Life with Movies and Maxxxxx

Tales of the City - a New Musical

2011-06-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Overall: There are some great things about this musical adaptation of TALES OF THE CITY, now playing at A.C.T. in San Francisco! There are a few truly NOT great things, too. The end result is having witnessed a 'work in progress' of a piece that should be a bit further along by now. The running times during this two week preview period have been rumored between 2:40 and 3 hours. Our production Sunday night was a solid 3 hours. (Mind you, it didn't feel that long!)

The show opens with a trademark Scissor Sisters (Jake Spears and John Garden) disco homage (mirror balls included!) before launching into fairly tame musical comedy territory. The cast is given some great music to perform, particularly some of the ballads for the women. Anna Madrigal's Act One curtain anthem is fabulous. Mother Mucca's production number at the Blue Moon Lodge, with her 'girls', is a show stopper and could generate its own encore, if staged appropriately. The male chorus has a "Gay Brunch Scene" that is probably the most entertaining moment in the show. It's a nearly unnecessary moment and if it weren't for it's fun quotient, would risk being cut. Mona has a wonderful ballad in the second act after she runs away and Mouse's coming out letter could be the men's best song, if staged with some sort of interest. I do wish that, given the size and scope of the cast, there were some sort of ensemble recap, a la "Les Miz/West Side Story", but there isn't a 'grand company moment'.

The choreography and musical staging is terrible. I do not know of Larry Keigwin, but what he's done here is a step beyond just marking production numbers. With only a couple exceptions, the cast basically lines up and step kicks. In unison. It's very amateurish and at times embarrassing.

Jeff Whitty's libretto is nearly slavish to the book, including a bit of an excerpt from the second to help wrap one of the plots up. This is where it gets a bit bumpy though. Mary Ann's second 'boyfriend', Norman, is uncomfortably SQUEEZED into the second act. It reaches nearly laughable extremes as his story is condensed, virtually recited and resolved (blackmailing, child pornography and the cliff dive), all within a five minute scene that needs to be responsible for changing Mary Ann's innocent view of human nature. It is a nearly farcical amount of detail that must be explained away and given the intricacies of the plotlines and the lasting effect it must have on Mary Ann, the character can't really be cut. Yet, it is hard to justify adding another scene or extending any of the existing ones, without cutting some of the slack from somewhere else. (Perhaps a little less time spent with boyfriend #1 (Beauchamp Day), who is over written to begin with?)

The core ensemble of principals is larger than the chorus, who themselves step into some decent sized supporting roles. Maupin's characters, particularly the women, are wonderfully portrayed. Judy Kaye could be a bit more 'butch' as Anna Madrigal, but she delivers the goods from the revelation on. Mary Birdsong is great as Mona Ramsey as are the showstopping Kathleen Monteleone as DeDe and Diane Findlay as Mother Mucca! Betsey Wolfe sounds great as Mary Ann. It is the most difficult role, particularly given the second act.

The Maupin's male characters have never been quite as exciting. Wesley Taylor is adorable as Mouse and Josh Breckenridge is gorgeous as his boyfriend John Fielding. (He is unable to vocally keep up, though.) Richard Poe is great as Edward Halcyon, and benefits from only being required a single duet with Madrigal. The rest of the men just don't seem to be having as much fun. Andrew Samonsky over hammers the misogynist, Beauchamp. Patrick Lane's Brian is nearly an afterthought. And then there is the problem of Norman, played Manoel Felciano. Felciano does his best with THE PROBLEM role of the entire production.

The design of production is workable, though the '70s polyester is almost TOO authentic and cheesy. Madrigal is given some great, flowing star-quality robes, though. The multi-tiered set is barely used beyond the stage floor. It's somewhat reminiscent of COMPANY in which each space is brought in by wagon, regardless of which floor of the building it is located on. However, given the innumerable settings (Barbary Lane's five apartments, Halcyon Communications, Land's End, Ocean Beach, a bath house, various bars, etc.), I'm not sure there is much more of a way around it. It's as if director Jason Moore was so overwhelmed by the amount of material that he was unable to conceptualize or stylize a way of presenting it.

Maxxxxx says re TALES OF THE CITY: Doobie doobie dooo-oooo
You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Silent Film Festival Winter Event, 2011

2011-01-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE
January 26, 2011

For Immediate Release

Silent Film Festival Winter Event

Features the West Coast Premiere of the Dazzling Restoration of

L'ARGENT

Accompanied by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

February 12 at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco

The New York Times
hails the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra's recent performance at the Museum of the Moving Image's 'Recovered Treasures' series: "The undoubted highlight is Marcel L'Herbier's spectacular Art Moderne adaptation of Zola's L'Argent, restored to its full three-hour length by the French Film Archives and presented with a live accompaniment by that most sensitive and accomplished of silent film ensembles, the Mont Alto Orchestra."

Greed and sex drive L'Herbier's 1928 masterpiece that chronicles the contemporary Paris of high finance, speculation, and corruption. In spite of a butchered last-minute re-edit (rumored to be the result of a feud between the director and a studio head) the film was popular upon its release. But with this beautiful restoration struck from the original negative, featuring L'Herbier's original cut, L'Argent takes its place among other indisputable masterpieces of the silent era such as Von Stroheim's Greed, Murnau's Sunrise, Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc. The excess of the story is mirrored in the filmmaking-opulent sets, breathtaking camerawork, and a rhythm that conveys glamour and modernity, with superb performances by Brigitte Helm, Pierre Alcover, and Alfred Abel. Our 35mm print comes from Archives Françaises du Film, with special permission by Marie-Ange L'Herbier, the director's granddaughter.

Mont Alto's main theme for L'Argent is the "Herod Overture" is by the American composer Henry Hadley. Hadley was the first conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, arriving exactly 100 years ago in 1911. He composed a variety of music for concert orchestras, several operas, and music for the Bohemian Grove's annual festivities, and is remembered today as the composer of the Movietone score for John Barrymore's "When a Man Loves," one of the finest period scores written for a late silent. There's a story that after Hadley left the SF Symphony in 1915, the musicians all got more reliable jobs playing in movie theater orchestras and the symphony had to cancel it's season.

Complete Winter Event Program:

Our early program It's Mutual (1:00 pm, $15) is a collection of sparkling shorts by Charlie Chaplin, made during his stint at the Mutual Film Corporation where he honed his craft and became the genius director we think of today. The shorts - The Pawnshop, The Rink, and The Adventurer - contain some of the funniest moments ever put to screen, and are a glimpse into the development of this master of cinema. And supplying the perfect accompaniment to Chaplin's brilliance will be Donald Sosin at the baby grand piano. 35mm film prints from the David Shepard Collection.

Continuing our tradition of presenting world-class blockbusters at the Winter Event afternoon show, we present Marcel L'Herbier's L'Argent (3:30 pm, $15) accompanied by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

The evening show, La Bohème (8:00 pm, $17) is devoted to the one of the themes movies have excelled at from the beginning - the love story! This eternal romance set in bohemian Paris of the 1830s has been filmed many times, but King Vidor's classic starring Lillian Gish as Mimi and John Gilbert as Rodolphe is the definitive version. New 35mm print courtesy of Stanford Theatre Foundation and UCLA Film and Television Archive. The Master of the Mighty Wurlitzer, Dennis James, will accompany this perfect Valentine's weekend fare.

At 6:30 there will be a Winter Event Celebration Party ($20) on the Castro's mezzanine. Delicious hors d'oeuvres, hearty drinks, and pleasing conversation to be had by all! The extraordinary Michel Saga will serenade on the barrel organ, singing songs of old Paris.

For tickets and more information, please visit the Silent Film Festival.

Screeners and images are available for all films. Please contact Anita Monga, 510-843-4245 anita@silentfilm.org

High-res images can be downloaded from our pressroom

The Silent Film Festival is a nonprofit organization promoting the artistic, cultural, and historic value of silent film with live musical accompaniment.

Maxxxxx says re Silent Film Festivals: (quiet....)

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

PATRIK, AGE 1.5 (aka some Swedish family values for you!)

2010-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

PATRIK, AGE 1.5 (dir. Ella Lemhagen, Sweden, 100 Mins.) This was a "Centerpiece screening" at last year's FRAMELINE, and is only now receiving theatrical distribution. I feared the film would be 'cute'. I LOATHE 'cute'! But, 'cuteness' lay only in the production design in which the pair of gay men live, surrounded in an IKEA constructed suburb, where they seek to adopt a child. It is not a spoiler to state that the decimal for the 1.5 year old they initially agree to adopt is misplaced to read 15 years old, as that is the conflict and reason for the piece. The trio is forced to deal with each other and their existence as a family, surrounded in a white picket fence world. The characters at the core of the film are what saved it from my loathing. The performances are real and artistically set against the artificial, idealized background, which hinders, if not oppresses their development as a family unit. The screenplay and direction handles the varying sources of conflict (the couple, the kid, the neighbors) with balance and sincerity. Never does the film cross the line into "made-for-tv" melodrama. I never felt manipulated or 'preached to', but gainfully followed the central trio's emotional journey to become a family unit. Director Ella Lemhagen navigates the numerous emotional and sociological obstacles realistically.

It's a crowd pleaser, without condescending to the crowd. The film won the Audience Award at last year's FRAMELINE as well as various other festivals. The film opens on Friday, Aug, 13, 2010, at Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco, and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.

Maxxxxx says re PATRIK, AGE 1.5: "I love you, too!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

The 30th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival - the Castro Week Highlights

2010-07-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

The 30th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the world’s first and largest Jewish film festival, will be held July 24 – August 9, 2010, in San Francisco, Berkeley, the Peninsula and Marin County. For films, schedules, venues and tickets, visit www.sfjff.org and its programming pages.

Instead of delving into a slew of DVD press screeners for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this year, I decided I needed to be there in person, as much as possible. By this point, after Frameline, the SF Silent Film Festival and (my unreported) dozen or so screeners for the SF IndieFest Horror Fest (aka Another Hole in the Head), not to mention reacquainting myself with Matthew Barney's seven-plus hour CREMASTER CYCLE, all within a month of each other, I got a bit burnt out. But after last year's commotion at the SFJFF, and due to the number of live performances scheduled this year, I felt I really wanted to attend, live and as freshly as possible. Here are my highlights from the first week of the SFJFF, as it opens at the Castro, before moving on to Berkeley, Marin and parts beyond, and returning to San Francisco at the SF Jewish Community Center.

Opening Night began with a traditional review of festival trailers. This year's trailer is actually stood up pretty well against the collection. Introductory comments were presented by Dana Doron, President of the Board, who in turn introduced a corporate sponsor. This was perhaps the only unfortunately dull section of the program, until Doron introduced Executive Director, Peter Stein and the new Program Director, Jay Rosenblatt. Peter is always a hoot to watch and listen to as a speaker! Jay Rosenblatt appeared a bit nervous in his debut (as well as displaying a surprising tenor of a speaking voice) as he introduced the opening night film.

SAVIORS IN THE NIGHT (dir. Ludi Boeken, France/Germany, 2009, 100 mins.)
The film follows the true story of Jewish refugees who were successfully hidden from the Nazi regime by fellow Germans. Yes, I know it sounds like I just gave away a HUGE spoiler, however, it works as wells as a study of the relationships between the regime, the faithful and those who were attempting to survive. There is a little girl in the cast, who thankfully is not asked to cross the line into precociousness or "cuteness", but has been expertly directed to be overwhelmed the situation. The mothers of the farm family as well as the refugees are both wonderfully portrayed and give riveting performances. Though it could be dangerously called a "happy holocaust film", it is a relief (as well as a choice opening night selection) to pick a film that presents hope in the human condition under the worst of circumstances. Following the film, the woman whose life it was based on, Marga Spiegel (who received an exceptionally warm standing ovation), director Ludi Boeken and principal actor Lia Hoensbroech were present for an in depth interview with Mr. Rosenblatt and a smattering of audience Q&A. (Next screenings: Sat, July 31 2010, 6:45pm Cinearts @ Palo Alto Square‎; Sat, August 7 2010, 7:00pm, The Roda Theatre @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Mon, August 9 2010, 6:15pm, Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center)

HUNGRY HEARTS (dir. E. Mason Hopper, USA, 1922, 80 min) This fairly melodramatic silent film was accompanied by an enthusiastic, if not nearly psychedelic score composed by Ethan Miller (Howlin’ Rain, Comets on Fire) performed by the Moab Strangers, which formed specifically for this project, including Bay Area psychedelic rock and folk heroes Matt Baldwin, Utrillo Kushner (Colossal Yes, Comets on Fire), Joel Robinow (Drunk Horse). I found the combination of the score and the on-screen histrionics of newly arrived Jewish immigrants faced with the injustices of settling in New York City, combined perfectly, particularly during the climatic meltdown scene, at which time a portion of the audience (including myself) erupted in spontaneous applause. (In fact, I had the same euphoric feeling I have when watching Bill Morrison's DECASIA with Michael Gordon's score.) Unfortunately, it was a one-time only performance for this festival.

A ROOM AND A HALF (dir. Andrey Khrzhanovsky, Russia, 2008, 130 mins.) As Jay Rosenblatt introduced the film with an excerpt of the Variety review, as a "fantasia of memory", nearly perfectly describes this wild ride of a biography of Nobel poet laureate, Joseph Brodsky. The stunning mixture of technique and styles including archival footage, original animation, and a kaleidoscopic combination of cinematographic techniques and the classical and period soundtrack used in film the dramatic narrative gives the screenplay a near Proustian weight and depth. It is an exhilirating couple of hours and worth catching at its encore screenings! (Next screenings: Mon, August 2, 2010, 6:00pm, The Roda Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre)

ANITA (dir. Marcos Carnevale, 2009, Argentina, 104 mins.) This was featured as the Centerpiece Film of the San Francisco portion of the festival and features one of the most charming and warm performances of the festival, by Alejandra Manzo, who is living with Down Syndrome. (She was present for the Q&A.) After the Jewish neighborhood suffers a bombing, 'Anita' finds herself wandering lost in the city and proceeds on a Candide-like series of episodes. The film does tread treacherously into 'made-for-tv' melodrama, but it is rescued nearly single handedly by Ms. Manzo's surprisingly uncloying and sincere performance. (Next screenings: Sun, August 1 2010, 6:30pm, Cinearts @ Palo Alto Square‎; Tue, August 3 2010, 6:30pm, The Roda Theatre, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre)

THE "SOCALLED" MOVIE (dir. Garry Beitel, 2010, Canada, 87 mins.) Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin): Frankly, I can not describe this biographic documentary of musician, rapper, composer, magician, filmmaker and visual artist, who calls himself "Socalled" (aka Josh Dolgin) better than the program notes: "...Blasting through the boundaries that separate different cultures, eras and generations, Socalled creates a wholly unique sound combining klezmer, funk, soul and hip-hop. Not too shabby for a nice Jewish boy from Montreal. Socalled is a musical alchemist, always looking for the next old thing to make new again, whether it’s introducing funk trombone legend Fred Wesley (of James Brown’s famous band, the J.B.’s) or inspiring 1950s lounge pianist Irving Fields to pen a new hit song. Shot partly in Socalled’s Montreal neighborhood, where Hasidic Jews and hipsters crowd the sidewalks, and following him on tour through New York, France and an emotionally spiritual trip back to his ancestral home of the Ukraine, The “Socalled” Movie is a dynamic, kaleidoscopic portrait of an iconoclastic artist at the peak of his powers." 'Socalled' was present for a short concert after the screening in San Francisco, and his charm and joy was infectious!

It was accompanied by the short subject, MAURICE AT THE WORLD'S FAIR (dir. Spike Jonez, 2010, US, 4 mins.), which relates a childhood memory of Maurice Sendak exacting some revenge against his big sister, featuring Catherine Keener in an array of roles in the dramatic recreation. I love her!

(Next screenings: Sat, August 7 2010, 9:15pm, The Roda Theatre, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre)

A pair of semi-short subjects are screening together, which feature the Holocaust survival stories of two very different, but similarly strong women. INGELORE (dir. Frank Stiefel, 2009, USA, 40 mins.) focuses on Ingelore Herz Honigstein, who was born deaf and narrates in speech and sign the harrowing events leading up to her immigration to America from Nazi Germany. "Frank Stiefel’s portrait of his mother is both a loving tribute and a remarkable feat of compressed storytelling."

SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY (dir. John-Keith Wasson, 2010, USA, 65 mins.) Tells a similar story, however its subject, Jutta Cords is an exceptionally verbose interview subject. Her story of the romance with a German soldier, which ends up involved in the "Valkyrie" project to assassinate Hitler, is what Hollywood dramas are made of. It is a riveting story told by a riveting speaker.

Both directors were present, as well as Ingelore Herz Honigstein, who proved to be quite the 'witness' during her public appearance.

(Next screenings: Wed, August 4 2010, 2:15pm The Roda Theatre, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre - Free Admission)

BUDRUS (dir. Julia Bacha, 2009, USA, 82 mins.) This film is currently becoming an audience and jury favorite documentary on the festival circuit and appears to be Oscar bound. It is both an infuriating, yet in the end an immensely moving document of a peaceful resistance movement that took place in the Palenstinian West Bank against the Israeli attempt to surround the village of Budrus with a wall. The movement is led by Ayed Morrar, who successfully involves the politically far flung factions of the village, as well as involving the eager female citizens. The film also has a great deal of footage and interviews with the Israeli soldiers who were involved in this helpless face down. I was truly surprised by how moved I was by the achievement that Morrar's peace movement (or as the producer describes him: "the Ghandi of the Middle East") was able and continues to influence the occupation of the West Bank. (Next screenings: Sun, August 1 2010, 6:45pm, The Roda Theatre, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre)

A FILM UNFINISHED (dir. Yael Hersonski, 2009, Israel, 89 mins.) This is a nearly painful visual experience of the recovery and restoration of a lost "documentary" from the Third Reich which portrays the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto. It was incomplete, so director Hersonski proceeds to attempt to piece it together in an attempt to decipher not only the propoganda behind the piece, but also reveals some truly tragic scenes of treatment. She has also gathered some of the survivors who actually appear in the film and/or were witnesses to the staging of some of the scenes. She also was able to obtain the diaries of the "mayor" of the ghetto, which describes his disgust in being involved in the production's creation. It is nearly as painful to watch the participants watch the film, as it is to see the scenes of the deaths in the streets of the ghetto. A particularly sobering experience. (Next screenings: Sat, July 31 2010, 4:15pm, Cinearts @ Palo Alto Square; Sun, August 1 2010, 4:15pm, The Roda Theatre @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Sat, August 7 2010, 4:45pm, Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center)

To bring the week at the Castro to a close, the festival chose to present THE KLEZMATICS: ON HOLY GROUND (dir. Erik Anjou, 2010, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, USA, Color, 105 mins.), which is something of a party in itself! I am only vaguely acquainted with this Grammy winning klezmer/world music/jazz fusion band, but am quickly a fan, after watching this documentary, as well as the mini-concert that a pair of the members gave at the Q&A following the screening. The film itself is described pretty honestly and accurately by Peter Stein in the program: "...[the film] combines the best elements of a backstage doc, a concert film and an eye-opening lesson in remixing Jewish culture."

(Next screenings: Sat, July 31 2010, 7:00pm, The Roda Theatre @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre and features a post-film reception in the Roda courtyard.)

Maxxxxx says re the faves of the week, which based around music, i.e. HUNGRY HEARTS, THE KLAZMATICS: "Dooby doobie dooo-ooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

CREMASTER CYCLE returns!! (with DE LAMA LAMINA)

2010-07-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

The epic art film of the century (so far) THE CREMASTER CYCLE (dir. Matthew Barney, USA, 1994-2002, 540 minutes, approximately - who's counting?), Matthew Barney's seven hour opus to the cremaster (the muscle which controls the descent of the testicles) returns to San Francisco at the Roxie Theatre, after it's huge engagement at the Castro Theatre seven years ago. It will be accompanied by his latest film, DE LAMA LAMINA (commented upon below), but frankly I'd pass on that just to make more energy and room and time for The Cycle!

Since Matthew Barney is an ARTIST, people generally love him or loathe him. If you love him, you probably need not read further as you already have your Cycle Tickets and are going, unless you want to read another, though brief, interpretation of his work here. If you are new to Matthew Barney, fear not! You do not need to see the entire 7 hours in a gulp. I would suggest, if you were to pick and peck at the Cycle, that you begin with Cycle 5. Yes, the ending. The music by Jonathan Bepler, who scores the entire cycle, is glorious, the visuals are (unusually) accessible and there is even Ursula Andress to look upon to add to the beauty of the piece. It is also one of the hour long episodes.

If you are a newbie and feeling adventurous, then dive into Cremaster 3, the longest of the Cycle at three hours. The production values and artistry are jaw dropping!! The musical score is dreamy and chaotic. It is a mammoth piece, taking place in the Chrysler Building as well as the Guggenheim Museum, and features Richard Serra, Aimee Mullins and the punk band, Grand Masters. (The Guggenheim Museum sequence is the only section of the entire Cycle that is or ever will be (legitimately) available on DVD.) It is not quite as accessible as episodes 5 or 1, unless you are familiar with Celtic and Masonic rituals. However, it fits quite nicely in the Cycle as a whole, compared to episode 2. I would NOT recommend episode 2. Actually, if it weren't so early in the cycle, it would make for a nice dinner break for even some of the Barney-heads, I'm sure!

So, what is all the commotion about? Yes, I could be somewhat snide and say that Matthew Barney has created a seven-hour art film about his testicles dropping. However, it does dig deeper into the psyche of his view of masculinity and 'manhood', in all it's forms: biological, psychological, emotional, spiritual. His performances (he appears throughout the Cycle) are quite athletic and robust and, quite often, features himself in the nude. Cycle parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 follow this interpretation quite nicely. Cycle 2 (aka the Gary Gilmore episode) feels out of place at best. Even after reading quite a bit of analysis of Cycle 2, I still fail to grasp what Gary Gilmore and his Mormon upbringing (HOW did Matthew Barney get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to cooperate?!) have to do with the cremaster.

I would have switched the sequence of parts 2 and 4. The films were not made in numerical order, but rather in the order of 4 (1994), 1 (1995), 5 (1997), 2 (1999) and 3 (2002).) Cycle 4 is generally regarded as the most biological interpretation, with the racing of two motorcyclists around the Isle of Man, their target is Matthew Barney as a satyr waiting for them on a pier, and it would fit quite nicely after Cycle 1's dueling Goodyear Blimps. Cycle 3 features Barney having to test himself in Celtic and Masonic rituals: sort of the coming of age of a man. (Then I would have inserted Cycle 4, featuring the murderer, I guess?) Cycle 5 is definitely the most romantic and spiritual piece, as he reaches a climax. Literally.

Overall, I am gobsmacked at the enormous production values for an 'art project'! It is nearly Wagnerian in scope. The Roxie is offering "Marathon Passes" for the weekend screenings. The theatre has also broken it down into consecutive mini-cycles during the week for those unsure of taking it in one big 7 hour gulp!

For the TRULY DEVOUT Matthew Barney fan, The Cycle is being accompanied by his DE LAMA LAMINA (dir. Matthew Barney, US, date?, 55 mins.) However, if you ARE truly devout then you have probably seen his HOIST (included in shorts compilation DESTRICTED) which is cut into this document of his performance of the piece at the Carnaval de Slavador da Bahia, Brazil. Though probably the most exhibitionistic of his works that I know of (yes, it features a full erection), I also feel it is the most mundane, if not provocative for its own sake, of his works. Find HOIST on DVD and save yourself an hour.

Maxxxxx says re THE CREMASTER CYCLE: "Is it time for shower??!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Pagina Perdida

2010-07-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I received a mysterious email, with a link to this trailer for "an intriguing scenario and inhabited by strange characters, "Lost Page” ("Página Perdida") is an abstract film, the result of a powerfull visual dimension created by Lucas Moreira added to the experimental electro-acoustic music of Marcelo Armani.
Produced by Sanglant Films and Department of Culture of São Leopoldo."

It is called: Pagina Perdida

I want to see more....!

Maxxxxx says"Ooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Closing Night

2010-07-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

L'HEUREUSE MORT (dir. Serge Nadejdine, France, 1924, 83 mins.), accompanied by the Matti Bye Ensemble. This was introduced by Leonard Maltin, who gave the audience plaudits for trusting the SFSFF enough to pack the house for a literally unknown film, by a fairly unknown director, with music by a group fairly new to California. (The Matti Bye Ensemble is from Sweden.) The film, in short, is a HOOT of a farce! Briefly, a bad playwright (played by the screenwriter, Nicolas Rimsky) is mistakenly left for dead and then, ironically revered and finds new fortune in death. So, he and his wife (a deftly subtle and wonderful Lucie Larue) play along with that. Yes, I laughed! And, yes, there were twists that even the 85 year old film was able to pull off without giving anything away! The score was a lovely, eighty minute, bittersweet waltz, which underscored the desperate situation that our characters found themselves. (I DID walk out humming the waltz!) I LOVED the music that Matti Bye composed for this. His arrangement fully utilized the instrumental, vocal and comedic talents of his five piece ensemble. Had I known how lovely his sound is, I would have bought the three CDs available there. (There is only one available at Amazon.com and it is an import.) I MUST HAVE! I was thrilled to end the exhausting weekend with a new find!

(The film was preceded, as were all of the features, by a Georges Méliès film, which I have been amiss in reporting on. As TRIP TO THE MOON is probably the most well-known, that was the one which I attempted a full report. The rest of them were... sillier!)

Maxxxxx says re L'HEUREUSE MORT : "Dooby doobie dooo-ooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Day 3 (aka I AM Harry Langdon!)

2010-07-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is held every July at The Castro Theatre and is the largest silent film festival in the country. In its fifteenth year, the festival expands to four days and eighteen programs, July 15 - 18, 2010. Ticket information is available here: http://www.silentfilm.org/event-tickets.php

Still coming through the exhaustive experience of the previous night's METROPOLIS, I attended only two of the six programs today. The first being a panel made up of members from each of the festival musicians, each of whom explained their craft and ideology in performing with silent films. In summary: Dennis James ("the Master of the Mighty Wurlitzer") was by far the self proclaimed purist. He researches for the complete score and then the music of the period, then uses details from the film to fill in what might be missing. Donald Sosin (pianist) is just a step left of this, in that his method relies on a lot of preparation and analysis of the film, though he is not as much of a purist as far as material. The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra prepares scores with pieces from the period, usually stringing together a program of "quotes" that they feel is as purist as a small ensemble can become during a performance. The Matti Bye Ensemble prepares original material based upon a thorough dissection of the film and the nuances of the characters within it. Stephen Horne (pianist and some winds) likes to improvise and I have always found his style to be impressionistic; almost Satie- like. The Alloy Orchestra feels they are the "bad boys" of the business as anything goes for them and they LOVE to improvise, even beyond their prepared scores. The group was moderated by Chloe Veltman, however her questions were so open and vague that the musicians had a hard time answering. She opened it up to an audience Q&A, but, frankly, that scared me and I left for a break.

The next program I attended was introduced by Stacey Wisnia, who presented the SF Silent Film Festival Preservation Award (I need to check that!) to Photoplay Productions, which was represented by (apparent silent film aficionado icons) Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury. (They received a standing ovation!) Brownlow gave a lovely acceptance speech and introduced THE STRONG MAN.

I have found the spirit that has unknowingly haunted me until now: Harry Langdon, in THE STRONG MAN (dir. Frank Capra, US, 1926, 76 mins.) I am Harry Langdon! I almost could not laugh at the foibles and bits performed, for I was just seeing too much of ME in it to enjoy it! I used to LIVE to perform that kind of hysterical-deadpan! Even with the mutated frame-rate, his timing was precious. (He had a short lived career, having committed suicide, but I must do more research!) The plot is a bit more slapstick bound than one expects from Frank Capra, but there is still a moral of course. Stephen Horne's accompaniment was not as "moving" as I am used to hearing from him, but then I was surprised that he was playing for a comedy.

The festival was beginning to run late at this point, and though I intended to return for the late show HAXAN: Witchcraft Through the Ages, it was reportedly running over 45 minutes late, so I am sort of glad I passed and stayed home. Which leads me to my one qualm with the festival: It is a bit like a convention, as far as making the extra time for book signings and merchandising in the mezzanine area. Even though there is a solid hour slotted between programs for this, the festival was still running nearly an hour behind by the end of each night. This might also be due to the complicated sound checks as the performers are setting up? I don't know. I just think the timing is the one thing that would snap the event together.

Maxxxxx says re THE STRONG MAN: "I'm Maxxxxxx!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Day 2 (METROPOLIS, plus!)

2010-07-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is held every July at The Castro Theatre and is the largest silent film festival in the country. In its fifteenth year, the festival expands to four days and eighteen programs, July 15 - 18, 2010. Ticket information is available here: http://www.silentfilm.org/event-tickets.php

It would be easy to be dismissive of the majority of the day's programming and go straight to the big event, but that seems unfair...

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has a fairly high educational quotient about it. The program notes are in the form of a booklet; the introductions are by experts on the subjects of the film; the Q&A's are always moderated and not open (which is a good thing, IMHO!). The festival started the second day with the seminarial "Amazing Tales from the Archives", which is a program consisting selected archivists speaking of their latest finds and projects. The "...Archives" program is for the pretty hard core silent film enthusiast, as can get very technical and, for the uninitiated, trivial. Of course, this year, with the restored METROPOLIS screening, the featured speakers were Paula Felix Didier and Fernando Peña from Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, who are responsible for the find. (They were preceded by Kyle Westphal and Ken Fox, who presented projects, including the restoration of Kodachrome dual-color process reels.) Though Didier and Peña wanted to speak more of Argentina's film history and their current project involving early films of tangos, they found themselves compelled to talk about METROPOLIS, which they would repeat before the evening presentation. (So, more on that, later!)

The next program was A SPRAY OF PLUM BLOSSOMS (dir. Bu Wancang, China, 1931, 100 mins.), which is an adaptation of Shakespeare's TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, set in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the entire production, including Donald Sosin's piano accompaniment was all so "pleasant" that I promptly fell asleep, and can not really speak to it beyond that.

The evening began with ROTAIE (dir. Mario Camerini, Italy, 1928,91 mins.), which executive director, Anita Monga introduced with the notes about what a rare opportunity it was to have the Italian print! She compared it to Murnau's SUNRISE, which from my perspective was spot on. I loved this film! Kathe von Nagy plays a newlywed to a handsome rogue (Maurizio D'Ancora), who resembles a YOUNG Frank Langella at points. I found myself glued to Nagy's every expression as she watches and bears her husband's descent into gambling addiction and found Stephen Holder's score quite moving. The finale is a bit "tacked on" seeing as director Camerini was a "futurist" and therefor felt compelled to add a big of a Socialist message on as a lesson. Sigh.

Then, the crowd (the "rush ticket" line started over two hours earlier!) packed in for METROPOLIS (dir. Fritz Lang, Germany, 1927, 150 mins.) (photo by JimmyD), which was introduced by Paula Felix Didier and Fernando Peña from Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires. Their tale of the find actually rests on the irony that Peña knew where the complete film was stored for nearly 20 years, but unable to access it due to bureaucracy. That, plus the fact that he and the new administrator, Didier, knew each other from a previous relationship, does make for an interesting film idea in itself. Anyway, there are thousands of words out there about the technical aspects of the restored print, so I'll just add that as much as I actually dreaded the idea of MORE flood footage, the final third ("Furiouso") actually flows better now with the complete escape of the children. The inclusion of "the Thin Man" subplot did not seem so fulfilling. Of course, the Alloy Orchestra's live score was nothing short of brilliant (garnering a standing ovation!) and Kino will be including that on the DVD-BluRay release! (The film will screen with the recorded soundtrack at the Castro for a few days in August.)

Maxxxxx says re METROPOLIS: "Whooooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Opening Night (THE IRON HORSE)

2010-07-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is held every July at The Castro Theatre and is the largest silent film festival in the country. In its fifteenth year, the festival expands to four days and eighteen programs, July 15 - 18, 2010. Ticket information is available here: http://www.silentfilm.org/event-tickets.php

The 15th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival (marquee photo by JimmyD) launched one of its most exciting years of programming with a definite understatement tonight. Though the house was pretty full, there wasn't the 'sold out buzz' that accompanies these events, as it was solidly three-quarters full, and started exactly on time. SF Silent Film Festival Board President, Judy Wyler Sheldon, gave the preface of acknowledgments to sponsors, staff, members and volunteers, and spoke only briefly about the programming for the rest of the weekend. She then introduced the speaker, or in this case, lecturer (whose name I did NOT catch! Must make better notes!), who proceeded to basically read the program notes to us, with a couple inserted anecdotes. (So desolate was the location in Nevada that the production provided a bordello for the crew!). His presentation, sitting in front of the theatre as if we were a class was both quirky and underwhelming. He also had the privilege of introducing the musician for the evening: Dennis James, who would be accompanying the film at the Mighty Wurlitzer!

THE IRON HORSE (dir. John Ford, 1924, US, 150 mins.) John Ford sort of had a Werner Herzog moment and dragged 400 cast and crewmembers into the Nevada desert to recreate the completion of the Transcontinental Railway, connecting the Union Pacific and Central Pacific rail lines. (Conditions were so extreme during the winter that a crew member died of pneumonia.) The spectacle of this army actually building a railroad does get a little lost in the obligatory, slow pacing of such a feat. However, John Ford filled his cast with some quirky Western archetypes to keep subplots juggling. He cast a pair of gorgeous young lovers-to-be, who are caught on two sides of the animosity of invading the West in George O'Brien and Madge Bellamy. They are ably set against a two fingered murderer and a foppish engineering bureaucrat. They perform simply and are great to just look at in close-up. Ford also has a trio of "clowns" and just to ratchet up the patriotism, a pair of presidential look-a-likes. Oh, and for the "effusively politically correct", you would have to look past his casting of "injuns and chinamen."

The print was in fairly good condition, though it did require a "brief intermission" between reels at one point. (A footer break?) Dennis James was also the tiniest bit off, either from the print or it may have been the first time out of all the hours I've seen him perform with such majestic perfection, that when he hit a wrong chord, there was a "plop" out there at one point. The film's pacing doesn't help him either, as only various Indian attacks break the dirge of the building of the rails. I think the low key audience was also relatively restless, exemplified by the woman kicking the back of my chair and the man next to me who NEEDED TO FAN himself, in the 60 degree Castro Theatre.

The film was followed by a pleasant little reception sponsored by McRowsky's and catered by Poesia Restaurant. I am hoping that this "early opening" (this is the first year that the festival started on a Thursday night), is just the low key prelude to an incredible weekend! Friday (aka Metropolis night!) should be insane!

Maxxxxx says re George O'Brien: "Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

News from the SF Silent Film Festival!!

2010-07-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

The latest press release from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival: opening NEXT WEEK!!

Swedish musician Matti Bye will have his West Coast debut at the Festival

FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Dear Friend of Silent Film,

The drums have arrived! All the percussion Alloy Orchestra needs to perform their amazing scores for METROPOLIS and MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA was just delivered to our Market Street offices. Matti Bye and his ensemble in Sweden, and Stephen Horne in England, are packing their bags in preparation for their trip across the pond. The Taylor family is setting the pistons for the master of the Mighty Wurlitzer, Dennis James. And that’s not even to mention the splendid Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and the fantastic Donald Sosin. The Festival is upon us!

This summer’s festival celebrates the un-silent part of the Silent Film Festival: the music that creates the complete and singular cinematic experience that you know and love – masterpieces from the silent era accompanied by world-class musicians. All of the festival musicians are fine-tuning their scores and preparing their contributions to our extraordinary new program VARIATIONS ON A THEME, moderated by Chloe Veltman, New York Times contributor and host of KALW’s VoiceBox. This is a program that you simply cannot miss!

Two exciting additions to this year’s Silent Film Festival:
Get your picture taken in the Metropolis Photo Booth! Courtesy of the San Francisco Film Museum

Custom-made Silent Film Festival silkscreen posters by artist David O’Daniel will be on sale in the Castro mezzanine. Browse a sampling of his brilliant work on his website.

You can find the full program and ticketing information for the 15^th Anniversary Festival below and on our website. If you don’t yet have your tickets and passes yet, now is the time to get them. And don’t forget that becoming a member entitles you to discounts on those tickets and passes!

Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Warmest Regards,
Stacey, Anita, Jeremy, and Lucia

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival
833 Market Street, Suite 812
San Francisco, CA 94103
Tel 415-777-4908; fax 415-777-4904
info@silentfilm.org

BECOME A MEMBER

By making your annual membership contribution today, you'll receive discounts on admissions and party tickets for our 15th Anniversary Silent Film Festival in July and our Winter Event! To renew, become a member, or review member levels and benefits, please click here.
And don’t forget: becoming a member allows you to buy tickets starting now! Click HERE to purchase tickets.

Need a Hotel for the Festival?

Remember to book your accommodations as early as possible, as the festival overlaps with Semicon, one of the biggest conventions of the year in San Francisco.
The Galleria Park Hotel
The Queen Anne Hotel
Hotel Drisco
This is one more reason to stay with our valued hotel sponsors. In addition to the first-rate accommodations and service they provide and the special discounts they offer to festival attendees, each is providing much needed room donations at a time when they could easily sell out their entire inventories. Let them know you appreciate their support of the Silent Film Festival!
Check our website for specific rate and booking information.

TICKETING INFORMATION

ADVANCE TICKETS
ONLINE
Click HERE to purchase passes and tickets.

IN PERSON
Festival Passes ONLY
can be purchased with No Handling Fee at:

BOOKS INC. in the Castro
2275 Market St, SF
(415) 864-6777
Daily 10:00AM – 10:00PM

McROSKEY MATTRESS COMPANY
1687 Market Street @ Gough
(415) 861-4532
Monday-Saturday 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Sunday 12:00PM to 5:00PM

TICKETING QUESTIONS AND GROUP SALES: boxoffice@silentfilm.org

DAY-OF-SHOW WILL CALL/ BOX OFFICE
July 15-18

IN PERSON ONLY
Castro Theatre
Box Office and Will Call open:
Thursday 5pm
Friday 10:30am
Saturday 9am
Sunday 9am
CASH ONLY, NO GROUP DISCOUNTS AT CASTRO
Will Call located at door behind Castro Theatre Box Office
Photo ID required for pick-up

Maxxxxx says re Silent Films: ".........."

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Official Press Release Wrap-Up

2010-06-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

FRAMELINE34 JURY & AUDIENCES HONOR FAVORITE FILMS
Eleven-Day Festival Wraps with HOWL

San Francisco, CA—The world’s largest and longest-running festival celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender films and filmmakers, Frameline34, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, closed Sunday, June 27 with Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s highly anticipated narrative debut HOWL, followed by a Closing Night party and awards ceremony at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. The event drew together the LGBT, independent film, and media arts communities for eleven days of diverse, innovative, and socially relevant cinema.

Esteemed guests at the landmark showcase festival included filmmakers from around the world, along with cinema stars such as James Franco. The Festival screened 219 films in eleven days from June 17 through June 27 at the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Film Center, the Victoria Theatre, and the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, with attendance this year topping 57,000 guests.

Returning this year were the juried awards for Outstanding First Feature and Outstanding Documentary. Taking home the Frameline Outstanding Documentary Award was the Brazilian film DZI CROQUETTES, which chronicled the popularity of revolutionary drag group modeled after San Francisco’s legendary Cockettes. Honorable Mention went to POSTCARD FOR DADDY, for its portrayal of recovery and hope in the face of incest. The Frameline Outstanding First Feature Award went to Javier Fuentes-León’s sold-out Centerpiece Film UNDERTOW, for heart-wrenching acting and narrative voice. Jury members for Outstanding First Feature included Suzy Capó of Mix Brasil, Kareem Tabsch from the Miami LGBT Film Festival and Sarah Neal from the Brisbane Queer Film Festival. Jury members for Outstanding Documentary were Bay Area media arts impresario Cindy Emch, Nancy Fishman of the Torino GLBT Festival, and Bard Yden of the Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Taking home awards for the Frameline34 AT&T Audience Award were the Festival’s crowd-pleasing hits. Best Feature Film was awarded to Tunisian film THE STRING, the story of romance and filial duty during a hot North African summer. New Zealand sensation the Topp Twins and director Leanne Pooley were awarded the Best Documentary Award for THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS, the soaring and personal story of the yodeling lesbian songstresses. Best Short Film went to REMEMBER ME IN RED, directed by Hector Ceballos, in which Fidelia arranges her best friend’s funeral amidst conflicting family demands around the transgender woman’s burial.

Many films of the Frameline34 festival were honored with standing ovations, gripping question and answer sessions with the filmmakers and cast, and laughter and cheers throughout. Among the festival hits were Opening Night film, THE SECRET DIARIES OF ANNE LISTER, attended by director James Kent and star Maxine Peake; the sneak preview of David Weissman’s WE WERE HERE; the world premieres of Ned Farr and Dreya Webers A MARINE STORY and Nicole Cann’s ELENA UNDONE local directors Billy Clift’s BABY JANE? and Scott Boswell’s THE STRANGER IN US, both attended by hosts of cast and crew; the documentary BEAUTIFUL DARLING attended by director James Rasin and star Holly Woodlawn; Cheryl Dunye’s THE OWLS, attended both by the director and star Guinevere Turner.

The popularity of the oldest LGBT film festival in the world continued in Frameline34, as many films played to sold-out audiences, including: 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, STONEWALL UPRISING, PLAN B, FROM BEGINNING TO END, BEAR NATION, THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, EL NIÑO PEZ, and OUT IN THE SILENCE. Ever popular were the shorts programs, which saw many sold out shows, including ARE YOU KRAZY?, GENERATIONS, TOUGH GIRLS, and SKINNYFAT.

Audiences were thrilled throughout the festival by the attendance of high-profile directors and stars who led intimate discussions following the films, attended parties, and stayed to watch other films. Among some of Frameline34’s many guest attendees were WE HAVE TO STOP NOW’s Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono, THE FOUR-FACED LIAR’s screenwriter and star Marja-Lewis Ryan, Topp Twins Jools and Lynda Topp, and Frameline34 Trailer stars Chico’s Angels.

Special programs this year were an Andy Warhol retrospective examining the earlier queer films by the pop art master, curated by Yale Professor Ronald Gregg, and a focus on South American LGBT films.

Frameline34’s annual Frameline Award for excellence in LGBT filmmaking went to distributors Wolfe Video’s Kathy Wolfe and Maria Lynn. As Wolfe celebrates their 25^th Anniversary in 2010, Frameline honored them for their groundbreaking distribution efforts on behalf of queer film over the last quarter century. On hand to give out the award was film critic and academic B. Ruby Rich, who coined the term “New Queer Cinema.”

The Frameline Volunteer of the Year Award went to longtime volunteer Penni Kimmel, who had the honor of selecting Matthew Hill’s documentary THE REAL ANNE LISTER, the dry-witted documentary that digs up dirt on the Regency-era rule-breaker, to receive a $2500 grant.

About Frameline34: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival

Frameline34: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival screened June 17-27, 2010 at the Castro Theatre, (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater, (3117 16th Street), and the Victoria Theatre, (2961 16th Street) in San Francisco, and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, (2966 College Avenue). The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival is presented by Frameline, a nonprofit LGBT organization whose mission is to strengthen the diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and further its visibility by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video and other media arts.

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) -Closing Night: HOWL, Party and Awards!

2010-06-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Frameline 34 came to a close in somewhat the same manner that it opened: a biopic and a party at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. K.C. Price and Jennifer Morris were on hand to do the festival acknowledgments, which included a surprisingly well made "trailer" from Yahoo!, which was specifically targeted at LGBT film audiences. (Unfortunately, I can not seem to find it online.) After introducing the entire staff of Frameline, both the permanent and temporary festival staffs, and receiving a brief thank you from Frameline Board President, Thom Matson (who I find increasingly annoying - he's just so... PERKY!!), the pair moved on to introducing the directors and star of the closing night film.

HOWL (dirs. Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, USA, 2010, 90 Mins.) stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, specifically during the two year period when he introduced his epic poem HOWL in 1955, through the obscenity trial the publisher (San Francisco's Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books) faced in 1957. What Epstein and Friedman have done is a bit complicated, however.

Within their vision, they surround HOWL with three distinct films: Ginsberg's reading of the poem at a club, which is accompanied by animation based upon Eric Drooker's illustrations; the obscenity trial in San Francisco; and a taped interview with Ginsberg. The success of the film rests upon how well these three plots are edited together, which is at times awkward, or at least a bit unsatisfying. Since Ginsberg does not appear in the trial, those scenes and the near ridiculous arguments presented by the Plaintiff, serve almost as comic relief to the heady experiences of the poem and Ginsberg's recollection of his life. This splits the focus a bit too widely and the pieces do not fit together as neatly as might be hoped. I would love to see the extreme and exhilarating visuals of the animation without interruption for the entirety of the piece. Or perhaps see and hear Franco deliver the poem uninterrupted, also. During his interview, scenes of his life are played in background to his narration, instead of played out front as dramatic scenes between characters. I would have welcomed a traditional bio-drama where scenes are played out between Ginsberg and his succession of (exceptionally handsome) boyfriends, including Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac and his long-time companion, Peter Orlovsky (played here by Jon Prescott, Todd Rotondi and Aaron Tveit, respectively).

Ginsberg becomes isolated in the film, as his voice is not really reacted to in real time, but mutely in the accompanying visuals. It is only in the trial, where he does not appear, that we hear from others. These performances seem rushed or under rehearsed, surprisingly from John Hamm and David Strathairn. The witnesses, which are a parade of independent film stars, tend to deliver their testimony in obvious, one day shoots. However, Bob Balaban portrays the judge in the case with solid gravity and delivers the verdict with such authority as to nearly single handedly save the sequence.

Not surprisingly, the film was warmly received, but not thunderously so. The Q&A was the typical "what a beautiful and brilliant experience" line of questioning, as any real discussion would prove to be too deep for the confines of a closing night experience. James Franco was extremely shy but affable when remarking about his research (or what almost sounded like lack of?) into Ginsberg's life.

The crowd then hit the streets for a near cross town journey to Golden Gate Park and the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society where the party and award announcements would be held. As is the tradition, Skyy Vodka was at the door with cocktails before even putting your ticket stub away! I love that! About an hour into the party, K.C. Price and Jennifer Morris announced the awards:

Juried Awards:
Frameline Documentary Award: Dzi Croquettes (Honorable Mention: A Postcard to My Dad)
First Feature Director Award: Undertow

Audience Awards:
Short Subject: Remember Me in Red
Documentary: The Topp Twins
Feature: The String (Le Fil)

When it was announced that THE STRING won Audience Feature, there was an audible gasp of "The String?" as it not only screened at the Victoria (thereby a smaller audience), but was merely warmly received, compared to some of the standing ovations that other programs received.

My personal favorites:
Short Subject: T4-2
Documentary: WE WERE HERE; but since it was NOT eligible, I'd choose BEAR NATION
Feature: I KILLED MY MOTHER; special mention to FIT, since it doesn't really fit any of these categories.

Maxxxxx says re Skyy Vodka: "Wooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 10

2010-06-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

This year’s internationally renowned showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cinema runs June 17-27, with San Francisco screenings at the historic Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater (3117 16th Street) and the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street), and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (2966 College Avenue).Tickets for Frameline34 are on sale through www.frameline.org.

Perhaps I am slowing down, but as Frameline 34 passes through its closing weekend, I have a smaller schedule. Today, I had a single film (as I chose to pass on BEAR CITY, and the masses of Pink Saturday partiers in the Castro).

FIT (dir. Rikki Beadle-Blair, UK, 2009, 108 Mins.) Director Rikki Beadle-Blair (METROSEXUALITY) was present to introduce his film, which has really become his passion and a project he has worked on for a few years now. It began as a touring performance piece to schools in the U.K., which challenged kids about homophobia and how they express it. However, after a few years of touring, Beadle-Blair felt it was time to expand its reach and adapted the evolving play into this dramatic, video format that crosses genres: it is as if DEGRASSI HIGH mixed with a hip-hop version of GLEE.

It is divided into chapters, played out as La Ronde; each arriving character taking the next chapter. And each chapter becomes darker than the one before it. What starts as addressing labels, moves to definitions, relationships, bullying and, eventually, beating and abuse. However, this is quite purposeful, as each chapter can be taken out of context and used within a specific classroom. As a piece of educational material, FIT is incredible. It is a part of the curriculum in the greater UK educational system. It is Rikki Beadle-Blair's performance as the Dance and Drama Teacher that lifts the piece into an entertainment.

His Q&A was just as fabulous as the messages within the video, of course. He had to prep us before hand with definitions of the slang of UK teenagers, and looked forward to not necessarily "hearing the voices of sweet little homophobes" during the Q&A after the screening. It received an enthusiastic standing ovation. The DVD is available through the website, though it is hard to say whether it is US compatible.

Maxxxxx says re FIT: "I love you too!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 9

2010-06-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

I only popped out for a double-feature of sorts tonight. The String [Le Fil] (dir. Mehdi Ben Attia, Tunisia, 2010, 93 Mins.) and Hideaway [Le Refuge] (dir. François Ozon, France, 2009, 88 Mins.) are familial dramas, involving mothers to one extent or another. Though in THE STRING, Claudia Cardinale is given top billing for her turn as the drama queen mother whose gay son has not yet cut the "emotional string" (literally, in a series of nearly silly visuals) between them. The melodrama is played to the hilt and punctuated with a dark, foreboding minimalist score, to nearly comic effect - intentionally or not, I do not know. It is curious to have a gay drama produced in North Africa to begin with (Tunisia in this case), so the dramatic tone could be up for some debate. There is a soap opera element to it, as social class and religion gets thrown about in the mix, too. Regardless, the cast is uniformly beautiful and give charming performances - and Claudia Cardinale's wardrobe is gorgeous to look at!

In HIDEAWAY, the mother is a bit more remotely written, though she is the catalyst for the plot. The gay son is also a supporting player, as the focus is really on the unwed daughter-in-law and her pregnancy from another son who died from a heroin overdose, i.e. another bit of soap opera here. Though not played with nearly the melodrama that THE STRING is, the film is still domestically bound. I really do not have much to say or add to HIDEAWAY, as it was a harmless 90 minutes, but it is already slipping from my memory...

Maxxxxx says re THE STRING: "Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 8

2010-06-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

This year’s internationally renowned showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cinema runs June 17-27, with San Francisco screenings at the historic Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater (3117 16th Street) and the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street), and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (2966 College Avenue).Tickets for Frameline34 are on sale through www.frameline.org.

With only one "live" screening and a pair of previews, this was a remarkably easy day, though the films themselves were not that easy to view, considering that the features seemed focused on straight boys in love. First, the screening:

Plan B (dir. Marco Berger, Argentina, 2009, 103 Mins.) The Victoria Theatre was sold out for this modern day, small scale "Dangerous Liaisons" from Argentina. A man tries to win back his ex-girlfriend by seducing her new boyfriend and thus breaking them up. As you can imagine, complications ensue, though this is far from being a farce. The primary audience attraction appeared to be watching two straight guys fall in love. However, this bromance that crosses the line is played out with such somber technique as to drain nearly any joy one can get from it. Marco Berger uses a very deliberate pace and has shot and edited nearly the entirety of the film in anchored master shots. I can only think of two scenes in which there were any cutaways to reactions and objects at all. The static visuals do give the film a more naturalistic approach and I am thankful that it was not photographed with hand held digital cameras. The performances are nuanced and detailed enough to withstand the scrutiny of Berger's portraiture technique. The two men may lack a certain chemistry, but then the script has handed them such emotional, physical and sexual hurdles that it takes nearly the entire film before the characters are allowed to relax with each other. It could be argued that Berger's static technique prolongs the wait until the climatic moment. However, for my taste, that longing was nearly insufferable, regardless how easy his cast might be on the eyes.

All Boys (dir. Markku Heikkinen, Finland/Denmark, 2009, 72 Mins.) Oh my gawd, this is a BLEAK documentary about the Eastern Europe gay porn industry, particularly in Czechoslovakia. The film would suggest that the boys are basically used up between ages 18 (yeah, I'm thinking they were 16!) and 20, before being thrown back out onto the streets. The film is nearly as exploitative of its subjects as it claims the industry is of the boys, itself. There is no joy in late teenage porn from Czhechoslovakia!

Also screening today was the Transtastic! program of short subjects, which I previewed earlier.

Maxxxxx says re PLAN B: "Is it bedtime?"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 7

2010-06-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

The spotlight of my Day 7 at Frameline 43 was the world premiere of
The Stranger in Us (dir. Scott Boswell, USA, 2010, 106 Mins.), which was produced here in San Francisco and screened to an over-sold out house at the Roxie. I will admit that I walk into a lot of locally produced LGBT features with some skepticism, and I gave this film a tough road to begin with. However, through the tightness of the direction and performances, as well as the near gimmick of the non-linear editing, the film was able to win me over. Raphael Barker (who gave quite a exhibitionistic performance in SHORTBUS) plays a new comer to San Francisco, and what unfolds is quite the tumultuous year. Barker treads a precarious line with his character, whose needy submissiveness has driven him to follow the wrong paths. However, the objects of his affections prove to be such thoroughly crafted foils, that the weight of being The Protagonist is shared, particularly by Adam Perez, who plays a street kid he befriends and is ultimately counseled by. Scott Cox near brilliantly navigates his role as the abusive boyfriend that Barker's character has moved to San Francisco for. The relationship that Barker and Cox create is nearly a textbook study in the dynamics of such a dysfunctional coupling. Though Scott Boswell's script will choose sides, there are moments when watching them interact that neither party is unscathed. The choice to edit their story in a non-linear fashion helps make it digestable, as well. We are saved of the tedium of "knowing where this is going" by keeping up with the leaps in time. (Also, as a bit of a side note, the fabulous local cabaret chanteuse, Veronica Klaus has an all to rare screen appearance as a sort of a recurring muse to Barker!) Overall, I was thoroughly engaged by the film and even stayed for a Q&A. Scott Boswell, his three leads and producer, Cheryl Simas Valenzuela. As a group, they were remarkably soft spoken and even humble when speaking about the film. (There was one moment from Ms. Valenzuela when she invited "serious journalists" for interview opportunities, as well as her distribution pitch, that I found a bit off-putting. Her abilities as a producer are obviously solid, but the production needs a softer salesperson.)

Earlier in the day, the "classic feature" screened: Mädchen in Uniform (dir. Géza von Radványi, Germany, 1958, 95 Mins.) Lily Palmer and Romy Schneider play teacher and student at a severely disciplined girls' school in 1910. They will fall in love and melodrama ensues. Actually, it plays out in a much more realistic fashion than that suggests, particularly for the time and place it was produced. The film actually compares well with NOTES ON A SCANDAL, as far as lesbian melodrama is concerned. Wolfe Video will be releasing the film on DVD later this year and it is well worth checking out!

The afternoon included a program of six short subjects, with Asian-Pacific themes and/or characters.

Waiting 4 Goliath (dir. Cal Garingan, Canada , 2009 , 13 min.) Amongst all the films, feature-length and short subjects, that have dealt with masculinity in gay culture, this little short probably broaches the subject with more honesty and humor than anything I have seen. Though the film does bring in a racial element, it does not become overwhelmed by it, and the fact that the two characters having the argument are racially divergent, that topic is merely alluded to. The performances are all excellent, as well!

The Golden Pin (dir. Cuong Ngo, Canada , 2009 , 15 min.) This short attempts an exceptionally sober attempt at exploring coming-out from a Canadian-Vietnamese perspective. Though it is beautifully photographed, I found the pacing and general lack of humor to be distancing.

Peking Turkey (dir. Michael Mew, Canada , 2006 , 12 min.) This coming-out-at-Christmas story is staged as a cross-cultural farce. It is also in three languages (English, French and Chinese). There is a certain amount of sit-com energy to the piece. However, the cast is primarily appealing and at only 12 minutes, the joke goes on just long enough.

Masala Mama (dir. Michael Kam, Singapore , 2010 , 9 min.) The production values start off pretty rough, but the film reveals a sweet heart by the end. There is a near Bollywood joy to the finale of the film, though it is a tricky path getting there and staying with it, even at only 9 minutes long.

Little (dir. Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, Philippines , 2009 , 30 min.) This film attempts to follow a young man's journey from birth to adulthood, as he travels from his family farm to Manila, in just 30 minutes. In other words, it either needs to be edited down to one of the sequences or expanded upon and the relationships more fully fleshed out.

[Little Love (dir. Quentin Lee, USA , 2010 , 10 min.) also screened, however I missed it.]

And via DVD screener and part of the Andy Warhol sidebar:

Beautiful Darling, the Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar (dir. James Rasin, USA, 2009, 85 Mins.) The title is self explanatory and the film is quite thorough and engaging. I don't really have much to say about it, other than it did shed some light for me upon the cult figure that is "Candy Darling". It's an easy screening and I do somewhat regret not being at the Castro for what sounds like was an event: the director, James Rasin, along with Holly Woodlawn were there to expand upon the subject for the audience.

Maxxxxx says re THE STRANGER IN US: "I love you, too!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 6

2010-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Motionless [Inertes] (dir. Eusebio Pastrana, Spain, 2010, 91 Mins.) Well, this was an odd little film that teetered oh so perilously to the pretentious. The plot: two woman and one man meet and attempt a poly-amorous relationship. It is shot in STARK black and white video, with exceptionally high contrast, which only makes the masked clown even more prevalent. Oh, yes. The Masked Clown. I don't know exactly why HE is there, but he dances around each one when they are in a moment of emotional change, which is his reason for being, I guess. There is a lot of "choreography" of the four people, which is sort of ironic for a film called "MOTIONLESS", but then that's sort of part of its pretension. No, I was not bored, per se, just a wee bit annoyed.

The Frameline Award was presented to Wolfe Releasing in celebration of its 25 years of GLBT film and video distribution. Kathy Wolfe accepted the award on behalf of her company with such modesty and charm, she was quite affecting. This was followed by a screening one of their latest acquisitions,

Undertow [Contracorriente] (dir. Javier Fuentes-León, Peru, 2010, 100 Mins.) Though this won the Audience Award at Sundance, the director claimed to be more excited and moved about THIS screening than any before. He did relate a sweet story of how choked up he was tonight, as he and his partner walked hand-in-hand past the long lines outside the theater for the largest audience his films have ever screened in front of. The film is set in a Peruvian fishing village, a man deals with his conflicting loves: his wife and boyfriend, who is gorgeously portrayed by Manolo Cardona. (Apparently, he is the "Colombian Brad Pitt".) There is nothing "wrong" with any aspect of the film. However, I was not overly moved by it either. It is simply an exceptionally well crafted, accessible and commercial piece of film.

There were three programs on this day that I previewed on DVD screener and chose not to attend "live" for various reasons.

Is It Just Me? (dir. JC Calciano, USA, 2009, 112 Mins.) This is cute. Very cute. I hate 'cute'. It is not necessarily painful to sit through and the feedback I got from some audience members after the matinee was quite positive. It features an exceptionally cute cast, involved in a farce of mistaken identities and lies, which is a pet peeve of mine. I just find that kind of plotting annoying. (Why doesn't somebody just say something to stop it all?!) Anyway, the film will probably do quite well on a quick indie release and great on home video and cable, seeing as the cast is so attractive (even if that is the source of their problems...) and the plot is a safe, little farce. Given the opportunity to see it "live", I passed.

The Sisters [Die Schwestern] (dirs. Manfred Hoschek, Sigrid Smejkal,
Austria, 2009, 74 Mins.) This is an all too brief documentary surrounding the 30th Anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Though it attempts to give a global overview of the Sisters by focusing on chapters in Berlin, Montevideo and San Francisco, it spreads itself too thin. There is a brief explanation of the genesis of the Order and what it's purpose is. However, I think it only scratches the surface of how The Sisters have benefitted the community, changed people's lives and it gives short shrift to what was a fabulous celebration last year at the Anniversary here in San Francisco! That said, at least someone has paid some attention and perhaps this will inspire others to give the SPI more coverage!

Baby Jane? (dir. Billy Clift, USA, 2009, 87 mins.) Billy Clift and his cast campily deconstruct WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Matthew Martin and Katya Smirnoff (aka J. Conrad Frank) lead a comically adroit cast (including Heklina's extended version of the neighbor Mrs. Bates) who do not mock the original performances or performers. Though the film might lack a certain cabaret freshness that was felt during the original stage performances, it is at the very least, a drag valentine to a great piece of grand guinol. I really wanted to be at the screening, as I was sure it was to be a "scene", but the screening was starting pretty late for me. However, I heard from those present that it was a 'mature' presentation and that wackiness did not ensue beyond what happened on the screen and that the Q&A was a pretty sober affair.

Maxxxxx says re THE SISTERS: "Woooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 5

2010-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Off World (dir. Mateo Guez, Canada/Philippines, 2009, 76 Mins.) This is set in the Smoky Mountain slums of Manila, where the poverty is so overwhelming, as to be surreal. Or at least it appears so in Mateo Guez's beautifully photographed film about a man searching for his birth family. It is shot in widescreen, and I will assume on RED, as the color manipulation is so drastic at times as to be distracting. However, as Guez has nearly no script, it would be assumed that this is something of a poem, not unlike the QATSI trilogy in style. Very little actually happens, though there is a narration to tell us the why and what there is. I would have preferred no narration at all and let the images go past in an even dreamier haze. The performances by the supporting cast, in particular those of the brother and mother, are quite remarkable given how little they have to work with. The soundtrack by Byron Kent Wong is suitable ethereal and droning as our protagonist processes what his life might have been. Perhaps not one of the most salacious entries in this year's festival, it is oddly, one of the most beautiful.

New York Memories (dir. Rosa Von Praunheim, Germany, 2010, 89 Mins.) Director Rosa Von Praunheim revisits New York City, spotlighting the changes that occurred to the people he interviewed, as well as the city itself, in SURVIVAL IN NEW YORK, 25 years ago. Von Praunheim is not so much a photojournalist, as he is a diarist. It is a series of voices, nearly unrelentingly describing their lives and world and how much it has changed for them. His editing is so tight that it can become a dizzying cacophony of memories, which may be his intent. Personally, I found it took a lot of energy to stay engaged with the rapid fire banter on the soundtrack, while there was fairly little to actually see.

Maxxxxx says re OFF WORLD: "Woooo..."

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 4

2010-06-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

We Were Here: Voices From the AIDS Years in San Francisco (dir. David Weissman, USA, 2010, 90 Mins.) [Submitted as a work in progress] Since it is unfinished and is continuing to secure financing, there is a "review hold" on the film. However, I can say that the testimony that David Weissman records from his five subjects is so gracefully presented that I was unprepared for the overwhelming wave of emotions that I felt as it ended. Even in its raw state, the film led the Castro audience through a cathartic experience, featuring one of the longest standing ovations I have ever been a part of. I needed to just wander off for a bit before attempting another screening...

Bear Nation (dir. Malcolm Ingram, USA, 2010, 87 Mins.) Malcolm Ingram profiles the "bear community" within gay male culture. It is a remarkable documentary in that Ingram is able to objectively follow a communal stream of consciousness as the topics of "why? who? etc." are explored. The film is neither condescending nor biased. This subculture is presented, warts and all, without attempting any kind of deeper psychoanalyzing which leads to judgment. His choices of interview subjects span such a wide plethora of personalities, that the film successfully moves past the physical preoccupation of similar attempts (I would refer to Christopher Hines' work) and delves into the emotional bonds and attractions that has formed this subculture. Ingram's inclusion of "straight" society's attitudes about the concept (including a hilarious rant from Kevin Smith) gives the film some comic relief, as well as some fresh air from all of the self absorption, or dare I say, navel gazing? I was truly, pleasantly surprised by the maturity of focus of the film and eagerly look forward to Ingram's next documentary about NYC's Continental Baths, which he spoke of during the post-screening Q&A.

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (dir. Leanne Pooley, New Zealand, 2009, 84 Mins.) I screened this on a DVD screener, and truly enjoyed it and understand their appeal. Though their music is a bit TOO "country-twangy" for me, their performance style is so fresh and inviting, that it is like spending a couple hours with those wacky aunts of yours. The film is now available on DVD, as they were selling them at the Castro.

What I also missed out on at the actual screening is what sounds like was a mini-concert by the Topp Twins in person! Reports are that their pre-screening appearance and follow-up Q&A were THE highlight of the evening! The women will be in San Francisco and performing at the Swedish American Hall (next to Cafe Du Nord) during the week for a rare glimpse of this pair of New Zealand superstars! Or, well, at least they have an exceptionally LARGE following down there!

The Consul of Sodom [El Consul de Sodoma] (dir. Sigfrid Monleón, Spain, 2009, 110 Mins.) ended the day on as nearly as heavy of a note as it started. Jordi Mollá portrays the Spanish poet Gil de Biedma, in this lyrical biopic by the extremely soft spoken director, Sigfrid Monleón, who was present at the screening. The film is sensually shot and exceptionally explicit. The film follows Gil de Biedma at some point in the 1960's until his death from AIDS in 1990. Unfortunately, I do not know enough about Spain during that time to have appreciated all of the political and sexual dilemmas that Biedma faced during Franco's regime, nor his connection with the Phillipines. In fact, I found as the film unfolded, that I needed to let go of linearity and script and just flow with the emotional, physical and sexual journey the director takes us on. I am not a poet, however, the screenplay itself appears to be a dedication to Gil de Biedma's work.

Maxxxxx says re THE TOPP TWINS: "Dooby dooby doo-ooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 3 (via DVD Screener)

2010-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

(Due to some scheduling conflicts, I had to preview DAY 3 via DVD screeners. Marquee photo via JimmyD.)

Day 3, aka that first Saturday morning, traditionally starts off with the dual shorts collections: "Fun in Boys Shorts" and "Fun in Girls Shorts", which I already previewed here. Day 3 also features some great highlights of the festival in the narrative features, and one irritating documentary. Let's get that one out of the way first, since it was the first to screen in the afternoon after the shorts programs.

The Adonis Factor (dir. Christopher Hines, USA, 2010, 65 mins.) Director Christopher Hines follows up last years THE BUTCH FACTOR, with the similarly structured documentary about body image in gay culture. Unfortunately, I think Hines' own predilections get in the way of the film just as it does in his earlier work. Though he attempts to dig into the problem of body dismorphia, etc., his experts are all just as much victims of this psyche, as well as the cause. Why would you interview a plastic surgeon, who has obviously been botoxed beyond the point of paralysis, about the physical needs of the community? There is not an objective voice to be heard. There is about fifteen minutes of interviews with those that Hines obviously considers "unattractive" yet pursuing inner beauty as a way to counterpoint the circuit party boys that he fills most of the film with. It is as if the "average Joe" does not exist in Hines' gay world, or the one that he chooses to explore. He would propose that these steroided and botoxed extremes are the norm. Granted, they may be the most visually obvious, but then I would propose that they are the exceptions that prove the rule. Yes, as Gay Pride Week progresses, we will notice an influx of the gym pumped, but they will be bobbing in a sea of 'just us'. I really wanted to be at this screening live to hear what the audience reaction was going to be. Ah well...

Later in the evening, a truly fabulous documentary would screen. Arias with a Twist: The Docufantasy (dir. Bobby Sheehan, USA, 2010, 88 Mins.). This is a documentary of two wildly different performers who would merge their acts into one of the most successful cabaret acts in Europe and New York: drag chanteuse Joey Arias and puppeteer Basil Twist. Granted, of the two, Arias' story is probably the more exciting one, starting with his work with Warhol, David Bowie and Klaus Nomi, before launching out alone, in some of the most spectacularly designed and performed cabaret stage acts I've seen footage of! This section of the film is filled with interviews of some of the legends of that time. (I won't spoil any surprises!) Arias even appeared as the original Emcee for Cirque d'Soleil's Zumanity in Las Vagas.

Basil Twist on the other hand, had a fairly routine route (for a puppeteer) via Jim Henson. There is quite a bit of exploration of his design and technique. But it is the merging of their joint projects which occupies the final third of the film. You can tell that it simply doesn't do it justice! I would LOVE to see this act, and am quite disappointed to have missed the film's screening as Basil Twist was expected to attend!

The day continues with two of the best features I have seen in the year, much less at this festival so far.

Elvis & Madona (dir. Marcelo Laffitte, Brazil, 2009, 105 Mins.) The film is a delight! Though a lot of if feels derivative of Almadovar, this Brazilian gender bending romance is a delight on its own regard. A drag queen, trans-woman, cabaret performer becomes involved with a lesbian photographer, emotionally and, yes physically. That's not a spoiler. How they get there is where all the fun is. Director Laffitte has an incredible touch with his ensemble scenes! The scenes within Madona's beauty parlor contrasting with Elvis' uptight and society climbing mother and family are farcical gems! The camerawork during the family dinner scene, accompanied by a waltz, is as nearly a classic piece of comedy that I've seen in a long while and will stick with me. The screenplay does weave and dive into a couple tangled up subplots, but that is the recipe for farce, and it would be hard to dissect out a section without throwing off the balance of the whole. How Laffitte manages to create this romance is something almost worth studying. The performances of Igor Cotrim, as Madona, and Brazilian TV and film actress Simone Spolardore (as Elvis) are fabulous. This is Cotrim's first performance on film and he simply dominates every frame he is in, whereas Spolardore generously shares her scenes with the company, while maintaining a sex appeal that nearly the entire cast is fixated by. The supporting ensemble has obviously talent, training and experience to carry off the brilliantly timed circus that surrounds the couple. I simply loved this film!

On the other end of the "entertainment spectrum" is I Killed My Mother [J'ai Tué Ma Mère] (dir. Xavier Dolan, Canada, 2009, 100 Mins.), this past year's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar, from Canada. It is an auspicious, if not brilliant debut by director, writer, producer and star, 19 year old Xavier Dolan. He has found a medium with which he exorcises the personal demon that haunted his relationship with his mother only a few years before. She is played with near brilliant naturalism by Anne Dorval. Also featured in the cast is François Arnaud, as Dolan's boyfriend. This coming of age and coming out story is one of the most emotionally authentic, if not verbally violent. Underneath the character Hubert's outbursts is an affection and love for his mother that she returns and thus allows his emotional expansion, however violent it may seem. It is simply a tour d'force by Dolan, who I sense may have delivered so much of himself in the project, that this may be the only truly successful film he will be associated with. The film has won enough awards (Cannes, Genie, Lumiere, among nearly two dozen others) that it will surely receive distribution theatrically and on DVD.

Maxxxxx says re I KILLED MY MOTHER: "I love you too!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Day 2

2010-06-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

This year’s internationally renowned showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cinema runs June 17-27, with San Francisco screenings at the historic Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater (3117 16th Street) and the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street), and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (2966 College Avenue).Tickets for Frameline34 are on sale through www.frameline.org.

Day 2 of Frameline 34's celebration of LGBT cinema began with a follow-up documentary about the real woman behind last night's opening feature, as well as the first day of programs featuring the Andy Warhol sidebar. There was also a shorts program in the middle of (my) day, which I am listing at the end.

Firstly, the documentary, The Real Anne Lister (dir. Matthew Hill, UK, 2010, 60 Mins.) The accompanied the BBC-2 airing as well. In this, comedienne Sue Perkins lets us follow her in the journey of finding out who was this young woman, who recorded her diaries in over 4 million words, mostly in a code of Greek alphabet and algebraic symbols. The diaries have been regarded as the "Rosetta Stone of lesbian history", as Lister graphically details her many romantic pursuits, down to the number of orgasms per coupling! But once one reads past the carnal detail, what remains is a story of an exceptionally driven and empowered woman, who played against all the rules of what most of us know from Jane Austen's society.

This is a warts-and-all-biography, however. As driven and feministic as Lister was, she also retained her sense of class and assumed aristocracy. Her search for a female partner became as avaricious as her male contemporaries. She would not marry beneath her and sought out a partner with wealth and neighboring land into which to merge and continue something of legacy to protect her land. Ironically, her heirs were so ashamed of her story that the diaries were kept secret for nearly 150 years.

Perkins reflects on all of this with a delightful sense of irony and ambiguity, with a plethora of wit! I almost enjoyed the documentary more than the film the night before. There was an exceptionally BRIEF Q&A with the producer of the films, which barely scratched the surface of what an enigma this woman must have been in her time.

Later in the day, Frameline began the first of its program in the Andy Warhol 1960s Gay Cinema sidebar, curated by Yale film professor Ron Gregg. Gregg was present with some introductory notes (that I found to conflict with IMDB) for tonight's program "Hustlers and Exhibitionists" that included two brief features.

Haircut #1 (dir. Andy Warhol, USA , 1963 , 24 min.) In a series of still camera shots, Andy Warhol films Billy Linich (later known in The Factory as Billy Name) as he cuts the hair of John Dodd, while being watched by Freddie Herko, who are members of the early 1960s experimental dance collective Judson Dance Theater. It is credited to have been choreographed by James Waring. However, just as minimal as Warhol's film, so is the movement. But there is indeed movement. It becomes an extremely subtle 24 minute striptease by Herko, distracting us from the banality of Dodd's haircut. With the exception of Linich's scissors and Dodd's smoking, Herko is the only subject in the film who moves. Though I am not familiar with the Judson Dance Theatre, I can see this as being something of a tribute to minimalized movement. The changing of angles that occurs only 5 times, appears to be catching the trio in different portrait settings, and saves the film from disappearing into a minimilistic shadow.

My Hustler (dir. Andy Warhol, USA , 1965 , 67 min.) This is the first collaboration between Warhol and Paul Morrissey, who did the camerawork according to Ron Gregg's introduction (though Chuck Wein is credited on IMDB.). And it shows. The frame in the first scene actually pans between the conversation that an older john is having with his neighbors on Fire Island about the hustler he has rented for the weekend, who is sunning himself out on the beach, several yards away. (Paul America stars as the hustler, in his only film for Warhol.) As we watch him sunning himself, the three commentators cattily discuss their roles to each other (john, 'fag hag', old whore) and begin a competition to see who will eventually bed the hustler on the beach. The improvised conversation has some truly witty if not nearly shocking dialogue which bears a near savagery of these three "friends", not unlike what is found in BOYS IN THE BAND. The excessive banter, shot against the reclining portraint of Paul America on the beach, actually reveals more about the unseen speakers than if the shot were devoted to them. The program notes quote critic Bruce Hainley, “No film I had ever seen spent so much time not only looking at male flesh but having everyone in the film talk about that staring.” Which is true and rhe reason for its minimalistic brilliance! The scene on the beach then cuts to a bathroom where the 'old whore' and the hustler are discussing the trade, as it were, which includes a seemingly endless discussion of grooming habits, followed by an enigmatic, if not a cat-and-mouse game, where the huster (who is on his first job) tries to grill the 'old whore' for as much information as he can about the business. The 'old whore' is far from willing to give up his tricks of the trade and is interrupted by the two other players in the game, as well as a fourth voice, who lends a sort of epilogue to the entire scene. The dialogue in this scene is so shallow and enigmatic as to leave the hustler in as much of a cocoon as he was when he was alone on the beach. He knows no more or less in the company of others, which is a remarkably way Warhol was able to isolate him even further as a fantasy figure, of whom we never really know anything more about than what he looks like, though he has visually dominated the entire hour. It's ART!!

Earlier in the afternoon, the festival screened a program of seven short subjects, under the heading "Curious Things", which would leave you to believe it's about the bi-courious, and it is, for the most part, but there's more than that in there. No less than five directors of the seven films were present and introduced by K.C. Price, who has returned to his signature informality style of addressing the crowds. The Q&A that followed was too short (again) and hardly addressed anything of interest. The films were self explanatory.

Curious Thing (Dir. Alain Hain, USA , 2009 , 9 min.) This is sort of an interesting experiment in which director Alain Hain (who was so soft spoken during his introduction and the later Q&A as to hardly be heard) recorded interviews with men who consider themselves either bisexual or curious or just coming out during a relationship, and he uses this soundtrack against a reconstructed drama involving two guys and the girl between them. It keenly explored that weird area that crosses the line of "bromance" and can either scare you away or bring you all out. In the meantime, the girl in the middle has just as confusing road to cross. Interestingly made...

Disarm (dir. Nathan Keene, Australia , 2009 , 18 min.) This has the look and feel of a short one act play that has been put on film. An older man has an (online? classified? phone?) hookup come to his apartment. The action starts and the boy enters. The start the night off with a shot and some wrestling that gets out of control. It then proceeds to talk about it. It talks a LOT about why it just got violent. And even for what is really only a fifteen minute conversation, it does seem to get overly theatrical as far as the depth of exploring the pair's shared self homophobia.

Embrace (Dir. Aitor Saraiba, USA , 2009 , 3 min.) Though quite simply described in the program as "two men Embrace in this starkly beautiful black and white love poem to human connection", it does have a certain Warhol-like minimalism and appeal.

After (dir. Mark Pariselli, Canada , 2009 , 13 min.) This highly polished and relatively highly produced short is based on Dennis Cooper's poem "After School, Street Football, Eighth Grade." Pariselli has created a silent film, almost a dream, in which three 'geeks' indulge in their lusty imaginations while watching a guy play tag football in a park. Parisell's dream sequences a reminiscent of Greenaway, particularly in some of the religious imagery. The soundtrack wonderfully backs the silent screenplay. Camera work and editing are all there. There is a shocking climatic moment and it seemed to turn off some audience members who were gliding along in the fantasies. But there are dark fantasies, too.

Lorimer (dir. Michael Lannan, USA , 2009 , 8 min.) A the rocky path of dating a younger man. "He sang house music to me?" Sort of fun, a bit script bound, but there is a enough solid character and situational material here that could be easily fleshed out to a feature.

Last Call (dir. Nick Corporon, USA , 2009 , 18 min.) Nick Corporon introduced this as a 'Twilight Zone' inspired reflection on a man's relationship. To say much more would be to offer spoilers. However, Jody Jaress gives a splendid, ethereal performance as a bartender who leads the heartbroken Travis Dixon through the memories of the conflict with his boyfriend (David Devora) which brought him to this point. Collin Brazzie's cinematography is quite exceptional in the versatility that is required of him. The editing is sharp and punchy, when it needs to be. The script does give itself an extra out for an ending, but it really isn't as preconceived as one expects along the way.

Cakes And Sand (dir. Christoph Scheermann, Germany , 2010 , 16 min.) Perhaps the most vivacious of the directors present was Christoph Scheermann, who introduced what some audience members felt was the most ambivalent film of the program. (I certainly didn't think that!) A couple take of for a weekend, where they will be faced with the dilemma that may stand in the way of the future of their relationship. In an odd way, it was reminiscent of "TWO FOR THE ROAD". The performers are likable enough and the situation is realistic and not overly theatrical in its execution. Though one senses that a feature length film is its ultimate aim, its present length is just perfect.

Maxxxxx says re THE REAL ANNE LISTER: Chirps. In code.

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) Opening Night - The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister

2010-06-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

Yay, Opening Night!! (photo by JimmyD) Though we were greeted at the theater entrance by protesters regarding Israel and Palestine (I think or presume there were factions from both sides, but the cacophony made it all unclear), it was the slightest bump to a smoothly executed evening.

I just love the tradition of running the existing Frameline trailers of all the past film festivals and the even more heartwarming greetings of "Yoo hoo"s!, referencing the 1995(?) festival. (I can never remember the year that fabulous, animated trailer of alien drag queens ran, but I was there and continue the "Yoo hoo!" tradition, myself!)

After the annual trip down memory lane, Frameline Board President, Thom Matson, quite enthusiastically, if not overly so for a person in such a position (he reminded me of someone from my deep past in Denver... M. Whalen?!), welcomed the audience and gave the obligatory litany of thanks to sponsors, corporations, fellow board members, volunteers and of course, the general membership. He then introduced Executive Director, K.C. Price and Festival Director, Jennifer Morris.

Price and Morris seemed unusually rehearsed and bound to prepared remarks. Perhaps it was the crowd outside, or perhaps it was in anticipation of an alarmingly vocal audience (i.e. last summer's "brawl" at the SF Jewish FF) that caught them in reserve. Or maybe they just wanted to keep the show running? I almost missed the opportunity for gaffes or the occasional long-wind that seems to create even more anticipation for the opening program. However brief their opening greeting, they were only matched by tonight's director's and star's introduction of the film:

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (dir. James Kent, UK, 2010, 90 Mins.) If the worst thing that can be said about a film is that it is "so BBC" then that is faint damnation in my view. It is a wonderfully designed, beautifully shot and masterfully performed historical drama, bordering on "bodice ripper"! Maxine Peake (who I recognize only from "RED RIDING TRILOGY") gives a full bodied and authentic performance of the 'anti-Jane Austen' heroine: a woman who remains so true to herself and feelings as to reject the societal norm of "needing" a husband to survive. Not only does she reject that norm, but she aggressively pursues her own true loves in her life: women and her manor.

The women in her life are a tad stereotypically conceived, from the 'tom boy' who is in unrequited love with her, to the shy and questioning virgins and the closeted lover, who she faces her greatest obstacle. She is supported by the obsequious Gemma Jones, as her aunt, who turns in yet another great performance. The film stays true to its feminist tone by casting a mere handful of three men, and in far supporting roles. It is a tribute to the cast, director and film editor though, that there is not a weak performance in the entirety. In fact, it almost felt like a stylistic choice that for every "punchline" that might end a scene, there was an equally devastating reaction shot, as if to say, "No, I will get the last laugh on this." The cast could have wordlessly drawn scenes out endlessly, had they been allowed so. I just love those haughty and shocked glances, in order to "top that"!

The audience went wild for it, needless to say, giving it a rousing standing ovation from well over half the house. The ensuing Q&A was fairly unremarkable, though, and a bit hastily emceed by Jennifer Morris. However, there was yet another screening waiting outside in the COLD to enter and an opening night party to go to. (I did not go, as it was COLD and the party was located somewhere in Golden Gate Park. I WILL be there for Closing Night, though!) ["Castro b0b" was dashing around taking photos, so I may add one of two of those before the weekend is out.]

Maxxxxx says re The Secret Diaries...: "Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) Shorts Programs Preview - Pt. 3, Transtastic!

2010-06-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

FAGETTE (Dir. Ali Cotterill, USA, 2008, 3 Mins.) It would be over simplified to describe this as "just" as music video of the song by Athens Boys Choir, but that is what it is. Entertaining and fun to watch play out on an "astro-turf Wonderland"!

Falling in Love... with Chris and Greg. Episode 3: "FOOD!" (dirs. Chris Vargas, Greg Youmans, USA, 2010, 25 Mins.) This latest installment from the webisodic "Falling Love... with Chris and Greg" continues the socio-sexual-political dialogue that dominates the style of the couple's earlier videos. It is quite fortunate that they are so appealing as characters, people and as a couple, as the dialogue can be exceptionally densely conveyed and, in this instance, at 25 minutes, nearly overwhelming. In fact, a little bit of editing might benefit to tighten up and highlight their inherent humor. (In fact, as H.P. Mendoza ("Colma,l the Musical") appears to be a technical collaborator, they might take advantage of his editing expertise!)

REMEMBER ME IN RED (dir. Hector Ceballos, USA , 2010 , 16 min) Yes, dear readers, believe it or not, this little soap opera actually choked me up a bit! It is a relatively simple situation, but fraught with tension: the funeral of a transexual male-to-female, as planned by her birth family who refuse to acknowledge her transition, is attended by her chosen family who insist on honoring her as she was when she died. Though the film treads close to being telenovela, the film, the direction and cast maintain a dignity and sincerity that moved me.

And, repeating from the "Dyke Delights" program:

T4-2 (dirs. Shellie CItron, Allegra Hirschman, USA , 2009 , 4 min.) I simply love and adore this musical carousel of genders within "a picture-perfect heterosexual marriage". The four performers, the direction, design and editing are executed with such joy, it is simply infections! I've watched this over a half dozen times! A fabulous four minutes...!

Unavailable for preview: Everyday to Stay (dir. Chase Ryan Joynt, Canada , 2010 , 21 min.) and Señorita (dir. Vincent Sandoval, Philippines , 2009 , 15 min.)

Maxxxxx says re T4-2: "Dooby doobie-dooo-ooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) Shorts Programs Preview - Pt. 2, Worldly Affairs

2010-06-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

Transatlantic (dir. David Quantic, Germany, 2009, 13 min.) This is a fascinating and beautifully edited story of "two couples on opposite sides of the Atlantic share a mysterious connection." Though I was a bit confused at moments, the pacing and its resolution, I was swept away as if in the dreams of its characters. It's a lovely 13 minutes.

The Armoire (dir. Jamie Travis, Canada 2009, 22 min) The richly deserved winner of the Golden Gate Award for Narrative Short at the San Francisco International Film Festival earlier this year, Jamie Travis concludes his Edward Gorey-esque trilogy of "Saddest Children In The World" (which includes The Saddest Boy in the World (which I LOVED at Frameline, 2007), and Why the Anderson Children Didn’t Come to Dinner, which I've also seen and spooks me out!) with this story of a missing child and how his friend, Aaron (remarkably acted by William Cuddy), remembers their last day together. Travis' production design continues to be enchanting, while his script is ultimately the most disturbing of his trilogy! I look forward to seeing them gathered together as a single DVD! PLEASE!!

Lines (dir. Carlos Muñoz Vazquez, Mexico , 2010 , 11 min.) This is a bittersweet story of a pair of guys who explore their connection through their different tastes in music, after having hooked up at a club. Vazquez has briefly, yet succinctly detailed a relationship from it's humble and exciting beginning to the banality of its resolution. To a certain extent, the film itself is as difficult as the relationship it portrays, but that's a good thing...

Just Friends? (dir. KIM-JHO Gwang-soo, Korea , 2009 , 29 min.) This is a surprisingly effect love story of two young men who have to deal with the obstacles of the Korean army and their families in order to be together. They guys are quite sweet together and display a true affection and chemistry. It is bookended with a couple trippy musical credit sequences, too.

Unavailable for preview: Inflatable Swamp (dir. William Feroldi, UK , 2009 , 13 min.) and Swing (dir. Leon Cheo, Singapore , 2009 , 6 min.)

Maxxxxx says re THE ARMOIRE: "Sweet, sweet eye juice!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) Shorts Programs Preview - Pt. 1, Comedies

2010-06-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

This year’s internationally renowned showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cinema runs June 17-27, with San Francisco screenings at the historic Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater (3117 16th Street) and the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street), and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (2966 College Avenue).Tickets for Frameline34 are on sale through www.frameline.org.

Two of the most popular short subject programs Frameline presents every year are "Fun in Boys Shorts" and "Fun in Girls Shorts" - collections of short comedies for the guys and the girls - which screen, back to back on the first Saturday morning of the festival. "Dyke Delights" has quickly become a program of hysterical shorts, that rivals "Fun in Girls Shorts".

Fun in Boys Shorts, 8 films:

Gayby (dir. Jonathan Lisecki, USA , 2010 , 12 min.) Well, the program doesn't exactly start off with a bang, as this little tale of (who I found to be) an exceptionally unhappy woman turns to her best gay buddy to impregnate her. Mind you, once we get to the act, it's all awkward and some comedy ensues. However, the majority of the film seems to spend time on how lonely she is, which raises flags, to me, as to whether she should have a baby to begin with. (This short is repeated in a later program: 'Gayby'.)

The New Tenants (dir. Joachim Back, USA , 2009 , 21 min.) This year's Oscar-winning short subject features a recognizable cast (i.e. Vincent D'Onofrio), who seem bent on terrorizing the gay couple who just moved in. Oh, not because their gay, but because it is just one of those creepy, David Lynchesque buildings where people just seem to be consistently killing each other. Not pretty to look at, as you can feel the grime, but in it's weird, surreal way, it is a hoot.

The Queen (dir. Christina Choe, USA , 2009 , 8 min.) "A Korean-American teenage outcast, is stuck working at his parents’ dry cleaners on prom weekend, but he creates his own night to remember." This was an all so pleasant, little musical fantasy.

Go Go Reject (dir. Michael Saul, USA , 2010 , 20 min.) Apparently, life is hard if you're thin and have abs and want to be a male go go dancer. Regardless of the perky charm of the lead character's performance, the premise to this is more annoying than honest. I don't know of any club that would turn him away, other than the bear bars, but it's his fantasy, I guess.

UPDATE: After some feedback about this recaplet, I do agree that I sound sort of bitter and have offered an exceptionally backhanded compliment to performer/writer/producer Heath Daniels. It would seem that this is an autobiographical, first film, about his attempts to find work at clubs. All I can say to that, is he must have been going to the wrong clubs! He can come up here to San Francisco and dance for ME anytime! His unusually bright demeanor would be probably better showcased in a more highly stylized production that would balance against his energetic performance style.

Gay Baby (dir. Kevin Kelly, USA , 2009 , 9 min.) An interesting premise, in that genetic testing reveals that a couple's unborn son will be gay. The father's gay panic is assuaged by an exceptionally eager store clerk at a store specializing in gay babies. I think the device of the store sort of short changed what could have been a very unique story within the couple. However, this is painless enough.

Rubdown (dir. Dennis Hensley, USA , 2010 , 12 min.) A "secret shopper" is enlisted in a sting operation in order to check on the legitimacy of a massage therapist. Fantasy segments and some light sexual innuendo ensue. Cute and the cast is pleasantly hunky to watch.

Unavailable for preview: Professor Godoy (dir. Gui Ashcar, Brazil , 2009 , 14 min.) Professor Godoy is a high school math teacher with a dull existence, but his life gets much more interesting when his cute student toys with the teacher’s fantasies. And Queer Pet Adventures Episode #1 (dir. Andrew Kaiko, USA , 2010 , 1 min.) A queer adventure… with pets… and so much more!

Fun in Girls Shorts, 8 films

The Best is Yet to Come (dir. Eunice Wu, USA , 2009 , 16 min.) Definitely one of the more 'sober' entries in this year's program of "Fun", as "a young lesbian couple celebrates a birthday on election night in 2008, but the result of Prop 8 puts a damper on the evening." Though engagingly performed and proficiently shot and edited, it did take me back a bit as far as how serious it is and its inclusion in a "comedy" program.

Dyke Dollar (dir. Laura Terruso, USA , 2009 , 11 min.) This brings the "wacky" back into the 'Fun in Girls Shorts' program! In sort of a tooth-fairy moment, an actual 'Dyke Dollar' appears in an American suburb to create a bit of havoc from those who would want to pass her on.

Door Prize (dir. Zsa Zsa Gerschick, USA , 2009 , 7 min.) A beautifully performed by Zsa Zsa Gerschick and Beth Grant, this gentle farce about gender identity and public restrooms and how it challenges 'the rules' was particularly moving, in an odd way. Beth Grant is particularly effective in the role of the 'establishment' whose perspective is challenged and eventually won over. A lovely job for all concerned.

Peasants (dir. Benjamin Feuer, USA , 2009 , 13 min.) Though it is described as "a rollicking comedy", I can not say that I was that taken away by the fantasy of "Jersey girl Jo fantasizing about romancing her straight best friend in the bucolic English countryside." I think that the reality sequence was underplayed enough that I wasn't as transported into the fantasy as much as slightly confused. But this may have been as much my problem from viewing it as part of an afternoon of short subjects.

25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression (dir Chirs J. Russo, USA , 2009 , 11 min.) I loved every annoying and exasperating moment of this little comic gem, as I have been there and done that! A young woman goes through the process of recovering from a break up. Unfortunately, it does take a village, as unwittingly as it may want to be involved. It just struck the right note with me, in an underplayed "Woody Allen-like" way. It's one of my faves.

Public Relations (dir. Gianna Sobol, USA , 2009 , 17 min.) Wendi Mclendon-Covey ("Reno 911") drives this farce about a pair of personal assistants who eventually fall in love, in spite of the demands of their bosses (which Mclendon-Covey is one!).

Unavailable for preview: Birthday (dir. Jenifer Malmqvist, Sweden , 2010 , 18 min.) ("Sara’s preparing a surprise for her wife Katrina’s birthday in this Swedish short, but Katrina may have some surprises of her own.") and Queer Pet Adventures Episode #2 (dir. Veronique Courtois, USA , 2010 , 1 min.) ("Another animated adventure with the Queer Pet Adventures crew!")

Of the 12 films included in Dyke Delights, these seven struck chords with me:

Chained! (dir. Betsy Kalin, USA , 2010 , 14 min.) "Chained! explores the intimate relationship between dykes and their wallet chains." A simple enough synopsis of a more than involving little documentary about the butch factor behind wallet chains.

Dyke Pussy (dir. Allyson Mitchell, Canada , 2008 , 1 min.) "Minimalism at its best, a miniature cat goes for a spin." A simple enough synopsis of something that I just didn't 'get'. Though it is so short that it is a painless little diversion in the middle of the program.

G.I.M.P. Boot Camp (dirs. Melisa Brittain, Danielle Peers, Canada , 2008 , 8 min.) "A dramatic “CRIP Awards” ceremony, an infomercial-style guide to survival and a testimonial from a recovering inspiration addict, G.I.M.P Boot Camp uses humor to deconstruct stereotypes of disability." A great little farce, in the style of the Mickee Faust Club's work, this "infomercial" goes out of its way to attack and destroy any preconceived notions of what it is to be "disabled".

The Girl Bunnies: HOCKEY (dir. Francoise Doherty, Canada , 2009 , 6 min.) Apparently, this is part of a series of lesbian bunny videos (they're animated) by filmmaker/songwriter Francoise Doherty. It's sort of cute if not so surreal as to nearly escape me, not unlike DYKE PUSSY, which is also in this program. It's odd enough to be sort of intriguing, but then again, I sort of didn't "get it"...

My Lesbian Friend (dir. Sarah Rotella, Canada, 2009, 5 min.) This was a very clever farce in which a young girl makes a new 'friend'! I don't want to give away any spoilers, as the situation is so ridiculous that it is farcical magic to watch how Sarah Rotella actually pulls it off! Definitely, one of the most clever scripts in the festival!

Tech Support (dir. Erik Gernand, USA , 2009 , 9 min.) This nifty little comedy starts off as a typical "Dilbert" nightmare of reaching tech support for a laptop and ends in a romantic comedy. The pair of women and exceptionally appealing and the timing is appropriately brisk when it needs to be and paced out lovingly to the end. A definite "keeper"!

Maxxxxx says re T4-2: "Dooby doobie-doooo-oooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Program Announcement!!

2010-05-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to attend the Press Conference and Program Announcement for this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival -- One of the HIGHLIGHTS of my film going year here in San Francisco!!

It was a comfortable and welcoming reception (catered fabulously by Poesia and Milette!) in which the festival staff (all four of them - HOW do they do it?!) were exceptionally accessible and excited to talk about this years program.

What I am personally excited about are two screenings. Firstly, METROPOLIS, which has been recently restored to within just 6 minutes of its reported, original screening length! Plus, it will be accompanied by none other than the Alloy Orchestra, whose present score for the film is wonderful and I can't wait to hear how they have expanded their work. Alloy Orchestra will also be present to perform with one of their standards: MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (the program notes of which will be provided by Brian Darr, who is sure to reveal some true nuggets of trivia about this hypnotic classic).

There is just a bit of consternation in the local filmgoing community that this will be a digital print. However, KINO is releasing it only in that format. The rest of the program will be in glorious and shimmering celluloid!

The other program that I am really jazzed about is HAXAN: THE HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT, which has something of a cult following, and I have only previously seen in a terribly rough VHS copy, which had obviously been copied and passed around. (Oh, and I may have been in an intellectually "altered" state of consciousness!) Its screening in San Francisco promises to be of a restored print and accompanied by Matty Bye Ensemble, who I am not familiar with.

From the reception, another very unusual film that I have no exposure or knowledge of was announced as the Closing Night feature: L’heureuse mort, directed by Serge Nadejdine and featuring a cast and crew of Russian emigre's working in France. (A full description is below.)

As you can see in the program as described below, this is probably the Festival's most eclectic program of features to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

Press Notice May 24, 2010

For Immediate Release

THE SILENT FILM FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY
JULY 15–18, CASTRO THEATRE, SAN FRANCISCO

We are thrilled to announce the complete program for the 15th Annual SILENT FILM FESTIVAL, July 15-18, 2010. We celebrate this special anniversary with an added day, more programs, and more music!

Special programs include our inaugural music program - Variations on a Theme: Musicians on the Craft of Composing and Performing for Silent Film - with all of the festival musicians participating. This not-to-be-missed program will be moderated by Chloe Veltman, regular contributor to the New York Times.

Among the many luminaries who will grace the Castro Theatre stage for this festival are Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury, the forces behind the inimitable Photoplay Productions of England. We are proud to present the Silent Film Festival Award to Brownlow and Stanbury at the screening of THE STRONG MAN, a delightful comedy from Photoplay favorite Frank Capra.

The Silent Film Festival is lucky to have the support of the family of Hollywood legend William Wyler. And luckier still that the wonderful Leonard Maltin will be here for an on-stage interview with the Wyler children before we show their father’s superb boxing drama THE SHAKEDOWN.

We are excited that Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.) will be presenting his Director’s Pick of Arbuckle, Keaton, and Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts for The Big Business of Short, Funny Films, and that Maltin will grace the stage again for a conversation with Docter before the program.

Beloved founders of the Silent Film Festival Stephen Salmons and Melissa Chittick have chosen DIARY OF A LOST GIRL, our Centerpiece Film, for their Founder’s Pick What better way to honor Chittick and Salmon’s vision than with the divine Louise Brooks as directed by G.W. Pabst, and with an introduction by perennial Festival favorite, Frank Buxton?

And last but very far from least, Maltin will be on stage one more time to introduce the Closing Night film L’HEUREUSE MORT, an exhilarating French comedy of a failed playwright, a shipwreck, faux posthumous fame, and forged identity. This film captivated us in Pordenone, and we cannot wait to bring it to San Francisco!

For more information, please visit the Silent Film Festival website.

COMPLETE 15^TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Opening Night
Thursday, July 15, 7:00 pm, $17/$20
The Iron Horse
Directed by John Ford
With George O’Brien, Madge Bellamy
USA, 1924, 131 minutes
IMDb page
Set in mid-19th century America, The Iron Horse is the silent era’s version of How the West Was Won, weaving its themes of romance and history around the story of the building of the first transcontinental railway. This glorious print is the only surviving 35mm print of the American version, from the collection of Dennis James.
Dennis James will accompany on the Mighty Wurlitzer

Friday, July 16 11:30 am, Free Admission
Amazing Tales from the Archives (One)
Lost Films from the Silent Era
Presentations by Joe Lindner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Paula Félix-Didier and Fernando Peña of Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires (the archivists responsible for finding the lost Metropolis footage).
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

Friday, July 16, 2:00 pm, $12/$14
A Spray of Plum Blossoms (Yi jian mei)
Directed by Bu Wancang
With Ruan Ling-yu, Jin Yan
China, 1931, 100 minutes
IMDb page
One of the most prolific Chinese directors of the silent era, Bu Wancang based this film on William Shakespeare’s “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” setting the action in China, circa 1930 and casting China’s favorite on-screen couple Ruan Ling-yu and Jin Yan. Like all
Shakespeare comedies, Plum Blossoms is replete with star-crossed lovers, mistaken identity, and a wonderful happy ending. By situating the play in the ’30s-era Chinese army, the “gentlemen” of the Shakespeare’s title are the film’s officers, the duke is a warlord, and his daughter’s ladies-in-waiting are military police! 35mm print from China Archive
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

July 16, 6:00 pm, $12/$14
Rotaie
IMDb page
Directed by Mario Camerini
With Käthe von Nagy, Maurizio D’Ancora
Italy, 1929, 74 minutes
One of the most important Italian movies of the late silent period, Rotaie is the story is of two young lovers, very poor and on the brink of suicide, who come into a bit of temporary good luck. Finding a lost wallet in a train station, the lovers hop a train to two thrilling weeks of high living. The film’s exquisite style is influenced by the expressionism of German master F.W. Murnau. 35mm print from Cineteca Milano
Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Friday, July 16, 8:15 pm, $17/$20
Metropolis
Directed by Fritz Lang
With Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Brigitte Helm
Germany, 1927, 148 minutes
Website
When Fritz Lang’s masterpiece debuted in Berlin in January, 1927, the sci-fi epic ran an estimated 153 minutes, but in order to maximize box office potential the German and American distributors cut the film to 90 minutes for its commercial release. For decades crucial scenes from the film were considered lost. In 2001, the Munich Film Foundation assembled a more complete version with additional footage from four contributing archives, and Metropolis had a premiere revival at 124 minutes (widely believed to be the most complete version that contemporary audiences could ever hope to see). But, in 2008 archivists from the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires made a spectacular discovery—a 16mm dupe negative of Metropolis that was considerably longer than any existing print! That discovery led to this remarkable restoration and Metropolis can now be shown in Fritz Lang’s original—25 minute longer—complete version. Digital print from Kino International
Accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra

Saturday, July 17, 10:00 am, $12/$14
Director’s Pick! Pete Docter presents
The Big Business of Short, Funny Films
Director Pete Docter presents a selection of hilarious short films —some of the funniest moments in cinema—all in 35mm!
Dennis James will accompany on the Mighty Wurlitzer
The Cook
Directed by Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle
With Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Lake
USA, 1918, 22 minutes
IMDb page
Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton were physical comedians whose styles and physiognomies could not have been more different, and they complement each other brilliantly! Set in a restaurant where Fatty’s the cook and Buster’s the waiter, the inspired duo seem to be having the time of their lives—and the feeling’s contagious! 35mm print from George Eastman House
Pass the Gravy
Directed by Fred Guiol, Leo McCarey
With Max Davidson, Bert Sprotte, Martha Sleeper, Spec O’Donnell
USA, 1928, 23 minutes
IMDb page
A sheer delight, Pass the Gravy trades on the comic device of feuding neighbors and turns up the heat. Neighbors Shultz (Bert Sprotte) and Max Davidson call for detente when their children fall in love. But when Shultz’s prize rooster ends up on Davidson’s dinner table for the couple’s engagement party… Inducted into the National Film Registry in 1998. 35mm print from George Eastman House
Big Business
Directed by James W. Horne, Leo McCarey
With Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy
USA, 1929, 19 minutes
IMDb page
The tagline to this Laurel & Hardy treasure is “The story of man who turned the other cheek and got punched in the nose.” That rather understates the hilarious mayhem of this sidesplitting short that was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1992. 35mm print from Library of Congress

Saturday, July 17, 12:00 noon, $12/$14
Variations on a Theme: Musicians on the Craft of Composing and Performing for Silent Film
Moderated by Chloe Veltman
This special moderated program will shine a light the process of composing scores for silent films. Pianists Donald Sosin and Stephen Horne will take part, along with organist Dennis James, Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Alloy Orchestra, and Swedish musician and composer Matti Bye. Chloe Veltman, regular contributor to The New York Times and producer and host of public radio’s VoiceBox, will moderate.

Saturday, July 17, 2:00 pm, $12/$14
The Flying Ace
Directed by Richard E. Norman
With Lawrence Criner, Kathryn Boyd
USA, 1926, 65 minutes
IMDb page
Richard E. Norman was among the first to produce films starring African-American actors in positive roles. Between 1920 and 1928, the Norman Film Manufacturing Co. produced six feature-length films as part of a movement to establish an independent black cinema at a time when blacks were demeaned in mainstream movies. The Flying Ace is the only Norman film that survives and its story of a crime-fighting ace pilot is still a crowd-pleaser! 35mm print from Library of Congress
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

Saturday, July 17, 4:00 pm, $12/$14
The Strong Man
Directed by Frank Capra
With Harry Langdon
USA, 1926, 75 minutes
IMDb page
This Harry Langdon comedy will be shown in a pristine print from Photoplay Productions in England. Frank Capra’s second feature, this effervescent slapstick has Langdon as Paul Bergot, a mild-mannered Belgian soldier who goes on the road with German strongman Zandow the Great after World War I. When they get to the States, Paul searches for (and finds) his American sweetheart pen pal. 35mm print from Photoplay
Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Saturday, July 17, 6:30 pm, $15/$17
Diary of a Lost Girl (Das Tagebuch einer Verloren)
Directed by G.W. Pabst
With Louise Brooks, Kurt Gerron
Germany, 1929, 116 minutes
IMDb page
Diary of a Lost Girl represents the second and final work of one of the cinema’s most compelling collaborations: G. W. Pabst and Louise Brooks. Together with Pandora’s Box, Diary confirmed Pabst’s artistry as one of the great directors of the silent period and established Brooks as an “actress of brilliance, a luminescent personality and a beauty unparalleled in screen history.” (Kevin Brownlow) This version has been mastered from a restoration of the film made by the Cineteca di Bologna with approximately seven minutes of previously censored footage. 35mm print of Kino International
Accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

Saturday, July 17, 9:30 pm, $12/$14
Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
Dir. Benjamin Christensen
Denmark, Sweden, 1922, 90 minutes
With Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan, Elith Pio, Oscar Stribolt
IMDb page
Benjamin Christensen’s legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious—instead it’s a witches’ brew of the scary and darkly humorous. 35mm restored, tinted print from the Swedish Film Institute.
Accompanied by newcomer to the festival, Matti Bye (winner of the “Golden Beetle”—the Swedish Oscar—for his score for Jan Troell’s Everlasting Moments—
Sweden’s 2009 submission to the Academy Awards) and the Matti Bye Ensemble

Sunday, July 18, 10 am, Free Admission
Amazing Tales from the Archives (Two)
Using film clips and slides, Mike Mashon (Library of Congress) will present the fascinating and devastating reality of American silent film survival rates. Annette Melville (National Film Preservation Foundation) will follow presenting a way to bring back some of this history via a major international repatriation project.
Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Sunday, July 18, 12 noon, $12/$14
The Shakedown
Directed by William Wyler
With James Murray, Barbara Kent, Jack Hanlon
USA, 1929, 70 minutes
IMDb page
Restored to 35mm by George Eastman house, The Shakedown is a superb action-drama about a boxer whose life changes when he meets up with an orphan boy. Director William Wyler is most celebrated for his talkies (The Best Years of Our Lives, Ben Hur, Funny Girl) and this uplifting tale is a splendid introduction to the master’s early career. Beautiful camerawork, fast-paced editing, and remarkable effects make this a riveting feature. 35mm print from George Eastman House
Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

Sunday, July 18, 2:30 pm, $12/$14
Man With a Movie Camera (Человек с Киноаппаратом)
Directed by Dziga Vertov
>USSR, 1929, 70 minutes
IMDb page
Considered one of the most innovative and influential films of the silent era, Man With a Movie Camera is startlingly modern, demonstrating a groundbreaking style of rapid editing and incorporating innumerable other cinematic effects to create a work of amazing power and energy. This dawn-to-dusk view of the Soviet Union offers a montage of urban Russian life, showing the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that endlessly whirl to keep the metropolis alive. Vertov’s masterpiece employs all the cinematic techniques at the director’s disposal—dissolves, split-screens, slow motion, and freeze-frames—to produce a work that is exhilarating and intellectually brilliant.
Accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra

Sunday, July 18, 4:30 pm, $12/$14
The Woman Disputed
Directed by Henry King, Sam Taylor
With Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland
USA, 1928, 110 minutes
IMDb page
This splendid romance is a true discovery, starring the extraordinary Norma Talmadge as a goodhearted streetwalker who is coveted by Austrian and Russian rivals. “I have just seen The Woman Disputed and it’s a remarkable piece of filmmaking. The plot takes Maupaussant’s Boule de Suif to extremes, but it succeeds so well as a brilliant piece of film craft that it MUST be brought back to life.” (Kevin Brownlow). 35mm print from the Library of Congress.
Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Closing Night
Sunday, July 18, 7:30 pm, $15/$17
L’heureuse mort
Directed by Serge Nadejdine
With Nicolas Rimsky, Lucie Larue
France, 1924, 83 minutes
IMDb page
This remarkable comedy stars Nicolas Rimsky as Parisian dramatist Théodore Larue whose latest premiere is a disaster. His reputation gone, Larue takes a sea voyage, during which he is swept overboard in a storm and lost. The press and the literary world react with an abrupt revaluation of his work, elevating him to the stature of France’s greatest dramatist. His widow finds herself in possession of a hugely valuable literary property… At which point, Larue—inopportunely—returns home. But, dramatist above all, he decides to masquerade as his colonialist brother Anselme, while industriously turning out posthumous works by Théodore. But then the real Anselme turns up with his Senegalese wife… 35mm print from the Cinémathèque Française.
Accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble

Silent Film Festival | 833 Market Street, Suite 812 | San Francisco | CA | 94103

Maxxxxx says re The SF Silent Film Festival: "Wooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - The Loved Ones and Solitude Standing

2010-05-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

THE LOVED ONES (dir. Sean Byrne, Australia, 2009, 84 minutes) was by far the most extreme of the screenings in "The Late Show" sidebar this year! The performances are so solid, that the emotional content more than keeps up with its violence quotient, which is nearly off the charts, as far as new ways of torture are concerned! It is an "ugly duckling revenge fantasy" for all intents and purposes. However, Robin McLeavy's performance as the rejected Lola, is filled with such sadistic glee, that as fun as it is to watch, she ably avoids gaining any audience sympathy. Xavier Samuel plays her latest victim, but I found him to be a bit too 'emo boy' for me to really get behind, regardless of how competently he expressed the physical pain his character endures. It is really John Brumpton's performance as her long suffering father (and inspiration, more or less) that elicits the most compassion. Well, to an extent. There is that moment with the power drill, however...

The festival included a program of seven short subjects, all having to do with being alone, under the title "Solitude Standing."

The Darkness of Day (dir. Jay Rosenblatt, USA 2009, 26 min) From the pgrogram guide: "Using fascinating and varied images salvaged from discarded film library collections, this poetic documentary explores suicide and the inherent aspects of depression, mortality and isolation." And, yes, it is about as depressing and bleak as it sounds. Still, fascinating to watch, but not exactly a great party-short!

The Shutdown (dir. Adam Stafford, Scotland 2009, 10 min) No doubt, part of the fault relies on myself for having waited nearly a week before posting comments on this program. However, unlike most of the other pieces, I really do not recall much of anything from this reminiscence by Alan Bissett and what happened when his father was caught in a petrochemical plant explosion. Given that it won the Golden Gate Award for Best Short Documentary this year, I probably have only myself to blame.

Me Time (dir. Matt Schuman, USA 2009, 11 min) "Steve" has decided to clean out his 'friends'. So, after making a list of "best friend(s)", "friends" and "acquaintances", he begins the not-so-pleasant process of dumping those who he doesn't feel overly connected to. It's a humorous enough premise (and gawd knows it is something I face every time I log onto Facebook!), but in actually playing it out, it doesn't really pull together, and the 'punchline', however O'Henry-esque as it is, lacks the emotional punch I think that Schuman expects. However, the production values are all around terrific and it is a fairly memorable little experience.

Laundry (dir. Danielle Katvan, USA 2009, 5 min) Silently and poetically, Katvan's little film dwells upon the romantic in the most of mundane places: A Laundromat. Katvan transcends her setting effortlessly and tosses in a lovely, if not semi-ambiguous climax, all within her brief five minutes. I'd love to see more from her.

The Armoire (dir. Jamie Travis, Canada 2009, 22 min) The richly deserved winner of the Golden Gate Award for Narrative Short, Jamie Travis concludes his Edward Gorey-esque trilogy of "Saddest Children In The World" (which includes The Saddest Boy in the World (which I LOVED at Frameline, 2007), and Why the Anderson Children Didn’t Come to Dinner, which I've also seen and spooks me out!) with this story of a missing child and how his friend, Aaron (remarkably acted by William Cuddy), remembers their last day together. Travis' production design continues to be enchanting, while his script is ultimately the most disturbing of his trilogy! I look forward to seeing them gathered together as a single DVD! PLEASE!!

The Translator (dir. Sonya Di Rienzo, Canada 2009, 8 min) Perhaps the most cinematic of the pieces in this program, Di Rienzo places a woman, whose job is to translate and subtitle French films, on a subway with her boring boyfriend, thus allowing her to daydream dialogue for those around her. She also gives herself a happy ending. Fairly fascinating to watch unfold and as it doesn't give itself away.

Still Birds (dir. Sara Eliassen, Norway 2009, 13 min) The program guide describes this as "unsettling fable", which is sort of an understatement! Had this been feature length, it would be perfectly placed in "The Late Show" sidebar! It is hard to describe, except to note that the group of children and teen performers that have been gathered for this are all exceptional, especially in their ability to contort themselves, physically and vocally, to Eliassen's demands. It is the story of individuality, or more precisely, one little girl's attempts at keeping her voice. There is some disturbing Aryan undertones throughout, as redheads fight against shockingly blond children. The only verbalizations are the thoughts inside our heroic little girl's head. It is a strikingly executed "fable"!

Maxxxxx says re THE LOVED ONES: [cackles maniacally as he BITES my hand!]
re Solitude Standing: "Wooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

3rd i Films Presents: 3rd i's Queer Eye :: June 6, 2010

2010-05-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

3rd i Films Presents:
3rd i's Queer Eye :: June 6, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3, 2010

From art-house classics to documentary films, innovative and experimental visions to next-level Bollywood: 3rd i (www.thirdi.org), is committed to promoting diverse images of South Asians through independent film.

3rd i is proud to announce the launch of a brand new initiative this summer, 3rd i's Queer Eye, a mini-fest celebrating the South Asian LGBT community – and there's really a lot to celebrate these days: India repealed Penal Code 377 last year, which effectively decriminalized homosexuality; a spate of LGBT films and film festivals surge are popping up all over India; and even mainstream films are talking on queer themes boldly (the first full-on male-on-male kiss arrives this summer in Bollywood!).

3rd i Queer Eye puts a South Asian lens on the LGBT experience, and unfolds over an evening on June 6 at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco.

The evening includes a program of shorts, "Queer South Asian Shorts", including: Are We Talking Straight?, an enlightening survey on the streets of Calcutta about current cultural attitudes towards homosexuality in India; Sachin Kundalkar's The Bath, a poignant film about a Mumbai male sex worker; Jehangir Jani's Make-ups, a poetic observation of an ageing actress (Bollywood superstar of yesteryear Zeenat Aman), a gay man cruising the local train station, and a call-girl on the way to her john; Bay Area filmmaker Punam S.' Hollywood-spoof Mr. and Mrs. Singh; Tejal Shah's I Think There's a Spider Living Between Us, a frank and biting short where the filmmaker ponders the sexual life of her parents and Chingari Chumma – Stinging Kiss (made in collaboration with Anuj Vaidya) in which a hackneyed Bollywood ending gets an explicit treatment. Local filmmakers will be in attendance.

Following the shorts program is the Feature Presentation, Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story (Director's Cut). Rudi Dolezal's documentary traces the life of the legendary frontman of Queen, from his formative years in India to the height of his fame in England. 3rd i is pleased to offer a San Francisco Premiere of the soon-to-be-released Director's Cut, featuring previously unseen interviews with Freddie Mercury and more live performance. This updated version was recently featured at the Chicago International Film Festival and at Roger Ebert's Festival of Overlooked Films.

June 6, 2010 @ VIZ Cinema5pm Queer South Asian Shorts
7pm Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story (Director's Cut 2010)

Tickets are $10 for each film or $16 for both. For complete program information, including showtimes, ticket prices and other events, please visit our website at – www.thirdi.org.

3rd i's Queer Eye is made possible, in part, through a sponsorship from Wells Fargo Bank.

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Closing Night (Audience Awards and... Miss Joan!!)

2010-05-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival screened April 22–May 6 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the historic Castro Theatre, the Landmark Clay and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. For information, go to www.sffs.org.

Graham Leggat, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society, who has been remarkably low-profile this year, introduced the Closing Night festivities with an enthusiastic, yet very funny acknowledgment of the ARMY of sponsors and supporters! I wish all directors, boardsmen, etc. were able to gently barb their sponsors, yet be so appreciative! He then announced the Golden Gate Award Winners (which were already previously announced) as well as officially revealing the Audience Awards (Best Narrative Feature went to Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, and Best Documentary Feature went to Julia Bacha's Budrus, neither of which I saw, of course! argh!) before bringing Festival Program Director, Rachel Rosen, onstage to begin the night's screening.

On, the surface, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK (dirs. Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, USA, 2010, 84 minutes) would seem to be atypical of what is on the film festival circuit. However, directors Stern and Sundberg come with serious documentary creds, and have delivered a film that is more than a "Biography Channel" bio-pic of Joan Rivers. It spends an exhaustive year with the comedienne, observing and highlighting her near single-minded drive, if not near obsessive compulsion, to work. Neither rain, nor sleet., nor snow, nor red-eye flights will keep her from performing. She has taken the concept of 'bus-and-truck' to a higher level, as private planes and limos whisk her to cities, towns, clubs, bookstores, anywhere that wants to see her. She simply doesn't say "No", but not before negotiating for as high of a fee as she can get. The filmmakers were fortunate to be present during a period where Rivers was making something of a comeback, namely, before and during her appearance on "Celebrity Apprentice" and the near infamous "Comedy Central Roasts Joan Rivers". Though the film does open with her bemoaning an empty engagement calendar, one does get the impression that it always fills up. There is also a little bit of biography included, but only as it is recounted by Rivers and not cut away as background information, which keeps the film anchored in the present, without going into "Biography" mode. It ended with the directors and Joan Rivers appearing on stage to a rousing standing ovation.

The ensuing Q&A was really a launch pad for her material. There was, as can be expected at the Castro Theatre, the unfortunate, weepy fan ("I came all the way from Palo Alto and you changed my life and I would love a picture with you!" etc.) and the co-directors were fairly ignored by the audience, though Rachel Rosen was able to work them into the discussion of what it was like following Joan for a year. Overall, it was an enjoyable way to end a festival.

The post-screening party was at 1015 Folsom, which is a bit small and awkwardly maneuverable for a crowd with plates and glasses, but I did not overstay my welcome there, and actually left before using the two drink tickets (drink tickets?! wtf??) we were given at the door, but not before spying upon some SFFS staffers and their surprising "dates"! But that's for the gossip columns...!

Maxxxxx says re JOAN RIVERS...: "Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Golden Gate Awards (Juried)

2010-05-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

53rd San Francisco International Film Festival Winners Announced at Golden Gate Awards Ceremony, Wednesday, May 5

5/5/2010

Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature Winners

Investigative Documentary Feature: Last Train Home, Lixin Fan (Canada/China 2009) • Winner receives $25,000 cash prize and Final Cut Studio software provided by Apple

Documentary Feature: Pianomania, Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis (Austria/Germany 2009) • Winner receives $20,000 cash prize and Final Cut Studio software provided by Apple

Bay Area Documentary Feature: Presumed Guilty, Roberto Hernández, Geoffrey Smith (Mexico 2009) • Winner receives $15,000 cash prize, FInal Cut Studio software provided by Apple and $2,000 in lab services from EFILM Digital Laboratories

New Directors Award: Alamar, Pedro González-Rubio (Mexico 2009) • Winner receives $15,000 cash prize and Final Cut Studio software provided by Apple

FIPRESCI Prize: Frontier Blues, Babak Jalali (Iran/England/Italy 2009)

Golden Gate Award Short Film Winners

Youth Work: Moon Shoes, Joel Vanzeventer (USA 2009) • Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
Honorable Mention: Alisha, Daniel Citron (USA 2009)

Work for Kids and Families: Leonardo, Jim Capobianco (USA 2009) • Winner receives $1,500 cash prize
Honorable Mention: The Mouse That Soared, Kyle Bell (USA 2009)

Animated Short: Tussilago, Jonas Odell (Sweden 2010) • Winner receives $2,000 cash prize

New Visions: Release, Bill Morrison (USA 2009) • Winner receives $1,500 cash prize and 1,000 feet of Kodak film stock

Bay Area Short, First Prize: Embrace of the Irrational, Jonn Herschend (USA 2009) • Winner receives $2,000 cash prize

Bay Area Short, Second Prize: Leonardo, Jim Capobianco (USA 2009) • Winner receives $1,500 cash prize

Documentary Short: The Shutdown, Adam Stafford (Scotland 2009) • Winner receives $5,000 cash prize

Narrative Short: The Armoire, Jamie Travis (Canada 2009) • Winner receives $5,000 cash prize and 1,000 feet of Kodak film stock

San Francisco Film Society
The San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating the world of film and media in four core areas: Internationalism and Cross-Cultural Exchange, Educating and Inspiring Bay Area Youth, Showcasing Bay Area Film Culture and Exploring New Media. Its activities are organized via three major program areas: Exhibition, Education and Filmmaker Services.

The Film Society shows the best of world cinema year-round and presents the San Francisco International Animation Festival, New Italian Cinema, Cinema by the Bay and French Cinema Now each fall. SFFS presents more than 300 days of programming each year, reaching a total audience of more than 100,000 people. Its acclaimed Youth Education program introduces international cinema and media literacy to more than 10,000 teachers and students annually.

SFFS publishes a daily online magazine, SF360.org, with broad-ranging news and features on Bay Area film culture and provides crucial support to the Bay Area filmmaking community through Filmmaker Services, including grants, residencies, fiscal sponsorship, production assistance and development, networking and conference events and professional-level filmmaker classes and workshops.

53rd San Francisco International Film Festival
The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 22–May 6, 2010 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the Castro Theatre and Landmark’s Clay Theatre in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring 15 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 80,000+ people.

For tickets and information, visit www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.

Maxxxxx says re Pianomania, Release, Leonardo, Embrace of the Irrational and The Armoire: "Whoooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Drag Divas!!

2010-05-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

All About Evil (dir. Joshua Grannell, US, 2010, 98 mins.) was one of the festival's most highly anticipated programs, due mostly to the dedicated, if not rabid, following of Joshua Grannell, more famously known as 'Peaches Christ', the hostess of "Midnight Mass", a series of midnight screenings here in San Francisco. Grannell did not fail to disappoint, as he presented to the SFIFF audience a full out, no holds barred, Midnight Mass spectacular for this World Premiere!

Peaches Christ took the stage by storm by premiering her new film leader, which alone set a level of professionalism yet unseen in the typical Midnight Mass. Then the theater rocked to a series of musical numbers from, and inspired by the film, as well as some banter with some of the cast that were present for its premiere, including Natasha Lyonne, Mink Stole, Thomas Dekker, Ashley Fink, Jade and Nikita Ramsey as well as the cast of his onstage chorus. Peaches has built a stage show in which to frame the film "in the spirit of William Castle" that will tour the country with the premiere its screenings. (The first stop is in Austin, Texas, on May 15.) Peaches also gave a shout-out to John Waters as her inspiration, who was also present in the audience.

(JimmyD uploaded this and the other musical numbers can be seen here.)

Then the film itself began, starring the truly inimitable and slightly inscrutable performance of Natasha Lyonne. She can perform schizophrenic like no one else on screen! She begins the film as a mousy little librarian who inherits her father's movie theatre, which is "played" by the actual Victoria Theatre here in San Francisco. She accidentally trips upon the secret of success in keeping the theater open, or as the production's tagline would put it: "Audiences are dieing to see it!" The resulting blood and gore fest does not fail expectations and, I would hazard to say, the talent and production values in ALL ABOUT EVIL far surpass those of us who are familiar with Grannell's earlier work, namely the "Peaches Christ TRAN-ilogy of Terror". Even the end credits were a total hoot!

The following Q&A with nearly the entire cast and top-line crew was fairly enjoyable, though not without a slight audience faux-pas as there were people apparently unaware of Mr. Grannell's background in San Francisco. (My friend Jimmy (photos and vids) is convinced that a certain young leading man unintentionally "came out" on the Castro stage...) The three hour evening (sending us out into the streets at nearly 2AM), flew by and is, at this point, THE HIGHLIGHT of this year's festival for me!

On the other hand, the two and a half hours of To Die Like A Man (dir. João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal/France, 2009, 134 minutes) felt like five hours. I didn't walk in expecting a serious "Priscillia, Queen of the Desert", but then I wasn't expecting a transexual version of "Long Day's Journey Into Night" either. The screenplay is nearly unrelentingly bleak, even if there is a little bit of comic relief tossed in. Also, Rodrigues filmed some extraordinarily long takes, which I usually am stunned by. However, in this case, the camera was usually quite static (except for the wild, final pan!). I just wanted it to keep moving. He has also included some surreal episodes, which only confused matters and made the progression take even longer. Also, in the spirit of FULL disclosure, I did doze off in the first half hour. There was a Q&A afterward, but I just couldn't stay any longer...

Maxxxxx says re ALL ABOUT EVIL: [SCREECHES in joy!!]
re TO DIE LIKE A MAN: "Is it bedtime?"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Pianos and Pastures

2010-05-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

PIANOMANIA (dirs. Robert Cibis, Lilian Franck, Austria/Germany, 2009, 93 minutes) is one of those documentaries that on paper sound interesting enough, but in the actual viewing, becomes a mind opening experience, or at least for the uninitiated. Simply, it follows the work of Stefan Knüpfer, a technician and piano tuner for Steinway in Austria. What follows though is a portrait of dedication, bordering on obsession, as he is works with some of the world's greatest pianists and is required to deconstruct the sound the instrument makes, both audibly and physically. The precision that some of the pianists require took me aback, though I should not have been surprised. The extent that the Steinway Company goes to fulfill the requests of these musicians is particularly incredible, to me at least. But then, I have no concept of what the costs behind each of these instruments must be. The drama hangs on the reputations of the artists, the concert halls, the recording companies, as well as Steinway itself as each instrument is prepared for performance. This was thoroughly engaging and surprisingly exciting!

On the meditative end of the scale, there is WAY OF NATURE (dir. Nina Hedenius, Sweden, 2008, 107 minutes), a pure documentary made for Swedish television depicting one year on a Swedish farm - without narration. That's right, there is no Oprah or David Attenborough (or, gawd help us, Sarah Palin!) telling you what you are seeing. There isn't even a musical score to punch up the drama. The soundtrack is basically the clang of cowbells and baaing of sheep and goats. It is an extraordinary way to take a break and spend and hour and a half, observing Hedenius' idyllic portrait of what farming can be. I am sure that there can be some argument as to the "purity" of her unspoken narrative, as there is no mention of the hardships that are entailed in such an endeavor. However, in tone it is the anti-thesis to FOOD, Inc., while still being a compatriot of that film's message.

(My only reservation was that the video transfer that was projected at the Sundance Kabuki had some digital artifacts and over-scanning.)

Maxxxxx says re Pianomania: "Dooby dooby dooo-ooo!"
re Way of Nature: (quiet beak scratching)

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Experimental/Avant Garde Shorts Programs

2010-04-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Release (Bill Morrison, USA 2009, 13 min) Oh. My. Gawd!! To say that I am a "Bill Morrison Fan" is now an understatement. I am on record as loving Decasia, Light Is Calling and How To Pray. Although this piece actually had audience members hissing, I found it to be "ART"! Morrison repeats a piece of newsreel, ever expanding the amount of frames, over a fifteen minute period. It became apparent to me that we were outside of a prison, awaiting someone's release. The film then became an allegory, and obviously to some audience too physically real, as to what waiting for a release must be like. The frame paces the scene, over and over, illuminating details that were unseen, as each pass is made. Underneath the visuals, is yet another brilliantly devised soundtrack, this time featuring music by Vijay Iver. I loved it and hiss back at those detractors!

Fiddlestixx (dirs. David and Nathan Zellner, USA 2009, 3 min) Simply put in the program guide: "The first episode in the chronicles of a super-sensitive, megalomaniacal, perhaps magic monkey: Fiddlestixx!" This is one whacked out video! When asked during the Q&A what was their 'inspiration', one of the Zellners replied, "We were able to rent a monkey for the day, and decided to put him in front of a green screen!" Sort of fun and worth exploring the rest of the series at their website!

Embrace of the Irrational (dir. Jonn Herschend, USA 2009, 18 min)
Locally commissioned by San Francisco gallery Southern Exposure, this video deconstructs educational and documentary form. It exposes the behind the scenes drama of an educational video and then goes one more step to behind the scenes of the making-of, in itself. All of it is a dramatic ruse, which is its punchline, of course! It could have gone one much longer and entered the fabulous world of Luis Buñuel!!

Spin (dir. Max Hattler, England 2009, 4 min) A CGI'ed animation of toy soldiers are given a Busby Berkeley treatment. Yet, in the end, Hattler doesn't hesitate to shock the audience of what the reality of the situation is. Visually complex and fascinating, as well as emotionally profound by the end.

M (dir. Felix Dufour-Laperriere, Canada 2009, 8 min) A still frame can not do this postindustrial animation justice! It is moody, creepy and beautiful. I was not ceased to be amazed at how the director was able to create images that were completely alien, yet mechanically recognizable. I was swept away in a strange rush...

Zef Side (Sean Metelerkamp, South Africa 2009, 3 min) Well. I suppose that this IS an international film festival, so a South African rap video is not totally out of place. However, I am not a fan of either the music, nor of the imagery that Metelerkamp created. I sort of did not understand why it was here, actually.

Blink (no site link available) (dir. Silas Howard, USA 2009, 12 min) I saw this at last year's Frameline Festival, or at least a rougher cut of it, as there were a couple minor moments that I don't exactly remember. And I believe that Howard cleaned up the business with the sea cucumbers. Yes, sea cucumbers. Transexuals and sea cucumbers. You tell me. It remains to be bleak and depressing, even with the appearance of Ben Foster as a skinhead. Yes, a skinhead.

When programmer Sean Uyehara introduced this selection of shorts, he proffered a warning that there was going to be explicit sex in the final piece, which was directed by Guy Maddin. Well, I was sort of intrigued and excited to see just what Maddin would come up with! The Little White Cloud that Cried! (dir. Guy Maddin, Canada 2009, 13 min) Guy Maddin continues to frustrate me!! Just as I come back to love him after seeing his short online, NIGHT MAYOR, I then turn around in a couple of weeks and see this. Apparently, it was commissioned by the Berlinale for a Jack Smith film festival, I found it to be not so much a tribute to Smith or Kenneth Anger (though it is definitely derivative of them), but a nearly exploitative homage to the baser motifs those two directors worked in. In the end, I just felt it was transsexual pornography. Not pleased, at all. I'll have to watch SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD again to get the taste of this out of my mouth.

Before continuing on into the pieces included in the experimental program, I should mention that I am not quite as open minded regarding 'personal cinema' as I am with the avant garde. I try to understand why and where the images are coming from, within the artist. That said...

Ghost Algebra (dir. Janie Geiser, USA 2009, 8 min) Is an animated collage of a "battlefield of fragile creatures and nervous dreams". I didn't quite get that. I did get the dreamlike suggestion with Geiser's editing of images. However, I do not portend to understand what the imagery could have meant to her. Since it was so personal, it did feel a tad long and redundant. However, she does have a unique vision that with some editing would be more readily appreciated, I believe.

De Luce 1: Vegetare (dir. Janis Crystal Lipzin, USA 2009, 5 min) During the follow-up Q&A, Lipzin explained her process and what she was creating. It was highly aesthetic and technical and actually, was more information than I personally needed to enjoy it. I was simply taken out of myself for a bit in this exploration of color and vegetation. Yes, that sounds sort of quirky, at best, but it was a lovely few minutes...

The Soul of Things (dir. Dominic Angerame, USA 2010, 15 min) Simply put in the program guide: "Using lush black-and-white reversal film, Angerame portrays a city—our city—deconstructed, reconstructed, torn down and built up once again." And, yes, Angerame is able to instill a ghost or "soul" in the footage of buildings that he has processed and edited together. Though it took some extra time to get there, once his cinematic thesis was broached, I found it remarkable. (There are no stills available.)

Somewhere Only We Know (dir. Jesse McLean, USA 2009, 5 min) In a montage of "found footage", mostly comprised of competitive reality show contestants awaiting judgment, McLean produces a near dizzying melange of anxiety in portraits. Once I got past the recognition factor (yes, I watch way too much trash TV!), I began to become involved in the unspoken fears and dilemmas of the nameless characters on screen.

Arnos Tonlabor (dir. Christophe Janetzko, Germany 2009, 8 min) Again, the program guide probably explains this as well as anything: "This piece of musique concrète constructs a fascinating, abstract portrait of film sound-recordist Arno Wilms as he works in his studio." Frankly, I was not so fascinated.

People’s Republic of Zoo (no site available) (dir. Sun Xun, China 2009, 8 min) Though the program notes vaguely jog my memory of this piece, I can not say that any of the visuals stuck with me, much less intrigued or engaged me. Ah well... "Sun Xun and his [Pi] Animation Studio’s beautifully hand-drawn and painted animal figures are woven into a series of parables that, inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, draw on history, politics and the natural science."

Bolinas (dir. Marcia Scott, USA 2008, 13 min) Marcia Scott's silent montage of color and light swept me away in a cinematic equivalent of sitting before a Mark Rothko painting. Her use of shadow, light and color was extraordinary and I couldn't help but to run up to her after the screening to tell her so! I could have stared at this in meditation for quite some time...

Shu (Blue Hour Lullaby) (dir. Phillip Lachenmann, Germany 2008, 13 min) Simply, an extended shot of a landscape during twilight and into the night as stars take over the sky above California's Security Housing Unit. There is something poetic about the dichotomy of the peaceful sky versus the scenes that are probably taking place within the prison below it. (No stills available.)

Maxxxxx says re RELEASE and BOLINAS: "Whoooooo! Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Gainsbourg and Coco and Stravinsky, Oh My!

2010-04-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - The Animated Shorts Programs

2010-04-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival screens April 22–May 6 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the historic Castro Theatre, the Landmark Clay and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.

The San Francisco International Film Festival presented two programs focused specifically on animated shorts: "Flights of Fancy", which was directed towards young audiences (and was the more successful of the two programs) and "The High Line", which was more mature and experimental. Both programs contained a total of 18 pieces. Let's start with the FUN stuff!

Leonardo (dir. Jim Capobianco, USA 2009, 10 min) This comic and inventive short referenced da Vinci as if he had drawn it himself. It was an entertaining way to whet the appetites of the kids as to who LdV was! And it had the adults laughing too.

Joseph’s Snails (dir. Sophie Roze, France 2009, 12 min) A stop motion meditation on navel-gazing! Literally! And explored the choices in being introverted (again, literally!), shy or communicating with those around you. Using snails and spirals as a motif was a minor move of brilliance! It was ably narrated by Jim Gunn for the 'little ones' in the audience. (Hi Jim!)

Veeti and the Beanstalk (dir. Susanna Kotilainen, Finland 2009, 13 min) Stop motion and CGI/cut-outs illustrate a family's grieving after the father’s death, as "...Veeti has to save his mother and their house from an ever-growing flood of tears. A magical mixed-media fable about love, family and remembrance."

Pigeon: Impossible (dir. Lucas Martell, USA 2009, 7 min) The man knows his birds!! A bagel-crazed pigeon steals and holds hostage the high-tech briefcase of a secret agent. Nuclear detonation nearly ensues. (Maxxxxx is NOT allowed to see this! EVER!) Wonderfully animated in what is a recognizably PIXAR/Dreamworks/etc. style.

Crazy Hair Day (dir. Virginia Wilkos, USA 2009, 12 min) Produced by Weston Woods (the logo should take you back to those 16mm elementary school days!), this is sort of a typical "it's ok to be you and me" drawn animation about a boy who, due to a calendar mix-up makes, walks into school rady for Crazy Hair Day, only to find out who his real friends are.

Q&A (dirs. Mike Rauch, Tim Rauch, USA 2009, 4 min) This is an exceptional animation of a conversation between a mother and her son, who has Asperberger's Syndrome. The complete honesty and frankness in their conversation was touching and a lesson for parents and their children. The actual animation itself, is servicable, but the audio source material is breathtaking!

Cherry on the Cake (dir. Hyebin Lee, England 2009, 8 min) Though I did not pick up on the dilemma of how "it’s tough being the middle child", I did enjoy the flight of fantasy that the film took its protagonist. However, since I didn't 'get it', I would say it felt long.

The Mouse That Soared (dir. Kyle T. Bell, USA 2009, 6 min) There is some great slapstick in this hysterical little farce of a flying mouse and how he got to be that way! CGI'ed rodents and birds are ALWAYS good for a laugh!!

This final film from the 'Flights of Fancy' program, Mr. Mack’s Kitchen (dir. Mike Attie, USA 2009, 6 min), is a live action, documentary featuring "chef-turned-teacher Mr. Mack, [whose] Oakland elementary school students learn how to slice and dice, sauté and stir fry and respect and serve." Being a Food Network junkie, I loved this and the climax of who they are serving, was touching and inspirational.

As stated above, the "adult and experimental" animations were a mixed bag:

Voice on the Line (dir. Kelly Sears, USA, 8 min) The concept of the conspiratorial pleasures behind a telephone operators voices is a tempting nugget! I think Sears could have developed it either more fully, or perhaps the artistic conception of clippings from old phone services is what limited the piece from expanding. A bit frustrating as there was unexplored potential of the script, which may have been sacrificed for the visual.

Alma (dir. Rodrigo Blass, USA, 6 min) A wonderfully creepy narrative, featuring 'Alma', a young girl who is tempted into a toy store, filled with... well... I wouldn't want to give it away!! A Fabulous 6 minutes that begs to be drawn out into a feature length film!

Logorama (dirs. H5 (aka François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy et Ludovic Houplain), France, 16 min)
This year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Short Film does not fail to deliver in its creation of a capitalized, industrialized world gone MAD!! The pacing is breathless and the satire is slammed out in machine-gun velocity! It is, in its attention to detail and pace, brilliant!

Tussilago (dir. Jonas Odell, Sweden, 14 min) An interview with a girlfriend to a terrorist/criminal is animated via rotoscope and CGI clippings, as he did with LIES (SFIFF 52). I think he has explored the limits of his technique here, and needs to move on to other source material to expand it.

Electric Literature (dir. Martha Colburn, USA, 2 min) Oh dear. A collage animation in which a poem is expanded into the visual realm. Not necessarily my cup of tea to begin with, but in context of the rest of the program, it stood out as being unusually verbose in its aesthetic.

Incident at Tower 37 (dir. Chris Perry, USA, 11 min) A surprising CGI'ed lesson in environmentalism. Its little characters were oddly sympathetic and well composed. I actually felt something for ALL of them!

Vive la Rose (dir. Bruce Alcock, Canada, 6 min) A beautifully crafted stop motion, realization of a song. Alcock's use of mise-en-scene was wonderfully subtle and the screenplay that visually unfolds underneath the lyrics of the song, was lush and deep. A truly striking piece!

Wednesday Morning TWO AM (dir. Lewis Klahr, USA, 7 min) Frankly, I can't say I remember much of this, I am sorry to say, other than the repetition of the song twice seemed to annoy me. Ah well, them's the apples! From the program notes: "One of Lewis Klahr’s series of couplets for which a classic song receives two distinct interpretations via his Lichtenstein-echoing animation."

Afterimage (dir. Kerry Laitala, USA, 13 min) Pure design and play with "synaesthetic stereoscopic chromadepth 3-D" (glasses were provided!). It's an interesting technique and I wish she would find some material in which to truly expand it with. As it is now, it is just part of a series of experiments - NOT that, that is a bad thing! Kerry Laitala was present for the Q&A (as was 'ALMA's Rodrigo Blass), who was dangerously twirling a stereoscopic toy of sometime, to the point of distraction...

Maxxxxx says re Animation: "Sweet, sweet eye juice!!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Sci-Fi and Slashers

2010-04-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Hertzefeldt Heaven!

2010-04-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

Taxidermia (Revised for the US (Region 1) DVD release)

2010-04-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

"Taxidermia" (dir. György Pálfi, Hungary/Austria/France, 2006, 91 mins.) is the anxiously awaited (by ME anyway) 'sophomore piece' from the director of Hukkle, which I LOVE and waited for FOUR YEARS for something more from him! Well, I've got it! And, well, Mr. Pálfi is my new cult figure. The man is severely twisted. "Taxidermia" opens with a man masturbating and ejaculating fire. I only mention this as it is featured on the poster as it was released in Europe, therefore it is NOT a spoiler. The film progresses into two other segments, each following the next two generations of men. The fire-ejaculation-man's son is a competitive speed eater, and his son is a taxidermist. There appears to be a lot going on here, though it isn't as blindingly apparent as at the end of "Hukkle". Pálfi's continued references to the birth process, from conception to delivery must be leading us somewhere, though I am not exactly sure.

Part of my confusion lies in Pálfi's strongest aspect and possible weakness, that is his visual style. It is so outrageous at moments, that I was completely taken away from what was happening. In the first sequence, there is a rotating pan of a giant wooden basin (symbol for the uterus?) in which we see a dozen life events take place in it. The basin is set at a 90 degree angle on the screen and then we spin around it, going through the floors and walls. Hard to describe, but breathtaking, nonetheless. The next two sequences suggest Terry Gilliam or David Cronenberg at their most brilliantly disgusting. Sequence two in particular might drive people out of the auditorium with it's revulsion. Sequence three is nearly a horror show, transcending any comparison to any other artist out there.

"Taxidermia" can be a very difficult film to watch. The performers are all thoroughly dedicated to Pálfi's vision. They are asked to participate in a physical grotesqueness that is beyond the call of duty. However, the extremity of that grotesqueness is what captivated me. Particularly in section two, where I found myself having to distance from the hyper-realism of what was happening on screen to ask "HOW did they do that?!"

The film is finally available on Region 1 (US) DVD!! It has been available in Europe for nearly three years. (It was also available in the 'bittorrent universe', where I first saw it.) The DVD comes with a "Making Of..." which is 42 minutes long and in Hungarian, German, some English, with English subtitles. It is unusually thorough. That, or I have gotten used to having "Making Of..."s broken down into smaller featurettes, i.e. the CGI sequence could have been a chapter in itself. There is a lot of information on the screen to keep involved with. At one point, during the German section, it is subtitled in Hungarian, supertitled in English and there are sections where there is split screen work, mostly horizontal, as the film is in 2:35 aspect ratio. Director Palfi does seem young and eager and quite anxious and hopeful that people understand how and why he has woven together the three short stories.

The video transfer is viewable, though not overly remarkable, considering the source material. It is presented in anamorphic 2:35 widescreen. The audio transfer is surprisingly clean and crisp!

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2010 - Announcement!

2010-04-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Press Notice April 19, 2010
For Immediate Release

THE SILENT FILM FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY
JULY 15–18, CASTRO THEATRE, SAN FRANCISCO

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the largest and most important festival of its kind in North America, will celebrate its 15^thAnniversary Festival at the majestic silent-era movie palace the Castro Theatre this July.

Since 1996, the Silent Film Festival has dazzled audiences with films from the silent era that exemplify its motto: “True art transcends time.” Bringing to light beloved classics and new discoveries, the festival takes great care to secure the best prints and present the films on the big screen as they were made to be seen. But these films were never intended to be presented in silence, and the Silent Film Festival enlists the talents of an extraordinary collection of musicians from around the world to accompany each movie.

2010 sees the festival expanding from three days to four, with the addition of more films (representing seven countries), more musicians, and a very special program we’re calling Variations on a Theme— a presentation that will highlight the creative process that goes into composing music for silent films— with all the festival musicians participating, moderated by a surprise guest.

Returning musicians include pianists Stephen Horne and Donald Sosin, the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, and the master of the Mighty Wurlitzer, Dennis James. The Alloy Orchestra will grace the festival with their composition for the rediscovery of the century—Fritz Lang’s original version of Metropolis!

And we are thrilled to present, in their West Coast Premiere, the Matti Bye Ensemble from Sweden. Musician/composer Bye won the Golden Beetle—the Swedish Oscar—for his score for Jan Troell’s Everlasting Moments, Sweden’s 2009 submission to the Academy Awards.

The hugely successful free program, Amazing Tales from the Archives, has been so popular over the past four years that the festival will have two presentations — with special guests to be announced. We are thrilled to have among our distinguished archivists, Paula Felix Didier and Fernando Peña from Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires — the team responsible for bringing the lost Metropolis footage to light.

Other special guests include Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury from Photoplay Productions in England, and Leonard Maltin of Entertainment Tonight. Silent Film Festival co-founders Melissa Chittick and Stephen Salmons will return to the Castro’s stage to present the festival’s Centerpiece program.

Executive Director Stacey Wisnia hails Chittick and Salmons with “the extraordinary vision to create such a wonderful event. The Festival has become a must for San Francisco’s film cogniscenti, and a magnet for international movie lovers.”

Leonard Maltin comments, “I enjoy this event because it draws a diverse and enthusiastic crowd of people to the Castro Theatre and presents its films in such a loving way.

Live musical accompaniment ranges from piano to theater organ to chamber orchestra, and the atmosphere inside the Castro takes us all on a kind of magic-carpet ride to the 1920s.”

Some other highlights of the 15^th Anniversary festival:

John Ford’s silent masterpiece, The Iron Horse, in a glorious print—the only surviving 35mm of the superior American version—will be the Opening Night film, with Dennis James at the Mighty Wurlitzer performing his original score.

One of the most important Italian movies of the late silent period, Rotaie—an exquisite expressionist masterpiece, virtually unknown to American audiences, will be accompanied by Londoner Stephen Horne on the baby grand.

Pianist Donald Sosin will accompany The Flying Ace from Norman Studio in Tallahassee, Florida. This high-spirited adventure features an all African-American cast, an anomaly in the silent era!

Lobster Films’ David Shepard and Serge Bromberg will curate a selection of short films by French fantasist George Méliès to play throughout the festival. Méliès, a pioneer of early cinema is widely credited as the creator of film narrative and an innovator of special effects that still enchant audiences.

The complete program will be announced on May 19. For more information, please visit the Silent Film Festival website

Silent Film Festival | 833 Market Street, Suite 812 | San Francisco | CA | 94103

Maxxxxx says
re The SF Silent Film Festival: "Wooooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Selected Previews

2010-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

San Francisco International Film Festival 53 (SFIFF53) - Opening Night Preview

2010-04-16T09:42:00.001-07:00

The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 22–May 6) will open with Micmacs (France 2009), at 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 22 in the historic Castro Theatre. The Opening Night party will begin at 9:30 pm at the Regency Center. For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.

I have had the fabulous opportunity to preview the Opening Night Selection for this year's San Francisco International Film Festival: MICMACS (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2009, 105 minutes). First, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I LOVE Jean-Pierre Jeunet's work! Yes, I even liked ALIEN RESURRECTION! So, I am walking into this with a bias. MICMACS is filled, and arguably overstuffed, with the Goldberg Devices that is Jeunet's trademark. However, unlike his previous work with Jean Caro (AMELIE, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, etc.), the mechanics of his plot are not so cloying. The screening only provided the room of Bay Area critics a few chuckles. MICMACS is not as nihilistic as DELICATESSEN, but is a very dark piece, involving a man's revenge (ably portrayed by Dany Boon), who gathers a group of social outcasts (including the fabulous Dominic Pinon and Yolanda Moreau!) against ballistic arms manufacturers and dealers. The seriousness of the tone of the film feels out of balance with visual 'antics' on screen. Jeunet chose to use a soundtrack featuring the work of Max Steiner's scores for THE BIG SLEEP, TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE' and others. It underscores the film with unusual darkness and melodrama. Without giving away a spoiler, it is not until late into its climax that Jeunet's deadly serious theme is fully revealed. And from that moment, the entire film, in reflection, is more of a dream (or perhaps nightmare?) that he has guided his protagonist through. Once Jeunet reveals his motives, the film explodes into a realism that is almost as dizzying as the fantasies he constructs in the preceding 90 minutes.

As far as an opening night selection is concerned, Jeunet's fantasy drenched visuals, his singularly cinematic style and the considerable weight of the film's thesis, are an appropriate and heady way to launch two weeks of cinema and discussion.

The Opening Night Party has returned to the Regency Ballroom! Yay!! The spacious layout of the Regency pretty much assures a lovely time of grazing and imbibing, without elbow fights for room or long lines!

Maxxxxx says re MICMACS: "Such a pretty bird!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Angry, Angry, AVATAR!

2010-01-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

I hardly have anything to add to the MASSIVE amount of stuff out there about AVATAR (dir. James Cameron, US, 2009, 165 mins.), except to just get stuff off of my chest and out of my head before launching into the antithesis of what Cameron does, with "coverage" of the SF IndieFest, of which I have started the screener ritual.

First of all, under Mr. Cameron's insistence and the unavoidable attraction, I had to see it in IMAX-3D. This does involve a surcharge, the total ticket being $18 a piece through Fandango. (I used my Annual Fandango Bucks from my sister!) I would like to express my disappointment that it is NOT in full IMAX aspect ratio of 4:3, but in 70MM blow up to 1.87:1. For me, the magic of IMAX is filling that top and bottom for the feeling of weightlessness within the frame, which I thought, since we're going to "see mountains that float", this would be perfect! However, in 1.87:1, it is letterboxed, not unlike a television. Harumph. Fine. It is still a big, wide screen and the sound is typically awesome.

Now, going into the film itself, it carries Cameron's typical anger that runs through his oeuvre (i.e. "You're terminated, fucker!"; "Get away from her, you *bitch!*; "You're the one livin' in a fuckin' dream, Silberman! 'Cause I know when it happens! It happens!"; "There *is* no us, you psychopathic bitch!"; and of course the unspoken anger of god in destroying the Titanic for a couple of hours). In AVATAR, everyone is so PISSED OFF about destroying trees and ignoring the spiritual oneness of nature, that our heroes decide they must kill or be killed. Of course, our villains are completely without any redeeming qualities whatsoever, which in some way, dramatically justifies the ever growing anger that the film reaches by its climax.

Perhaps Cameron's universal view of the cycle of life is so inherently violent that it drives the film. However, his plotting belies the spiritual aspects that he gives his aborigines. In other words, if the trees are all part of an enormous, planetary neurological and metaphysical system, in which the energy of the the dead live on, why do we need an army of arrows, guns and bombs to defeat the invaders? Not to mention, that I got tired of listening to everybody yell at each other. Though the animals do eventually join the revolt, there is so much detail and involvement of the surrounding vegetation, I was waiting for an "attack of the Ents" moment. Ah well.

Visually, it has some gorgeous moments. Perhaps not as groundbreakingly original as Cameron is insisting, i.e. Magritte's "Castle in the Pyrenees",
or a great deal of art from the Myst gaming series, particularly "Riven";

as well as the often referenced FERNGULLY.

Of course, there are dozens of examples of the screenplay plagiarizing everything from FERNGULLY to DANCES WITH WOLVES to Poul Anderson's "Call Me Joe" as well as news about a Russian novel from the 1960's. However, science fiction/fantasy can be exceptionally derivative, as Joseph Campbell's work, THE POWER OF MYTH, thoroughly explores. Anyway...

I guess the best that could be said, is that Cameron has used a great deal of existing influences, fed them into some supercomputers, to create them out of microchips, as opposed to pen, ink, wood and plaster. Ah well...

I feel better now.

Maxxxxx says
re AVATAR: "Sweet, sweet eye juice."

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

NINE (the movie of the musical of the movie)

2010-01-28T11:16:00.000-08:00

Repost/reprint courtesy Atlanta Free Press.

NINE (dir. Rob Marshall, US, 2009, 110 mins.) may not win the Weinstein Company any more Oscar statues, but with who they've loaded in the film, nobody really needs another one for their crowded mantels. The film has been debated, reviewed, deconstructed, etc. by the major critics and a plethora of musical theatre fan sites. The overall "judgment" is that NINE is an OK film. It would probably have gained larger audiences, had the openings not been filled with the Fellini-and-Broadway Faithful. In full disclosure, I am one of those: a Fellini Freak, who also had the privilege of seeing the first Broadway staging (25 years ago?!) and the first London staging.

By forging their beliefs that the audience will only accept a song-and-dance when it is OBVIOUSLY staged in the character's imagination, Rob Marshall's NINE, whether by his own choosing or the Weinsteins, reshaped all the available source material to appear as a sequel to CHICAGO. The source material of CHICAGO was a string of vaudeville acts as commentary. The reason Guido Contini (Daniel Day Lewis) is in pain is that he no longer has an 'imaginary theatre' for an escape. The source material for NINE is a mental breakdown in which Guido loses a working distinction between life, work and imagination, and this challenge is left completely unaddressed in the visual and scripted structure. The audience is left with watching Guido have a headache and we cut to his 'imaginary theatre' for a song about why. The Weinsteins can bring together brilliant minds and has challenged audiences in the past, so the anticipation of redefining one of the cinema's great films and the cult-like following of the stage piece was met with a "Cliff's Notes On Guido Contini".

My first warning sign was that the running time is UNDER two hours, meaning a solid hour of source material had been cut or severely adapted. Maury Yeston's original score, as shaped around Arthur Kopit's original stage script, comes avalanching out by the entrance of the women ("Overture Delle Donne", which opens the film in an abbreviated version), and explodes in "The Grand Canal" (which substituted the infamous whipping of the brothel in 8 1/2, and is completely eliminated and replaced here with a screen test.) Rob Marshall seems to be floating along on his Oscar for CHICAGO. His previous production of ANNIE for ABC-TV and his following work (MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, NINE and what can we expect from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (IV)?) leads me to believe that he just doesn't have a grasp of the how far an audience will go. His work screams to be liked. Comparing his structure to the other most prominent musical-fantasy director working right now, namely Julie Taymor (ACROSS THE UNIVERSE), and you may understand why there is such a critical backlash at a better than OK film.

The cast is nothing but incredible! Penelope Cruz would turn me straight! Her many years of Almodovar work just BURSTS out all over the screen! She is HOT! Fergie's turn as "Saraghina", one of Fellini’s iconic figures for a prostitute, ably marches the overwhelming power that women hold on Guido. Dame Judi Dench gives us a glimpse of what her "Sally Bowles" may have been like when she originated CABARET on the West End. Marion Cottilard gives a great performance as Guido's wife, Luisa! However, Marshall's replacing the climatic trio for Guido's women ("Simple/Claudia's Monologue/Be On Your Own”) with a strip number for Luisa, was emotionally unfortunate and thematically wrong! Guido is the ultimate example of a man with "Madonna/Whore Complex" and he would never imagine Luisa doing a striptease! Daniel Day Lewis manages what he is given in his typical, FULLY committed way. He does take the opportunity for one of his trademark screaming moments that I have come to dread. As gifted as the man is, he always manages to cross a line in hyperbolic performance. He's the Rod Steiger of our time, and I'm sort of gleefully awaiting his MOMMIE DEAREST or FRIDAY 13th, Part XX moment! Kate Hudson's character was created for the film for "educational" reasons, according to one Rob Marshall interview. It was felt that a younger actress should perform a new song, "Cinema Italiano", to give younger audiences an understanding about how important Italian Style was "back then". (The song is also the obvious attempt for a Best Song Nomination.) The scene does not fit and is so obviously squeezed in, it's condescending.

The cinematography is a whirlwind of light and shadow, adapting well with exteriors and the interior stage set. The production and costume designs are all superior. The sound design can seem a bit oversampled in a couple of the songs, but not noticeably over amp'ed up. The editing is not quite as chaotic as CHICAGO ("Are you sure that is Richard Gere dancing?"), though "Cinema Italiano" particularly, gets a music video edit.

NINE is a case of the whole being LESSER than the sum of its parts. The curious and uninitiated will probably like it a lot! (Penelope Cruz's performance alone is a HOT date movie in itself!) But just don't go into it with a greater imagination than Rob Marshall's or screenwriters', Michael Tolkin (whose THE PLAYER is more true to the heart of 8 1/2 than NINE) and (the late) Anthony Minghella.

With all that said, what are its Oscar chances? Never underestimate the Weinsteins! I'm predicting a bucket of nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress (possibly Cotillard, depending on how they campaign her), Best Supporting Actress, aka Mo'niques statuette for PRECIOUS, (Cruz, possibly Cotillard, Dench or even Fergie, depending on how they campaign here), Art Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, and of course, at least one Best Song, possibly two. Wins? That depends on how the Academy receives the visual juggernauts of AVATAR and
THE YOUNG VICTORIA. I'm thinking they will have to be happy with a Best Song, "Cinema Italiano".

Maxxxxx says
re NINE: "Dooby dooby Doobooo!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

3rd-I Presents: QUICK GUN MURUGUN

2009-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

As I have a certain penchant for the campy and psychedelic, I have been approached by the Seventh Annual 3rd I San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival to co-present QUICK GUN MURUGUN (dir. Shashanka Ghosh, India, 2009, 97 mins.). Though I am indeed flattered, I have to say, that this film pushes even MY boundaries! Within the first two minutes, our hero is killed and goes to 'heaven' to be reincarnated. Or perhaps he is just sent back to fulfill his destiny as a vegetarian cowboy and defeat the evil Rice Plate Reddy and his chain of McDosa restaurants. I'm not totally assured, as our hero leaps through time and realities in his quest for vegetarian domination!

And he does it wearing green silk!

There are, of course, songs to the spirit of his lover, who appears to be captured in a locket he wears, yet is able to join mystically at the most opportune moments. These 'moments' go beyond Ken Russell self indulgence, past music video surrealism and, basically, tread into what I can only imagine to be LSD inspired lunacy!

Now, there is a great deal of cultural and religious iconography that I don't have the background or education to follow, quite frankly. So, it was just a matter of sitting back and letting the day-glo sequences burst into song and ride along! It is in Tamil and English and the flipping between languages only adds to the surreal and alien experience. And to be quite frank, since it is screening at 1130 PM at the Roxie, I would head on in to the theater, "adjusted" for the cinematic trip to commence!

Enjoy and "Mind it!" Friday, November 6, 11:20pm, at the Roxie Theatre, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco! Advanced sale tickets HERE!

Maxxxxx says
re "Sweet, sweet eye juice!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Rachel Rosen RETURNS to San Francisco!!

2009-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      AUGUST 10, 2009
Media Contacts:   Hilary Hart      415.561.5022    hilary@sffs.org
Bill Proctor    415.561.5024        bproctor@sffs.org
SAN FRANCISCO FILM SOCIETY NAMES
RACHEL ROSEN AS NEW DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING

Former Film Society Mainstay Returns to Help Lead Vastly Expanded and Enriched Organization As it Enters New Era of Growth

San Francisco, CA -- The San Francisco Film Society announces the appointment of Rachel Rosen as director of programming, effective August 10, 2009.

Photo by Jesse Grant / WireImage

"We're thrilled to welcome Rachel back to a leadership role in the organization after her extraordinarily successful tenure in Los Angeles," said Graham Leggat, SFFS executive director. "Her intelligence, flair for innovation and keen eye for exciting new work are just what we need as we enter our next phase."
Rosen returns to SFFS after an eight-year stint as director of programming of Film Independent (FIND) and the Los Angeles Film Festival. During this time she expanded the Festival to include an eclectic slate of films reflecting the diversity of film art and of the city of Los Angeles. Attendance during her term at the Festival grew exponentially, from 35,000 to over 80,000. Her impact was enthusiastically endorsed by Scott Foundas in LA Weekly, who wrote that LAFF is "our most intelligent and ambitiously programmed-indeed our most
essential-annual film event."

"Rachel's discerning eye, dazzling knowledge of film and support of independent filmmakers have been essential to the Festival's success during her years at Film Independent," said Film Independent's Executive Director Dawn Hudson. "I so appreciate Rachel's extraordinary talents and her unstinting commitment to the organization, and we wish her the best as she enters this new phase in her career."

Rosen steps in to fill the post recently vacated by Linda Blackaby, who joined the Film Society's programming department in November 2001, and left her position as director of programming on August 7, after eight years of commendable service. "One of the most respected film programmers on the international scene, Linda has played a primary role in the expansion and success of the Film Society in recent years," said Leggat. "She leaves behind many friends and admirers. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors."

Rosen dramatically increased the number and scope of international films presented at LAFF and instituted a special international sidebar that examined independent films from Argentina and China, as well as rare and lesser-known international animation, the work of Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani and documentaries from Mexico's Ambulante Film Festival, among other highlights. She also brought to the Festival special programs with a live component including screenings with simultaneous commentary from cast and crew (Valley Girl, Hollywood Shuffle), silent films with live music from contemporary musicians such as Sparklehorse, J-Rocc, the RZA and the Nortec Collective, as well as a Buffy Big-Screen Interactive Extravaganza and a Swear-Along Scarface. During her tenure, LAFF featured the premieres of such films as Deliver Us from Evil, Loot, Mayor of the Sunset Strip and Rock School. Additional acquisitions from the Festival included August Evening, The Cool School and Young@Heart.

"I think what Graham and the Film Society team have accomplished in the past few years with both the San Francisco International Film Festival and year-round programming is incredibly exciting," said Rosen, "and I'm grateful to have a chance to be a part of it. I'm thrilled to be returning to an organization and a city that love great cinema."

Before joining FIND Rosen was associate director of programming at the San Francisco Film Society where she had been a film and video programmer since 1994. Rosen began her career in New York where she worked as a publicist in the film industry for five years. In 1988, she enrolled in Stanford University's prestigious documentary film program in the department of communication. While completing her thesis film, Rosen worked for the New York Film Festival as directors liaison and for SFFS in addition to working in various capacities on student and professional film productions.

In 1993, Rosen moved back to New York for a year to accept a position as programming and publicity associate at Film Forum, New York City's influential art house. Her short documentary on tornado chasers, Serious Weather, was shown at the San Francisco and Vancouver International Film Festivals and the British Short Film Festival. Rosen was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative literature from Brown University.

During her tenure, Blackaby oversaw SFFS festivals and other public exhibitions, maintaining a high level of curatorial quality as SFFS dramatically expanded its calendar to include year-round offerings. She also provided a bridge of programmatic excellence and assisted with administrative stability during major changes in leadership. The 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival, her most recent program, received critical and audience acclaim and enjoyed record attendance. Previously, Blackaby programmed the Hamptons International Film Festival on Long Island and was founding director of the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. She came to the Bay Area in 1997 to advise the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. She is currently chair of the Princess Grace Foundation
film panel in New York City.

"Getting to know and working with the San Francisco film community has been very meaningful to me," said Blackaby. "There is so much talent and expertise here, and such passion for good cinema, that it has been particularly gratifying to have contributed to the growth of the Festival and SFFS."

"I have been considering a short sabbatical for some time," she continued. "After eight years at the San Francisco Film Society I look forward to taking a little time to travel, read and take on new challenges. I wish all of my colleagues at SFFS the best."

San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to celebrating film and the moving image in all its glorious forms. SFFS year-round programs and events are concentrated in four core areas: Celebrating Internationalism, Inspiring Bay Area Youth, Showcasing Bay Area Film Culture and Exploring New Digital Media. The Film Society shows the best of world cinema year-round on its SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas; presents the longest-running film festival in the Americas, the SF International (April 22-May 6, 2010); publishes a daily online magazine, SF360.org, featuring broad-ranging news and features on Bay Area film and media; annually reaches more than 8,000 students ages 6-18 with its acclaimed media literacy programs; and provides crucial support to the Bay Area filmmaking community through SFFS Filmmaker Services including FilmHouse Residencies, Fiscal Sponsorship, the SFFS/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants, the Herbert Family Filmmaking Grants, the Hearst Screening Grant, the Djerassi/SFFS Screenwriting Fellowship, SFFS Film Arts Forums and professional-level filmmaker classes.

Maxxxxx says
re Rachel Rosen: "Hello!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival, 2009 - Recapping the GREAT ones!

2009-07-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

The 14th Annual Silent Film Festival
July 10-12, 2009, at the Historic Castro Theater.
Of the seemingly DOZENS of film festivals that are home in the Bay Area, every summer, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes three short days to produce one of the finest events of the year. No, there are not any large gift bags at opening night, nor an overwhelming buffet or party, but it does produce a program listing that is worthy of being compared to any publication you might receive at the opera, and they bring in some of the worlds top film accompanying artists, historians and restoration authorities, to showcase the film in an environment as close to possible to its premiere. In some of the most extreme cases, even the original film scores have been restored and scored by the performers, or the score is improvised, as it was for the short subjects. In several cases the scores are a modern interpretation that remains remarkably true to the visual and dramatic style of the film screened. An exceptional minority of the audience even take the effort to dress for the period through out the weekend. The visiting authors and historians are available in the mezzanine lobby after the screenings for signings and in depth Q&As that may not have been answered during their unusually thorough introductions to the films. One top of all that, the fest is probably one of the best values in the area for only $140 for an all access pass, featuring the 12 performances. Just to hear the musicians themselves for a weekend, is worth twice that!

Anyway, moving on to a selection of those mind blowing moments when the live, the image and the ghosts all congregated for a magical few hours.

THE WIND (dir. Victor Sjostrom, USA, 1928, 110 mins.) Ironically, THE WIND would appear to have been so many decades ahead of its time in style and story, that this visual and sonic freudian nightmare was a financial flop when released after the sound recorded variety act of THE JAZZ SINGER, which premiered earlier in the year. Lillian Gish's performance of impending dread, which turns to outright terror, is well measured and paced, as well as being transparent to technique. It is a marvel to observe, considering the physical circumstances of performing into jet propelled sand storms, which she had stated was her most physically demanding role. Director Sjostrom's pacing of the unraveling of her mind, as she is faced with the aspect of living in the isolated, dry plains of Texas, with her (overly affectionate) brother, her hardened and jealous sister-in-law, their children and a pair of lonely male settlers. There is also the periodic reappearance of a traveling salesman, who provokes each level of her disintegration.

Leonard Maltin presented the film with some historical background as to the financial impact it had on Warner Brothers and the place that Lillian Gish held at the time in the profession. However, due to the financial failure of the film, it would be Gish's last film with Warners and she would return to the stage for the majority of her career, as would director Sjostrom. Maltin also introduced the fabulous Dennis James, aka My Wurlitzer Daddy! Ever since hearing him accompany FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE a dozen years ago, I have deified the man! He is a MONSTER on the instrument! He was aided by a pair of wind machines, one performed by Mark Goldstein who provided additional sound effects. The score built and whirled and perfectly reflected the psychic nightmare that Gish's character fell into. It was as effective an experience as some of the best psychological horror that Alfred Hitchcock or Stephen King has ever produced.

Previous to THE WIND, my second remarkable experience was with UNDERWORLD (dir. Josef von Sternberg, US, 1927, 90 mins.) Written by Robert N. Lee, based on a story by Ben Hecht, the film was introduced by Eddie Muller, the "godfather of film noir" here in San Francisco, if not the country. Though his introduction debated the status of UNDERWORLD as being the first film noir, he did give credit and several anecdotes about Ben Hecht's writing style and influence. The film was photographed by Bert Glennon, who provided a series of close ups that were breathtaking at times. The chemistry that may or may not have existed between Clive Brook and Evelyn Brent, was given undeniable HEAT through Glennon's closeups between the two of them. Clive Brook KNEW what look to give straight into the camera to just ignite it. Brent teased the camera with her looks of danger and sensuality. This passion was rarely allowed to be caught within the same frame, which was a fascinating choice, yet reflects Josef von Sternberg's propensity to capture "stars" and not ensembles, as it would climax with his work with Dietrich. The film itself is a gangland romantic triangle that is never consummated by any of the parties, as there is no room for love in the midst of crime, as is the pattern of film noir. Their lives are too harsh to love while "at work" and it isn't until after the resolution that there is a hint that a couple my actually fall in love, but only by a sacrifice by the third wheel.

The film was accompanied by pianist and flautist Stephen Horne, whose score would go into the world of jazz fusion as the film reached its climax. It was an exceptionally rich score coming from a piano and not the organ. As the violence and passion continued to deepen, so did Horne's score until it was nearly an impressionistic storm of music. It was a fabulous afternoon, and I'll never forget that one heart stopping close up of Clive Brook, when Evelyn Brent asks him if he loves women...

Next on my favorites of the weekend would have to be SO'S YOUR OLD MAN (dir. Gregory La Cava, US, 1926, 80 mins.), a star vehicle for the irascible W.C. Fields. Guess what? He plays the town oddball inventor who would rather drink a jug of cleaning fluid than whiskey. How he works into the plot some ultra-classic bits involving a visiting princess, a golf course and a pony is best left to a screening, but it had me laughing out loud! Even the intertitles were perfectly edited in for comic effect. It was the lightest and most enjoyable of the entries I saw during the weekend. The piano accompaniment was provided by Philip Carli, however, not even live music could upstage Mr. Fields, and certainly NOT Terry Zwigoff who introduced the film with his trademark deadpan, if not, distance.

Maxxxxx says
re SF Silent Film Festival: "......"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

San Francisco Silent Film Festival, 2009 - Recapping the Good Moments!

2009-07-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

The 14th Annual Silent Film Festival
July 10-12, 2009, at the Historic Castro Theater.
As I stated elsewhere, this is one of the finest festival events that I attend in the Bay Area. Though there were moments that were nearly out-of-body experiences, there were a number of truly exceptional moments, too.

Opening night began with THE GAUCHO (dir. F. Richard Jones, US, 1927, 120 mins.), a star vehicle for Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Velez. The film was introduced by Jerry Vance and Tony Manietta, who provided some nifty technical background as well as much appreciated gossip! Apparently the casting of Mary Pickford in the small role of The Madonna had something to do with retribution for some on-set attraction between her then husband Fairbanks and Velez. Her scene itself was of some extra interest as it was filmed in two-strip technicolor with added effects to create a halo. They screened recently discovered tests of that scene as what is included in the present print is black and white.

Anyway, the film itself could be seen as a typical tango-and-horse-tricks feel good flick, with the ever so dashing Douglas Fairbanks, chewing away at the scenery, whenever possible, even if it is the simple lighting of a cigarette. Lupe Velez does a decent job of keeping up, as did the accompanying Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, but it is Fairbanks' film, through and through.

Lupe Velez would be given a greater chance to impress in the closing night film, LADY OF THE PAVEMENTS (dir. D.W. Griffith, US, 1929, 120 mins.). Here, Ms. Velez plays a cabaret singer and prostitute, who is hired to take down a visiting Prussian Count (William Boyd), by posing as a "lady" to whom he will fall in love. The hiring is done by a Countess, who is EVILLY and deliciously portrayed by Jetta Goudal. The film owes what success it has to the interplay between our leading ladies. According to the introduction by Russell Merritt, there is about as much written about the off screen feud between Velez and Goudal as there is about the technical demands that the emergence of sound made on director Griffith. D.W. Griffith introduced five songs within the film, that were recorded to be played in synch during the screenings. At this screening, the film was accompanied by Donald Sosin on piano and sung by Joanna Seaton. Griffith's attempt to introduce the human voice felt a bit wedged in and reluctant. However, the final song was effective.

At the opposite end of the accessibility scale, though I enjoyed it quite a bit, was THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (La chute de la maison Usher) (dir. Jean Epstein, France, 1928). Acting Artistic Director, Anita Monga, introduced the feature, along with an American made short version of the same subject, with just the right amount of surreal haziness. (The short was a last minute substitution for the scheduled print of THE BARBER'S QUEER CUSTOMER.) The film was fabulously accompanied by Stephen Horne, who took the the neo-expressionistic visuals on screen and added his impressionistic, if not improvised talents to it, and lead the audience into the dream that Poe had written. I loved the experience, yet place it here amongst the "GREATS of the fest" as it was almost too gauzy, too much of a dream, that I had a trouble holding on to the path of the film and just had to struggle let it take me on its surreal path. (Luis Bunuel worked on the film, too, though he was fired after making remarks on set.) It was also scheduled after the W.C. Fields piece, so it was a bit jarring to experience.

The other film that could be considered avant-garde was AELITA, QUEEN OF MARS (dir. Jakov Protazanov, USSR, 1924, 125 mins.), which was appropriately introduced by the programmer of MIDNIGHT FOR MANIACS, Jesse Hawthorne Ficks and accompanied by the Wurlizter god, Dennis James, who also played the Theremin, and Mark Goldstein on Buchla Lightning. In the spirit of full disclosure, I couldn't finish it. As visually arresting as the Mars sequences were, designed by Alexandra Exter, the earthbound sequences were bogged down with proletariat plot that went beyond propoganda, and so dominated the first half of the film (i.e. what I saw), that I just saw no need to stay. I heard that the Mars sequences did dominate further towards the end, however, there is no question that the artistic significance was Exter's deisgn work and not necessarily the filmmaking.

Maxxxxx says
re Silent Film Festivals: "....."

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 33 (SF LGBT Film Festival, 2009) - Closing Night Awards

2009-06-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Frameline 33: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world’s premiere showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cinema, runs June 18-28, 2009, with screenings in San Francisco at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater and the Victoria Theatre, and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood.

The Closing Night Party for Frameline 33, took place at Terra Gallery on Rincon Hill, here in San Francisco. It's a bit more than a hop-skip-and-a-jump away, and I miss the party tent outside of the Castro Theatre. Anyway, it was a bit of a who's who of the fest there. I was semi-stalking the Kuchar Brothers, but couldn't come up with anything witty to say, so left them to their filling tupperware with the catering. (If you've seen them, it isn't as tacky as it sounds!) There was also the director of ANOTHERWORLD, Fabiomassimo Lozzi, and his cute boyfriend, acting like newlyweds even after being together for 18 years. (Plus the two of them are adorable and evil flirts! Uh, don't ask...) Sharon Gless and Rosie O'Donnell were brought up on stage to share a kiss for the girls, apparently, before they left, which was sort of cute.

Anyway, the central purpose is to announce the Audience Award Winners, which were decided via text-voting on the AT&T network this year. (I'm still skeptical of the process.) After knocking back a few Skyy cocktails (I found a NEW recipe! Skyy Cherry Infused Vodka and Coke! It's a cherry coke with a KICK!), K.C. Adams, who has grown on me and was being very shy amongst the crowd, not to mention sort of studly, but I digress... Uh, Oh! K.C. Adams and Jennifer Morris first announced the "Volunteer Award" which goes to the Volunteer of the Year and he/she then awards the Volunteer Pick, which went to PRODIGAL SONS. The AT&T Audience Awards were presented to LUCHA for Short (which I was accused of being racist for not liking); TRAINING GROUNDS (which I did not see?!?!) for Documentary; and PATRIK, 1.5 for Feature.

MY Personal favorites:
Feature: FIG TREES
Documentary: THE GOOD AMERICAN
Short: LIE TOGETHER
Special Favorite: THUNDERCRACK!!!

A final and huge thank you to Karen Larsen, and Kelda and Leo, at Larsen Associates and Natalie Mulford, at Frameline for all their generous (GENEROUS!!) assistance and access to this year's festival!

Maxxxxx says
re FRAMELINE and LARSEN ASSOCIATES: "I love you too!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM

Frameline 33 (SF LGBT Film Festival, 2009) - Day 11 (Closing Night)

2009-06-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Frameline 33: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world’s premiere showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cinema, runs June 18-28, 2009, with screenings in San Francisco at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater and the Victoria Theatre, and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood. Tickets are available via the website 24 hours a day, via fax, or in person at the Frameline Festival Box Office Counter.

ANOTHERWORLD (dir. Fabiomassimo Lozzi, Italy, 106 Mins.) Though simply described as 43 monologues about being gay in Italy may seem, the impact of the film was breathtaking. Even though a great majority of the pieces are dramatic, if not severe (based on interviews pulled from Antonio Veneziani and Riccardo Reim’s books Pornocuore and I Mignotti), Lozzi’s affirming personal climax was sincerely moving. It is an exceptionally theatrical piece, as it was workshopped on stage, however it breaks free from being stagebound by director Lozzi's imaginative production design and exceptional editing. Not to mention, the 50+ actors are all gorgeous - there isn't a dawg in the pack! During the Q&A, Lozzi explained that it was a hugely popular project for actors in Rome and that a great many of the performers are television and film stars who wanted to lend their voices to this piece about the cultural and self-imposed oppression of being gay in the Roman Catholic controlled country. Though the material can be exceptionally difficult at points, and the format of all those monologues can seem intimidating, I found it to be a rewarding experience!

The Official Closing Night program began with a K.C. Adams and Jennifer Morris love-fest for each other and with the audience, which was fully deserved. Mr. Adams appeared even more nervous tonight than during the Opening Night Ceremony. However, that boyish nervousness was actually sort of endearing by the end of this year's fest. Ms. Morris handled the majority of the evening as the pro that she is, as she introduced Wendy Jo Carlton, the director of tonight's film, as well as special guest, Rosie O'Donnell, who was there to support Sharon Gless and give a nifty closing night bit of a stand-up routine. She came off warm and charming and not at all the bulldog that some television producers would have her portrayed. Ah, if only the film had been her equal...

Despite Sharon Gless' great performance, HANNAH FREE (dir. Wendy Jo Carlton, USA, 2009, 90 Mins.) never breaks free from its stagebound roots. In fact, the succession of monologues became tedious, particularly after having just witnessed the film before and how dramatically and cinematically a script could be opened up, even though maintaining the core material. The story here focuses on the last few days of life of a lesbian couple, who are separated by the next-of-kin of one of their families. The conflict there is oversimplified and "preached to the choir" as it were, provoking preanticipated cheers, boos and hisses. Of course, that said, perhaps I am just a bit too cynical, as there were weepy eyes around me by the end. I was just not only NOT moved, but actually a bit annoyed by how over simplification of the speech, the cinematic tehnique and conflict of the drama.

Maxxxxx says
re ANOTHERWORLD: "I love you!"

You can contact Maxxxxx or myself here: JayCBird@AOL.COM