It’s time to get ready for one of the Bay Area’s top cinema events: the 36th annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival(SFJFF36), which opens July 21, and runs through August 7 at five locations throughout the Bay Area. Here’s an early peek at the fest:
51 features (33 Documentaries, 18 Narratives) from 13 countries (but mostly from the US and Israel).
2 programs of short films (Jews in Shorts), a web series and first two episodes of a thrilling television miniseries.
14 world, North American or US premieres.
celebrity appearances by Norman Lear, Robert Klein, Adam (s0n of Leonard) Nimoy and a passel of filmmakers.
I’ll return with my my four top recommendations from the festival on July 20. Here’s a tease:
A both funny and thought-provoking documentary about what would seem to be the most unfunny subject possible.
An addictive taste of an upcoming television miniseries that has the elements of the whodunit, the paranoid thriller, the perfect crime movie and the espionage procedural.
The world premiere of an entirely fresh and imaginative examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .
An epic romance with both an exploration of identity and a moral choice.
One of the most appealing features of the SFJFF36 is that, wherever you live in the Bay Area, the fest comes to you. SFJFF36 will present 27-51 films at each of the main venues – the Castro in San Francisco, CineArts in Palo Alto and the Roda Theater at the Berkeley Rep. The festival will also screen at least 14 movies at both the Rafael in San Rafael and the Piedmont in Oakland.
You can peruse the entire program and buy tickets and passes at San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. The fest also offers a handy iPhone app available from the App Store: sjff36. You can follow the Festival on Twitter at @SFJewish Film; and, of course, you can follow my coverage at @themoviegourmet.
UNDER THE SUN. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
There are plenty of high-profile movies at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) this weekend, including the sci-fi satire High-Rise with Tom Hiddleston, Jason Bateman’s ofbeat family comedy The Family Fang, the John le Carré adaptation Our Kind of Traitorand an award to Aardman Animations with its co-founder Peter Lord.
But some other gems are screening under the radar. As always at SFIFF, the documentary program includes some nuggets. Here are my picks:
NUTS! – a persistently hilarious (and finally poignant) documentary about the rise and fall of a medical and radio empire – all built on goat testicle “implantation” surgery in gullible humans. Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30
Dead Slow Ahead – a visually stunning and an often hypnotic film, shot on a massive freighter on its voyage across vast ocean expanses with its all-Filipino crew. Friday, April 29.
Under the Sun – a searing insight into totalitarian North Korean society, all from government-approved footage that tells a different story than the wackadoodle dictatorship intended.Saturday, April 30.
NUTS!. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.
IFFNOHO is showcasing the LA premiere of Gazelle: The Love IssueLA premiere as the festival’s opening night film on Thursday, April 28, and it’s a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.
The Cross of the Moment helps us understand the bleakness of the “or else” if we fail to stall or reverse climate change. The IFFNOHO screening is the world premiere of this absorbing and important film.
Peter Miller’s documentary Projections of America reveals the story of American-made World War II propaganda films, designed to reassure the soon-to-be-occupied Europeans. “Propaganda” is a sinister word, and the surprise in Projections of America is how indirect, subtle and superficially benign these slice-of-American-life movies were.
The most popular of the propaganda films in the Projections of America series, Autobiography of a Jeep, has its own separate screening at IFFNOHO.
CHEVALIER. Photo courtesy of Strand Releasing and San Francisco Film Society
There are plenty of high-profile movies at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) this weekend, including the surefire audience-pleaser Miss Sharon Jones! and an appearance by Monsoon Wedding’s Mira Nair. But some other gems are screening under the radar. Here are my picks:
The brilliant Greek comedy Chevalier is this weekend’s Must See and a contender for the festival’s funniest film. Obviously a keen observer of male behavior, from director Athina Rachel Tsangari delivers a sly and pointed exploration of male competitiveness, with the moments of drollness and absurdity that we expect in the best of contemporary Greek cinema. Chevalier screens at 8 PM on Saturday night at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission ,and director Tsangari is expected to attend.
Dead Slow Ahead– a visually stunning and an often hypnotic film, shot on a massive freighter on its voyage across vast ocean expanses with its all-Filipino crew. Dead Slow Ahead plays the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission.on Saturday night at 9 PM.
Leaf Blower – a gentle Mexican slice-of-life comedy, with three young guys drifting though rudderless adolescence, doing what teenage males do – busting each others balls, wasting time, and achieving new heights of social awkwardness and sexual frustration. Leaf Blower screens on Sunday night at 9:45 at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission and director Alejandro Iglesias Mendizábal is expected to attend.
Weiner – This hit from the Sundance and New Directors film festivals is an inside look at Anthony Weiner’s cringeworthy, self-immolating campaign for New York City Mayor;
Miss Sharon Jones! – Sure to be a festival crowd-pleaser, this doc chronicles the salty Dap Kings frontwoman and her fight against cancer. From Academy Award-winning documentarian Barbara Kopple (Harlan County U.S.A.);
Unlocking the Cage– an animal welfare doc from storied filmmakers Chris Hegedus (The War Room) and D.A. Pennebaker (Monterey Pop and The War Room); and
The Bandit, in the coveted slot as the festivals’ Closing Night film, documents the real life bromance between Burt Reynolds and iconic stuntman Hal Needham that led to Needham’s Smokey and the Bandit movies.
But some of the best docs in the fest are less well-known nuggets:
NUTS! – a persistently hilarious (and finally poignant) documentary about the rise and fall of a medical and radio empire – all built on goat testicle “implantation” surgery in gullible humans.
Dead Slow Ahead– a visually stunning and an often hypnotic film, shot on a massive freighter on its voyage across vast ocean expanses with its all-Filipino crew.
Under the Sun – a searing insight into totalitarian North Korean society, all from government-approved footage that tells a different story than the wackadoodle dictatorship intended.
The fest opens with Love & Friendship – director Whit Stillman leaves his preppy comfort zone for the 1790s with a period comedy starring Kate Beckinsale. The Closing Night film is The Bandit, documenting the real life bromance between Burt Reynolds and iconic stuntman Hal Needham that led to Needham’s Smokey and the Bandit movies (a cinematic subgenre unto itself). The Coen Brothers will appear at a screening of their debut Blood Simple. Mira Nair will receive an award at the screening of her Monsoon Wedding.
In the See It Here First category, SFFIF presents a number of high-profile movies that are likely to be in theaters later this year:
Five Nights in Maine – a character-driven drama showcasing David Oyewolo, Dianne Wiest and Rosie Perez;
Frank & Lola – a dark exploration of jealousy with Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots (and Emmanuelle Devos!);
The Family Fang – Jason Bateman’s family dramedy starring Bateman, Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken;
High-Rise – a thriller with Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller and Elisabeth Moss;
Our Kind of Traitor – a John le Carré adaptation with Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård;
Southside with You – the re-imagination of Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date; and
Miss Sharon Jones! – sure to be a festival crowd-pleaser, this doc from Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple (Harlan County U.S.A.) chronicles the salty Dap Kings frontwoman and her fight against cancer.
The calendar of this year’s festival includes a rich program of indies, documentaries and foreign films. Among the foreign choices, the Must See is the Greek comedy Chevalier from director Athina Rachel Tsangari. (In 2011, Tsangari brought her hilariously offbeat Attenberg to SFIFF.) Obviously a keen observer of male behavior, Tsangari delivers a sly and pointed exploration of male competitiveness, with the moments of drollness and absurdity that we expect in the best of contemporary Greek cinema.
I’ll be previewing SFIFF’s slate of docs on Wednesday.
The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) opens on April 21 and runs through May 5. Here’s SFFIF’s information on the program, the calendar and tickets and passes.
The Movie Gourmet asked the folks who pick the movies at Cinequest about this year’s program.
MIKE RABEHL is Cinequest’s Director of Programming/Associate Director.
What are your predictions for the biggest audience pleasers? Something like THE SAPPHIRES/THE GRAND SEDUCTION/WILD TALES from past festivals?
Rabehl: As the programming director, I simply do not pick favorites. But, I really think audiences are going to find complete enjoyment in films like REMEMBER ME, HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS, BUDDY SOLITAIRE, THE COMEDY CLUB, CHUCK NORRIS VS. COMMUNISM, I LOVE YOU BOTH, and any of the BARCO ESCAPE screenings.
What might be the festival’s biggest surprise hit?
Rabehl: I think two films that are REALLY going to affect people are LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? and UNTIL 20.
Is there any remarkable new filmmaking talent (like last year’s The Center)?
Rabehl: So much to answer here. You look at Simon Stone’s debut with THE DAUGHTER, or Michael Boroweic and Sam Marine’s MAN UNDERGROUND, and you have to be in awe of what they make you feel. Yet, I really think women director’s shine this year. You look at the French influence of Estelle Artus’ ACCORDING TO HER, the vibrancy of Alicia Slimmer’s CREEDMORIA, the purity of Jane Gull’s MY FERAL HEART, or the timeliness and importance of Kim Rocco Shields’ LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED?…It’s really tough to pick just one, So many great voices, and every single one I have mentioned is unique and, in the case of several, quite groundbreaking.
Is there anything that we haven’t seen before in a movie?
Rabehl: I think LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? pushes the boundaries in a big way and takes of somewhere we haven’t gone before—into a world where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is ridiculed. And, I think people are really going to be wowed by Chris Brown’s THE OTHER KIDS—a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction that really shines a light on the newest generation of youth. And, I have NEVER seen a film like PARABELLUM in all my years of watching cinema. Just something totally different and leaves you breathless at the end.
Last year there were some great single screenings – ’71 and Gemma Bovery kind of under the radar and Three Hearts at the California. Any Can’t Miss single screenings this year?
Rabehl: OPENING and CLOSING nights, definitely. And, I think people will be very sorry if they miss seeing THE WAVE, MA MA, and SUNSET SONG on the big screen. We have also ADDED a new film to the line-up on March 13th, with Paramount’s THE LITTLE PRINCE. I saw it in December, and it is going to be a strong contender for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars next year.
You have a good nose for films from Belgium and Norway. Any Must Sees this year from those national film programs?
Rabehl: I’ve already mentioned THE WAVE—which is from Norway. But, two more films from Norway: STAYING ALIVE and WOMEN IN OVERSIZED MEN’S SHIRTS are definites. And, from Belgium, BROTHER and PROBLEMSKI HOTEL would be my picks. Also, from Russia, don’t miss ORLEANS
Demimonde really looks like my kind of movie (noirish), and Charlie Cockey says that you liked it a lot. Anything you want to tell me about it?
Rabehl: Oh, this one is going to really going to be a sleeper. Hungarian cinema has always been one of our favorites. We have two features this year (the other is FEVER AT DAWN), but in DEMIMONDE, you have this sweeping, Gothic story that feels like a noir. It’s a combination of visual set pieces, costumes, and this incredible musical score that makes me wish to see it on the big screen, rather than the small one I saw it on.
DEMIMONDE
CHARLIE COCKEY is Cinequest’s International Film Programmer.
Some of Cinequest’s highlights always come from international cinema – IDA, of course, and THE HUNT, HEAVENLY SHIFT, IN THE SHADOW and last year’s exquisite CORN ISLAND. What should we be looking for at Cinequest 2016?
Cockey: Please don’t miss THE MEMORY OF WATER – it’s rough, emotionally, but it’s incredible filmmaking. Did you see the absolutely remarkable film THE LIFE OF FISH by Matias Bize? Same director – same quality.
My other picks are LOST IN MUNICH, MAGALLANES, PARABELLUM, SONG OF SONGS, WHY ME? and FEVER AT DAWN.
THE MEMORY OF WATER
SANDY WOLF is Cinequest Documentary Programmer.
Last year’s doc program was very strong, especially ASPIE SEEKS LOVE, MEET THE HITLERS, THERE WILL BE NO STAY and SWEDEN’S COOLEST NATIONAL TEAM. What do you see as the strongest 2-3 documentary features this year? What do you predict will be the biggest audience pleasing documentary?
Wolf: My favorite doc is CHUCK NORRIS VS. COMMUNISM, which I know you have seen. After that, my next two favorites are TRANSFIXED (which is about a transsexual trying to undergo a sex change, who also has Asperger’s) and UNDER 20 (sad but inspirational about a kid who has cancer but keeps on with his high achieving life) – I could see that being an audience favorite, too.
Three others which I favored more so than some of the others are COMEDY CLUB, DAN AND MARGO and GORDON GETTY: THERE WILL BE MUSIC.
Is there any remarkable new documentary filmmaking talent (first feature, etc.)?
Wolf: TRANSFIXED is a first feature.
Bookmark my Cinequest 2016 page, with links to all my coverage. Follow me on Twitter for the latest.
I’ve already seen over twenty offerings from Cinequest 2016, and here are my initial recommendations.
MUST SEE
The Memory of Water: This Chilean drama explores grief, its process and its impact and might just be most masterful filmmaking achievement at Cinequest 2016. Exquisite. March 2, 10, 11.
WORLD PREMIERES
Lost Solace: Highly original psychological thriller and a brilliant directorial debut. World Premiere March 4, 6, 10.
Heaven’s Floor: Absorbing and character-driven autobiographical drama about a most complicated woman and the choices that indelibly affect several lives.World Premiere March 4, 6, 11.
Cinequest hosts the world premiere of LOST SOLACE
DRAMA
Demimonde: Sex, intrigue and murder in this operatic Hungarian period drama. U.S. Premiere March 2, 3, 9, 10.
The Daughter: Based on an Ibsen play, this Australian drama is Cinequest’s Closing Night film and packs a powerfully emotional punch. March 13.
ROMANCE
Fever at Dawn: Urgent period romance between Holocaust survivors, with an unexpected nugget at the end.
DOCUMENTARIES
Chuck Norris vs. Communism: The subversive impact of movies (ANY movies) on a culture-starved society. March 4, 6 and 12
Dan and Margot: A very personal look at schizophrenia from the schizophrenic’s point of view. U.S. Premiere March 6, 7, 8.
The Promised Band: A group of Israeli and Palestinian women seek to fight through the cultural, legal, political, military and security barriers between them by forming a girl band. World Premiere March 4, 6, 10.
The Brainwashing of My Dad: Personalizes the effects of right-wing media on mood and personality as well as on the political culture. US Premiere March 5, 6, 9.
Gordon Getty: There Will Be Music: Insights into the quiet passion and creative process of a most unusual classical composer. March 6, 11, 12.
SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE
Parabellum: This absurdist and trippy Argentine drama is set in a pre-apocalyptic near future; clearly everyone should be panicking, but no one is. March 2. 10, 12.
COMEDY
A Beginner’s Guide to Snuff: Broad, dark and shamelessly low brow comedy with a sparkling performance by an actress as an actress. World Premiere March 4, 6, 11.
WOMEN FILMMAKERS
This year, Cinequest presents the world or US premieres of sixty features and sixty-nine shorts. And of these 129 debut films, 64 were directed by women! These include Heaven’s Floor, The Brainwashing of My Dad, Dan and Margot and The Promised Band.
HEAVEN’S FLOOR
PREVIEWS
Several Cinequest films already have U.S. distributors and are planned for theatrical release later this year. I haven’t seen them yet, but you can see them first at Cinequest:
The Helen Mirren thriller Eye in the Sky on Opening Night, March 1;
The Wave (Borgen) March 2;
Ma Ma (Penelope Cruz) March 6;
Colonia (Emma Watson) March 10;
February(Shipka Kiernan from Mad Men, Emma Roberts) March 12; and
The Adderall Diaries (James Franco, who will be making a personal appearance) March 12;
The Little Prince (already spoken of as a contender for the 2017 Animated Feature Oscar) March 13.
Take a look at the entire program, the schedule and the passes and tickets. (If you want to support Silicon Valley’s most important cinema event while skipping the lines, the tax-deductible $100 donation for Express Line Access is an awesome deal.)
As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. I usually screen (and write about) over thirty films from around the world. Bookmark my Cinequest 2016 page, with links to all my coverage. Follow me on Twitter for the latest.
Tomorrow: Cinequest insiders look at the 2016 festival
Make your plans now to attend the 26th edition of Cinequest, Silicon Valley’s own major film festival. By some metrics the largest film festival in North America, Cinequest was recently voted the nation’s best by USA Today readers. The 2016 Cinequest is scheduled for March 1 through March 13 and will over 100 feature films from the US and over twenty other countries. And, at Cinequest, it’s easy to meet the filmmakers.
This year’s headline events include:
The Helen Mirren thriller Eye in the Sky on Opening Night.
A pre-release screening of the major studio The Little Prince, already spoken of as a contender for the 2017 Animated Feature Oscar.
James Franco’s appearance to present his film The Adderall Diaries.
Rita Moreno’s attendance at the world premiere of her movie Remember Me.
The Australian drama The Daughter on Closing Night (I’ve seen it – and it packs a punch!).
This year, Cinequest presents the world or US premieres of sixty features and sixty-nine shorts. And of these 129 debut films, 64 were directed by women!
I’m going to be strongly recommending at least two of these first features, the psychological thriller Lost Solace and the character-driven drama Heaven’s Floor. I’ve already screened over a dozen Cinequest 2016 movies, and I’ve already also found an excellent period romance, some thought-provoking documentaries and even a satisfying low brow comedy.
Indeed, the real treasure at Cinequest 2016 is likely to be found among the hitherto less well-known films. In the past three years, the Cinequest gems Wild Tales, ’71, Ida and The Hunt all made my Best of the Year lists.
Cinequest is on my list of Silicon Valley’s Best Movie Deals. You can get a pass for as little as $155, and you can get individual tickets as well. The express pass for an additional tax-deductible $100 is a fantastic deal – you get to skip to the front of the lines!
Take a look at the program, the schedule and the passes and tickets. (If you want to support Silicon Valley’s most important cinema event while skipping the lines, the $100 donation for Express Line Access is an awesome deal.)
As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. I usually screen (and write about) over thirty films from around the world. I’ll soon have up a Cinequest 2016 page. Follow me on Twitter for the latest.
Kyle Chandler and Casey Affleck in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
The Sundance Film Festival happened this past week and it happened without The Movie Gourmet traveling to Park City, Utah. Nevertheless, I followed Sundance on a daily basis and here’s why – the buzz from Sundance adds a bunch of movies to my “Must Find and See” list for the coming year.
Last year’s Sundance Film Festival produced six films for my Best Movies of 2015: #2 Wild Tales, #5 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, #4 Brooklyn, and honorable mentions I’ll See You in My Dreams, The End of the Tour and ’71. In addition, Sundance featured several of the year’s most notable films: The Tribe, It Follows, Tangerine, Diary of a Teenage Girl, I Smile Back and 99 Homes.
The films on the top of my 2016 Sundance Must See list are Manchester By the Sea and The Birth of a Nation. Manchester By the Sea is from Kenneth Lonergan, who also wrote and directed the brilliant You Can Count on Me and Margaret. Manchester By the Sea features a reputedly searing performance by Casey Affleck; Kyle Chandler also stars.
The Birth of a Nation, which won the top prize at the fest, is the story of the slave rebellion chronicled in The Confessions of Nat Turner, written and directed by and starring the actor Nate Parker. Believe it or not, both movies are ALREADY generating 2016 Oscar buzz.
This year, Amazon and Netflix, to the consternation of the movie studios, aggressively shopped for Sundance indies. Amazon bought Manchester By the Sea and, although The Birth of a Nation was bought by Fox Searchlight, Netflix drove up the price.
Sundance is also usually especially rich with documentaries. Last year’s haul included Listen to Me Marlon, What Happened Miss Simone?, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead, Welcome to Leith, The Hunting Ground, Prophet’s Prey, Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Finders Keepers, Hot Girls Wanted and Cartel Land. In other words, Amy, The Look of Silence and Hitchcock/Truffaut were the only major 2015 documentaries that did NOT play Sundance.
This year’s top doc at Sundance was Weiner, an inside look at the Anthony Weiner mayoral campaign that collapsed on his bafflingly gross tweets and sexts. Mrs. Weiner is Huma Abedin, a longtime top aide to another Famously Wronged Woman, Hillary Clinton. Prepare to cringe.
