the end of his Infinite Jest publicity tour. Over the course of five days, the two engage in heady discourse about art, the modern world and the pitfalls of self-conscious living while skirting the borders between friendship and professional distance. Based on writer Dave Lipsky’s memoir, James Ponsoldt’s melancholy chamber piece exhibits the director’s characteristic generosity toward human imperfection embodied in Jason Segel’s quietly affecting performance as Wallace.
Closing Night: Experimenter
This inventive and playful biography of scientist Stanley Milgram revisits his famous experiment, in which subjects were made to believe they were administering electric shocks to others in order to test why people will cede to authority, no matter how brutal the request. An examination of scientific ethics, the drama also explores the moral consequences of “just following orders.” Anchored by a riveting performance from Peter Sarsgaard as Milgram, iconoclastic genius Michael Almereyda (Hamlet) has delivered a timely and important film about the role of science in our society.
-
San Francisco International Film Festival 2015 Dates and Call For Filmmaker Submissions
The 58th San Francisco International Film Festival will take place April 23 through May 7, 2015), and with tens of thousands in cash prizes is inviting filmmakers to submit their films for entry. Works in all genres, forms and lengths are considered. Founded in 1957, SFIFF is the longest-running film festival in the Americas.
FIlmmaker Deadlines:
* Early deadline Monday, October 6
* Regular deadline Monday, November 3
* Final deadline for short films Monday, December 1
* Final deadline for features Monday, December 8HOW TO ENTER Entry form and information: sffs.org or withoutabox.com.
-
“History of Fear” “The Overnighters” and “The Last Season” Take Top Feature Prizes at San Francisco International Film Festival
History of FearThe 57th San Francisco International Film Festival, earlier this month, announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award and New Directors Prize competitions. This year the Festival awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers from 13 countries around the globe. For more than 50 years, SFIFF’s Golden Gate Awards have honored deserving films independent of commercial concerns, heralding unsung excellence and exposing local and international audiences to unique and innovative works.
The New Directors jury was composed of Filmmaker Magazine Editor-in-Chief Scott Macaulay, Fandor cofounder Jonathan Marlow and writer Ella Taylor.
New Directors Prize: History of Fear, Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina/France/Germany/
Qatar/Uruguay)
— Winner receives $10,000 cash prizeIn a statement, the jury noted: “From an unusually strong slate of first films, the jury chose History of Fear, a slyly assured reflection on suburban paranoia from Argentine director Benjamín Naishtat. There may or may not be a predatory invasion (or two, or three) of a wealthy Buenos Aires enclave. But the movie’s subject, rendered with one eyebrow subtly cocked, is the rising panic of its residents, an indiscreetly charmless bourgeoisie crippled by nameless terrors. Goosing both his characters and his audience with intimations of horror, Naishtat makes expert use of the implicit with a wit and visual flair unusual in a novice filmmaker.”
Special Jury Recognition: White Shadow, Noaz Deshe (Italy/Germany/Tanzania), The Amazing Catfish, Claudia Sainte-Luce (Mexico)
“Special mention also goes to Israeli director Noaz Deshe’s White Shadow, a viscerally stylish neo-noir about the victimization of albinos in an African country ruled by superstition; and to The Amazing Catfish, a warm and exhilaratingly unpredictable dramedy from Mexican filmmaker Claudia Sainte-Luce about the impact of a mysterious stranger on a family struggling with imminent tragedy.”
The Golden Gate Award Documentary feature competition jury was comprised of filmmaker Rob Epstein, journalist Nathan Heller, and Film Society of Lincoln Center Co-Executive Director Lesli Klainberg.
Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature Winners
The OvernightersDocumentary Feature: The Overnighters, Jesse Moss (USA)
— Winner receives $10,000 cash prizeThe jury noted in a statement: “Jesse Moss’ The Overnighters, which follows a pastor’s efforts to house job-seekers in an insular North Dakota town, is exceptional as an exercise of narrative craft, as a feat of immersion journalism, and as an intimate portrait of one man’s struggles. In driving to the heart of local discontent, the documentary is admirably fair-minded, yet it is Moss’ alertness as a filmmaker that lets him stay close to the story as its subjects take unexpected, sometimes shocking, turns. The result illuminates a messy confluence of American interests: faith, altruism, family, opportunity, and the search for honest self-expression.”
The Last SeasonBay Area Documentary Feature: The Last Season, Sara Dosa (USA)
— Winner receives $5,000 cash prizeThe jury noted: “The Last Season, a remarkable documentary about rare-mushroom hunting in the Oregon woods, sweeps away the topsoil of the Pacific landscape to reveal the multilayered social legacy of distant wars. Along the way, it unearths affinities and affections that challenge common ideas about family. With integrity of craft, first-time director Sara Dosa here claims the high standard of Bay Area documentary filmmaking for a new generation.”
Special jury recognition: Return to Homs, Talal Derki (Syria/Germany)
The jury noted: “Turning the stuff of headlines into intimate personal history, Talal Derki’s Return to Homs uses extraordinary access — footage from young rebels’ private meetings and urban battles — as a window onto the Syrian conflict. The film’s light-footed coverage captures the spirit of an uprising driven by mobile technology, while its emotional immediacy brings to life one rebel’s slow progression from peaceful protester to violent revolutionary. This is the rare film valuable both as a revelatory news document and as a moving story out of time: a private narrative that maps the broader course of conflict and idealism in the region.”
The Golden Gate Award Short Film jury consisted of journalist Jonathan Kiefer, author Vendela Vida and filmmaker Diana Williams.
Golden Gate Award Short Film Winners
Narrative Short (tie): The Birds’ Blessing, Serge Mirzabekiantz, (Belgium)
So You’ve Grown Attached, Kate Tsang (USA)
— Winners each receive $1,000 cash prizeDocumentary Short: The High Five, Michael Jacobs (USA)
— Winner receives $2,000 cash prizeAnimated Short: The Missing Scarf, Eion Duffy (Ireland)
— Winner receives $2,000 cash prizeBay Area Short (tie): Santa Cruz del Islote, Luke Lorentzen (USA)
No One but Lydia, Rob Richert (USA)
— Winners each receive $1,250 cash prizeNew Visions Short: Numbers & Friends, Alexander Carson (Canada)
— Winner receives $1,500 cash prizeThe Family Film jury was teacher Donna Lee, writer Nicki Richesin and artist Jeena Wolfe.
Family Film: The Dam Keeper, Robert Kondo, Dice Tsutsumi (USA)
— Winner receives $500 cash prize
Family Film Honorable Mention: The Numberlys, WIlliam Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg (USA)The Youth Works jury was Davis Avila, Sophie Edelhart and Julia Pollak, all local high school students.
Youth Work: Epitaph, Charles Blecker (USA)
— Winner receives $500 cash prize
Youth Work Honorable Mention: Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, Lily Yu, Judy Lee, Jeremiah Mellor (USA)
-
Jeremy Irons to Receive Acting Award at San Francisco International Film Festival
Jeremy Irons, described as one of world cinema’s most compelling and engaging actors, will be the recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 24 to May 8, 2014. The award will be presented to Irons at Film Society Awards Night, Thursday May 1 at the Regency Center.
The San Francisco Film Society and its year-round exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs will be the beneficiary of the star-studded fundraiser honoring Irons; Richard Linkater, the recipient of the Founder’s Directing Award; Stephen Gaghan, recipient of the Kanbar Screenwriting Award; andJohn Lasseter, the recipient of the George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award. Victoria Raiser and Todd Traina are co-chairs of this year’s Film Society Awards Night gala.
“Jeremy Irons is the perfect choice to receive the Peter J. Owens Award, SFIFF’s top honor for the actor’s craft,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “He embodies the international spirit that defines our festival, and the phenomenal work he has done on screens big and small is an inspiration. We are thrilled to pay tribute to an actor whose range, depth and wonderful sense of humor have delighted lovers of world cinema for decades.”
Irons will also be honored at An Evening with Jeremy Irons at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Wednesday April 30, 7:30 pm. A screening of a film featuring one of his iconic performances will follow an onstage interview and a selection of clips from his impressive career.
Jeremy Irons won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune. He is also a Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Tony Award and SAG Award winner.
The British-born Irons has an extraordinary legacy of film, television and theater performances including The French Lieutenant’s Woman, in which he starred opposite Meryl Streep; The Mission; and David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers. Irons starred in Damage and M. Butterfly before he made pop culture history as the voice of the evil lion Scar in Disney’s classic The Lion King. Irons showed his grasp of the action genre starring opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard: With A Vengeance, and also starred as Humbert Humbert in Adrian Lyne’sLolita. Other career highlights include Being Julia with Annette Bening,Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, and Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty.
Irons received a Tony Award for his performance in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing and most recently appeared in London in the National Theatre’s Never So Good and in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Gods Weep. Irons is probably best known for his role as Charles Ryder in the cult TV seriesBrideshead Revisited, and he notably joined Helen Mirren and director Tom Hooper in the award-winning television miniseries Elizabeth I. Irons was also recently lauded for his portrayal of iconic photographer Alfred Stieglitz in the award-winning biographical picture Georgia O’Keeffe.
Irons recent film work includes the the award-winning independent feature Margin Call with Kevin Spacey; The Words with Bradley Cooper, which was featured closing night at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Beautiful Creatures, shot in Louisiana and directed by Richard LaGravenese; and Night Train to Lisbon, directed by Bille August. In addition, Irons adds the credit of executive producer and featured actor in Trashed, a Blenheim Production feature documentary directed by Candida Brady, which received a special screening at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and continues to play in theaters and festivals globally.
Named for the longtime San Francisco benefactor of arts and charitable organizations, Peter J. Owens (1936-1991), this award honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity.
Previous recipients of the Film Society’s Peter J. Owens Award are Harrison Ford (2013), Judy Davis (2012), Terence Stamp (2011), Robert Duvall (2010), Robert Redford (2009), Maria Bello (2008), Robin Williams (2007), Ed Harris (2006), Joan Allen (2005), Chris Cooper (2004), Dustin Hoffman (2003), Kevin Spacey (2002), Stockard Channing (2001), Winona Ryder (2000), Sean Penn (1999), Nicolas Cage (1998), Annette Bening (1997) and Harvey Keitel (1996). The Peter J. Owens Award is made possible through a grant from the Peter J. Owens Trust at the San Francisco Foundation.
-
Gia Coppola’s ‘Palo Alto’ – Feature Adaptation of James Franco’s Collection of Short Stories is Centerpiece Presentation for 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival
Gia Coppola’s feature debut – the teen-centered drama Palo Alto, starring Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer and James Franco has been selected as Centerpiece presentation of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24–May 8). Palo Alto is adapted from Franco’s book Palo Alto Stories. The Festival’s Centerpiece is designed to showcase talented young directors with their latest film. Writer-director Gia Coppola is expected to attend the screening.
“
We couldn’t ask for a better fit for the Festival’s Centerpiece selection,” said San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Noah Cowan. “A skilled adaptation of the writings of one of our most interesting contemporary artists, a locally-set story, and the feature debut of the newest member of one of this country’s most remarkable and prolific film families. This is going to be quite a night!”
Good girl April (Emma Roberts) grapples with her attraction to her soccer coach Mr. B (James Franco), stoner artist Teddy (Jack Kilmer) finds trouble under the influence of his defiant best bud Fred (Nat Wolff) and promiscuous Emily (Zoe Levin) pins her fragile sense of self on her many sexual encounters. With this adaptation of Franco’s book of short stories, fifth-generation filmmaker Gia Coppola makes an assured feature debut mining the field of troubled adolescence that both her grandfather Francis and aunt Sofia explored before her. Coppola makes the genre wholly her own with an original take on aimless youth that captures not just the sex, drugs and alcohol, but also the angst and alienation.
-
‘Begin Again’, ‘Calvary’ and ‘The One I Love’ Added to 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival
Begin AgainJohn Carney’s Begin Again (USA 2013), John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary (Ireland/UK 2014) and Charlie McDowell’s The One I Love (USA 2014) have been added to the film schedule for the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24–May 8).
When failed record executive Dan (Mark Ruffalo) meets tentative but talented singer-songwriter Greta (Keira Knightley) in a Manhattan nightclub, he dedicates himself to making her a star in a bid for career and personal redemption. He is in a bad place in his life, his career and marriage in shambles, and so is she, her heart broken by her rock star ex-boyfriend Dave (Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine). While the talented Greta lacks ambition, Dan, desperate for one more hit record and validation in the eyes of his estranged wife (Catherine Keener) and daughter (Hailee Steinfeld), has enough drive for the both of them. Ruffalo’s committed performance as the not always likable, but ultimately sympathetic, impresario rediscovering his passion and reclaiming his soul is what makes this tale of redemption soar as writer/director John Carney (SFIFF 2007) scores another winner in his return to the romantic musical. Begin Again plays Wednesday May 7, 6:00 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. The Weinstein Company will open the film in Bay Area theaters in July.
CalvaryThe words coming from the other side of the confessional are chilling: after first relating the rape he suffered in childhood at the hands of a priest, the anonymous voice promises Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) that in a week’s time he is going to murder him. Not because the pastor had a hand in his or anyone else’s molestation, but because assassinating a good priest will make more of a statement. With that arresting opening begins Calvary, Gleeson’s second collaboration with writer/director John Michael McDonagh after The Guard (2011). This darkly comedic drama frames trenchant observations of the Catholic Church’s history dealing with abuse allegations in Ireland within a daft mystery/passion play with Father Lavelle reluctantly thrust into the role of the martyr marked to die for the sins of others. Calvary plays Thursday May 8, 6:00 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Fox Searchlight Pictures will open the film in theaters this coming August.
The One I LoveThe One I Love follows longtime couple Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) in their attempt to mend their rocky relationship. While the two are still in love, in the past few years a mean streak has started to color all of their interactions and squabbling has replaced sex. Dedicated to salvaging what was once a healthy and loving relationship, the pair start seeing a therapist (Ted Danson) who suggests that they spend a weekend at an idyllic country property with a 100% success rate at mending ailing relationships. Ethan and Sophie eagerly sign up, and the house is even more gorgeous than the marriage counselor described—rolling greenery, a swimming pool, even a small cottage behind the main house. Almost immediately, the two are more affectionate, flirty and fun than they’ve been in years. Something must be wrong here. The One I Love plays Tuesday May 6, 9:15 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Radius – TWC will open the film in theaters this summer.
-
Hossein Amini’s ‘The Two Faces of January’ and Chris Messina’s ‘Alex of Venice’ to Bookend 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival
Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst star in Hossein Amini’s thriller, THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 24 to May 8, 2014, kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Hossein Amini’s gripping Patricia Highsmith adaptation the Two Faces of January (UK 2014) starring Oscar Issac, Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst. The Festival will close with Chris Messina’s drama Alex of Venice (USA 2014), starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Messina and Don Johnson.
Opening Night: The Two Faces of January
North American Premiere
Thursday April 24, 7:00 pm, Castro Theatre
Special guests expected to attend
Celebrated screenwriter Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove, Drive) delivers a stylish directorial debut, with this adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith suspense thriller gorgeously filmed on location in Greece and Turkey. In 1962, a well-heeled couple (Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst) come to know an American expatriate acting as an Athens tour guide (Oscar Isaac). But an incident at the couple’s hotel puts all three in danger and creates a precarious interdependence between them.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Chris Messina star in Messina’s ALEX IN VENICEClosing Night: Alex of Venice
Thursday May 8, 7:00 pm, Castro Theatre
Director Chris Messina and star Mary Elizabeth Winstead expected to attend
Actor Chris Messina creates a winning mix of wistful comedy and heartfelt drama in this tale of accepting the unexpected. Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is an environmental lawyer whose job often keeps her away from the home she shares with her son, husband (Messina) and actor father (Don Johnson, in a knockout performance). When her husband rebels against being a stay-at-home dad and takes a time out from the marriage, Alex’s world quickly becomes very complicated.
-
San Francisco International Film Festival to Honor Richard Linklater with Founder’s Directing Award
Richard LinklaterFilmmaker Richard Linklater will be the recipient of the 2014 Founder’s Directing Award at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24 – May 8), honoring the quintessentially American director’s expansive body of work and celebrating the upcoming release BOYHOOD, his groundbreaking new film. The award will be presented to Linklater at Film Society Awards Night, Thursday May 1.
Linklater will also be publicly honored at An Evening with Richard Linklater at the Castro Theatre, Friday May 2, 7:00 pm. An onstage interview and a selection of clips from his notable directing career will be followed by a screening of BOYHOOD. Filming over the course of 12 years, Linklater and his cast depict a young man’s journey from a 6-year-old boy to 18-year-old college freshman. The resulting film “has no precedent” according to the Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy. “Never has the long arc of the journey from childhood to college been portrayed as cohesively and convincingly as Richard Linklater has done.”
“Richard Linklater is one of our country’s great creative minds,” said San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Noah Cowan. “His curiosity about cinema’s endless possibilities and his landmark collaborations with many of the world’s most interesting actors mark him as a profound and important force in our medium. It is our great honor to welcome him here to accept the 2014 Founder’s Directing Award.”
BOYHOOD directed by Richard LinklaterOne of the most profound and prolific American independent filmmakers of the last 20 years, Richard Linklater first burst onto the scene with his scrappy time capsule of Austin weirdness, Slacker (SFIFF, 1991). Since then Linklater’s work has graced international film festival lineups, helped launch the careers of a number of prominent movie stars (Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey) and garnered multiple Oscar nominations. BOYHOOD is his 18th feature film.
-
2014 San Francisco International Film Festival Announces Feature Films in Competition
The Amazing CatfishThe 57th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 24 to May 8, 2014, announced the films in competition for the New Directors Prize and the Golden Gate Award (GGA) contenders in the documentary feature category. SFIFF will award nearly $40,000 in total cash prizes this year. The New Directors Prize of $10,000 will be given to a narrative first feature that exhibits a unique artistic sensibility and deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. The GGA documentary feature winner will receive $10,000 and the GGA Bay Area documentary feature winner will receive $5,000. A total of 25 countries are represented in this year’s competing feature films. Independent juries will select the winners, which will be announced at the Golden Gate Awards, Wednesday, May 7.
2014 NEW DIRECTORS PRIZE (NARRATIVE FEATURE) COMPETITION
The Amazing Catfish, Claudia Sainte-Luce, Mexico
Set in Guadalajara, The Amazing Catfish follows the quiet transformation of a solitary young woman informally adopted and absorbed into a rambunctious matriarchy in a state of crisis. Filmed by Claire Denis’ long-time cinematographer, Agnès Godard, Claudia Sainte-Luce’s debut feature, based loosely on events from her own life, blends a wry and moving naturalism with moments of inspired comedy.The Blue Wave, Zeynep Dadak and Merve Kayan, Turkey/Germany/Netherlands/
Greece
In this low-key, loosely plotted coming-of-age tale, a Turkish teenage girl wrestles with mood swings, unfocused restlessness, familial responsibilities, shifting friendships and romantic complications during a year of quiet tumult.Difret, Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, Ethiopia
In a contemporary Ethiopian village, a 14-year-old girl is abducted from school in an attempt at forced marriage, a tradition in her community. Her efforts to free herself from a preordained future set off a legal firestorm in this powerful drama inspired by a true story that pits the law against an entrenched cultural mindset.The Dune, Yossi Aviram, France/Israel
Delving into issues of identity and aging, this nuanced relationship drama portrays the personal crises faced by an aging gay cop in France and a younger Israeli man who is found on the beach, mute and without any identification.History of Fear, Benjamín Naishtat, Argentina/France/Germany/
Uruguay/Qatar
Paranoia runs rampant in this accomplished first feature, instilling a disorienting sense of dread in the viewer. Are the strange occurrences in an affluent Buenos Aires suburb evidence that the skittish residents are actually being targeted? Naishtat foregoes ready explanations or assurances in favor of foreboding suggestions in a film that is sprawling both in scope and implications but astonishingly exacting in its execution.Manos Sucias, Josef Wladyka, USA/Colombia
A reluctant smuggler and his eager neophyte brother shepherd a dangerous narco-torpedo up the coast of Colombia, posing as fishermen. Paramilitary, guerrillas and hardscrabble desperation suffuse every inch of the jungle and waters that surround them, eager to separate the siblings from their only opportunity to escape the circumstances of their lives.Of Horses and Men, Benedikt Erlingsson, Iceland/Germany
The relationship between man and beast is explored in a series of dryly humorous, linked episodes set in a small Icelandic hamlet. With its idiosyncratic portrait of village life, this remarkable debut features several unforgettable visual tableaux.Salvation Army, Abdellah Taïa, Morocco
Adapting his autobiographical novel, director Abdellah Taïa tells the story of a gay Moroccan boy finding self-realization and personal strength within a society that shuns him. Shot by the brilliant Agnès Godard, the film takes the form of a diptych, telling the protagonist’s story in two different time periods and locales.South Is Nothing, Fabio Mollo, Italy/France
Miriam Karlkvist took a well-deserved Shooting Star award at the Berlinale for her portrayal of an androgynous teenage girl negotiating life in a mafia-controlled town whose code of silence is destroying her family. Filmed in Reggio Calabria, this debut feature combines poetic realism with hard-edged cynicism.Trap Street, Vivian Qu, China
What’s it like to be a 21st-century young adult-with access to gadgets, the Internet and other high-tech conveniences — within China’s surveillance state? First-time writer-director Vivian Qu’s taut, slow-building noir cleverly uses a simple boy-meets-girl tale to unearth a hidden world of government control lurking just under the surface.White Shadow, Noaz Deshe, Italy/Germany/Tanzania
Inspired by news reports of the ongoing perils faced by albinos in Tanzania, Noaz Deshe’s film depicts a fractured and uneasy world, where superstition and the rule of law collide. An albino youth named Alias must learn to navigate through a culture not just unsympathetic to his condition, but actively violent towards it.In addition to these 11 first features in competition, the New Directors section of SFIFF57 includes 14 out-of-competition films, which will be announced on Tuesday, April 1.
2014 GOLDEN GATE AWARDS DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Coast of Death, Lois Patiño, Spain
From the first entrancing images of trees being cut down in a fog-filled forest to the later blues of the sky and ocean fusing to erase the horizon, the always static frames of this documentary offer a meditative and prismatic view of Spain’s much storied and dangerous “Coast of Death.”The Last Season, Sara Dosa, USA
Every September, over 200 seasonal workers, many of them Cambodian, Lao, Hmong, Mien and Thai, descend upon the tiny town of Chemult, Oregon, to search the woods for the rare Matsuke, a fungus highly prized in Japan. This documentary examines the bond between two of these hunters, an elderly Vietnam vet and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, during one unusually hard season.The Overnighters, Jesse Moss, USA
Unemployed men and women across America want new oil jobs in North Dakota, but housing is at a premium. Enter Pastor Jay Reinke. Despite protests from his own congregation, he opens up his church to “overnighters” — people in search of a second shot at the American Dream. The film expertly and compassionately depicts the conflict between locals, these new residents and Pastor Reinke’s controversial policy.Return to Homs, Talal Derki, Syria/Germany
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance, this dispatch from the besieged Syrian city of Homs is both an elegy and a call to action. Filmed between 2011 and 2013, it presents a visceral eyewitness account of the conflict as a peaceful uprising descends into civil war and idealistic young men are transformed into revolutionary martyrs.Soul Food Stories, Tonislav Hristov, Bulgaria/Finland
Muslim, Christian, Roma and atheist Communists live together peacefully in Satovcha, a Bulgarian village. They have differing theologies and politics, but are united by a love of food and the eternal mystery of being men and women. Beautifully shot, the film unfolds like a 10-course meal, with observations of food preparation and religious diversity laced into the recipes.Stop the Pounding Heart, Roberto Minervini, USA/Italy/Belgium
This unique hybrid of documentary and narrative offers an evocative portrait of the quotidian lives of a devout young Christian goat farmer and the bullriding cowboy who lives nearby. As much a portrait of the East Texas town where they live as it is a relationship drama, the film combines ethnography and budding romance to compelling effect.Three Letters from China, Luc Schaedler, Switzerland
Luc Schaedler’s latest work presents distinct and illuminating portraits of contemporary life in China. Attentively observing life on a parched farm, a grim industrial zone, a rural village and a booming megacity, the documentary expressively reveals the upheaval and uncertainty of a rapidly changing nation through the deeply engrossing stories of its people.We Come as Friends, Hubert Sauper, France/Austria
South Sudan may have declared its independence but that hasn’t stopped multinationals and missionaries from laying claim to its natural resources and influencing its people’s religious beliefs. Employing intrepid techniques and striking visuals, documentarian Hubert Sauper (Darwin’s Nightmare) delivers another piercing examination of the human cost of neocolonialism that will provoke both thought and outrage.In addition to these eight features by emerging filmmakers in the documentary competitions, the Golden Gate Awards also will include competitors in six other categories. These films will be announced on Tuesday, April 1.
-
San Francisco International Film Festival Sets 2014 Dates
The San Francisco International Film Festival considered the longest-running film festival in the Americas will be back for its 57th edition, running from April 24 – May 8, 2014. The festival announced its calls for entries from filmmakers, with works in all genres, forms and lengths being considered.
Deadlines:
Early deadline Monday, October 7
Regular deadline Monday, November 4
Final deadline for short films Monday, December 2
Final deadline for features Monday, December 9
-
“A River Changes Course,” “The Kill Team” Win Top Documentary Film Awards at San Francisco International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_3841" align="alignnone" width="550"]
A River Changes Course[/caption]The 56th San Francisco International Film Festival, awarded A River Changes Course, by Kalyanee Mam, the Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature at the 2013 festival. Among the many reasons, the festival jury said “This film stood out as an entity in terms of subject matter, beauty of filmmaking, elegance of expression, sensitivity, and representation of the people observed as they observe their own situation.” Recognizing local filmmakers, The Kill Team directed by Dan Krauss was the Bay Area Documentary Feature. The jury noted: “We chose this film due to the importance of its subject matter and its moral complexity.”
Other winners include:
Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature Winners
Documentary Feature: A River Changes Course, Kalyanee Mam (Cambodia/USA 2012)
* Winner receives $20,000 cash prize[caption id="attachment_3751" align="alignnone" width="550"]
The Kill Team[/caption]
Bay Area Documentary Feature: The Kill Team, Dan Krauss (USA 2012)
* Winner receives $15,000 cash prize[caption id="attachment_3842" align="alignnone" width="550"]
Present Tense[/caption]
New Directors Prize: Present Tense, Belmin Sölyemez (Turkey 2012)
* Winner receives $15,000 cash prize[caption id="attachment_3843" align="alignnone" width="550"]
La Sirga[/caption]Honorable Mention: La Sirga, William Vega (Colombia/France/Mexico 2012),The Cleaner, Adrián Saba (Peru 2012)
[caption id="attachment_3844" align="alignnone" width="550"]
Nights with Theodore[/caption]
FIPRESCI Prize: Nights with Theodore, Sébastian Betbeder (France 2012)
Golden Gate Award Short Film Winners
Narrative Short: Ellen Is Leaving, Michelle Savill (New Zealand 2012)
* Winner receives $5,000 cash prize
Documentary Short: Kings Point, Sari Gilman (USA 2012)
* Winner receives $5,000 cash prize
Special Jury Prize: Home, Thomas Gleeson (New Zealand 2012)
Animated Short: Kali the Little Vampire, Regina Pessoa (Canada/France 2012)
* Winner receives $2,000 cash prize
Bay Area Short, First Prize: 3020 Laguna St. In Exitum, Ashley Rodholm, Joe Picard (USA 2013)
* Winner receives $2,000 cash prize
Bay Area Short, Second Prize: More Real, Jonn Herschend (USA 2012)
* Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
New Visions: Salmon, Alfredo Covelli (Israel/Italy 2012)
* Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
Family Film: Luminaris, Juan Pablo Zaramella (Argentina 2012)
* Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
Family Film Honorable Mention: I’m Going to Mum’s, Lauren Jackson (New Zealand 2012), Jonah and the Crab, Laurel Cohen (USA 2012)
Youth Work: The Dogmatic, Lance Oppenheim (USA 2012)
* Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
Youth Work Honorable Mention: Last Stop Livermore, Nat Talbot (USA 2012)
-
San Francisco International Film Festival to Honor Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford will be honored with the 2013 Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting at the upcoming 56th San Francisco International Film Festival to take place April 25 – May 9, 2013. The award will be presented to Ford at San Francisco Film Society Awards Night, Tuesday, May 7. Ford will also be honored at An Afternoon with Harrison Ford at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, on Tuesday May 7. A screening of a film featuring one of his iconic performances will follow an onstage interview and a selection of clips from his impressive career.