Dead Slow Ahead

SFIFF under the radar this weekend

by
CHEVALIER. Photo courtesy of Strand Releasing
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.

Throughout San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), I’ll be linking more festival coverage to my SFFIF 2016 page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

DEAD SLOW AHEAD. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
DEAD SLOW AHEAD. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.

SFIFF: previewing the documentaries

by
A scene from Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's WEINER will play at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, on April 21 - May 5,2016.
WEINER. Photo courtesy  San Francisco Film Society.

There’s a characteristically strong slate of documentaries at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF).  The  docs with the highest profiles are

  • 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.

Last year’s SFIFF brought us The Look of Silence, Listen to Me Marlon, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead and Very Semi-Serious.  The festival’s 2016 docs may be even more impressive.

The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) runs through May 5. Throughout the fest, I’ll be linking more festival coverage to my SFFIF 2016 page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

Sharon Jones performs at the Beacon Theater in Barbara Kopple's MISS SHARON JONES!, playing at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 21st - May 5th, 2016.Jacob Blickenstaff, 2014, courtesy of San Francisco Film Society
MISS SHARON JONES! Photo: Jacob Blickenstaff, 2014, courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.

SFIFF: DEAD SLOW AHEAD

by
A scene from Mauro Herce's DEAD SLOW AHEAD, playing at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 21 – May 5 2016.
A scene from Mauro Herce’s DEAD SLOW AHEAD, playing at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 21 – May 5 2016.

Dead Slow Ahead is a visually stunning and an often hypnotic film, shot on the massive freighter Fair Lady on its voyage across vast ocean expanses with its all-Filipino crew. Its first screening at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) is on April 23.

Are we in for a sea adventure?  Not exactly.  Our guide is first-time Director Mauro Herce.  His camera observes and so do we.  He doesn’t explain what we are seeing – we have to connect the dots.  We see the darkened bridge, the cavernous hold and unfamiliar ship machinery.  The film opens with the beeps and tones of controls on the bridge; then we mostly hear the rhythmic lapping of the waves and the random groans of the ship.  The effect is mesmerizing.

There are dramatic seascapes and some seriously impressive cloud weather.  The few mariners handle the machinery and attend the bulk cargo.  Given the expanse of open ocean and the vastness of the huge ship, everyday tasks seem heroic.

Where does the Fair Lady go?  There are some coastlines, but usually we’re beyond the sight of land.  The end credits thank workers in a series of Mediterranean ports plus Odessa, Port Said, Aqaba and New Orleans.  But the where is not the point of Dead Slow Ahead.

Dead Slow Ahead won a special jury prize at the Locarno International Film Festival.  It’s an impressive debut for Herce – one of those films that gradually envelopes the viewer.

The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) runs through May 5. Throughout the fest, I’ll be linking more festival coverage to my SFFIF 2016 page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.