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 Traitor and 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.
