SPECIAL EVENTS
SFFS Film Arts Forum—Thinking Outside the Doc Box
Monday, February 8, 7:30 pm
Monday, February 8, 7:30 pm
SF360 FILM+CLUB
A Sneak Preview of a Film About Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields
Sunday, February 28, 8:00 pm, doors 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 28, 8:00 pm, doors 7:00 pm
Releases
52nd San Francisco International Film Festival to Open with La Mission, Directed by Native Son Peter Bratt
Excellent Ensemble Cast Featuring Benjamin Bratt, Erika Alexander, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Jesse Borrego and Talisa Soto Bratt Brings Alive Vibrant Mission District Culture
3/9/2009
The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23–May 7) will open with Peter Bratt’s stirring second feature, La Mission, a compelling redemptive drama about the powerful ties of family and community. La Mission will screen at 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 23 at the historic Castro Theatre. Peter Bratt, cast members Benjamin Bratt, Erika Alexander, Jeremy Ray Valdez and many members of the film’s local crew are expected to attend the lively hometown premiere and festivities. The celebratory Opening Night party will begin at 9:30 pm at Bruno’s, in the spirited heart of the Mission district.
Peter Bratt (Follow Me Home, SFIFF 1996) returns to SFIFF following a successful debut at the Sundance Film Festival with a powerful story set in the colorful, predominately Latino Mission district where he and his brother, actor Benjamin Bratt, grew up. La Mission tells the story of Che (Benjamin Bratt), a reformed and respected ex-con and recovering alcoholic who has turned his life around and now devotes himself to his lifelong friends, his passion for building classic cruisers and, most of all, his rock solid relationship with his honor student son, Jess (Jeremy Ray Valdez). When a sudden revelation shatters the peaceful surface, a confused and angry Che finds himself emotionally broken, isolated and struggling to reconcile his ideals of the old world in which he resides with those of his son’s new world. La Mission is a powerful story of transformation and reconciliation, set in a neighborhood often battling to end its own cycles of violence and conflict.
Graham Leggat, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society, says, “Like the neighborhood in which it’s set, Peter’s film is full of life and has a big wild heart. We loved it at first sight, not least because of the wonderful way in which it marshals the city’s filmmaking talent, and we can’t imagine a more enjoyable way to open this year’s Festival than with this moving and powerful film.”
At 9:30 pm the Mission-style Opening Night party kicks off at two historical venues, the iconic Bruno's and a unique street scene setting within the ruins of the El Capitan Theatre, located at 2389 Mission Street between 19th and 20th Streets. Partygoers will celebrate the launch of SFIFF52 with cool cocktails, international culinary delights and the Latin beats of salsa and rumba.
La Mission, which was shot in San Francisco, was produced by Alpita Patel, Benjamin Bratt and Peter Bratt and executive produced by San Francisco residents Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer and Bay Area resident Dan Nelson.
La Mission received tremendous support and enthusiasm from the San Francisco Film Commission and participated in the city’s Scene in San Francisco rebate program. In its continued support for homegrown filmmaking, the Film Commission will sponsor Opening Night.
Admission for the Opening Night film and party is $85 for the general public/$70 for San Francisco Film Society members; VIP tickets are $135.
For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.
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.
SFFS shows the best of world cinema year-round on its SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas and presents the San Francisco International Animation Festival, New Italian Cinema and French Cinema Now annually in the fall. In all, the Film Society 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 7,000 teachers and students annually.
The Film Society 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 SFFS filmmaker services including grants & residencies, fiscal sponsorship, production assistance and development, networking and conference events, and professional-level filmmaker classes and workshops.
52nd San Francisco International Film Festival
The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 23–May 7, 2009 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 25 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 75,000+ people.
For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.
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Peter Bratt (Follow Me Home, SFIFF 1996) returns to SFIFF following a successful debut at the Sundance Film Festival with a powerful story set in the colorful, predominately Latino Mission district where he and his brother, actor Benjamin Bratt, grew up. La Mission tells the story of Che (Benjamin Bratt), a reformed and respected ex-con and recovering alcoholic who has turned his life around and now devotes himself to his lifelong friends, his passion for building classic cruisers and, most of all, his rock solid relationship with his honor student son, Jess (Jeremy Ray Valdez). When a sudden revelation shatters the peaceful surface, a confused and angry Che finds himself emotionally broken, isolated and struggling to reconcile his ideals of the old world in which he resides with those of his son’s new world. La Mission is a powerful story of transformation and reconciliation, set in a neighborhood often battling to end its own cycles of violence and conflict.
Graham Leggat, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society, says, “Like the neighborhood in which it’s set, Peter’s film is full of life and has a big wild heart. We loved it at first sight, not least because of the wonderful way in which it marshals the city’s filmmaking talent, and we can’t imagine a more enjoyable way to open this year’s Festival than with this moving and powerful film.”
At 9:30 pm the Mission-style Opening Night party kicks off at two historical venues, the iconic Bruno's and a unique street scene setting within the ruins of the El Capitan Theatre, located at 2389 Mission Street between 19th and 20th Streets. Partygoers will celebrate the launch of SFIFF52 with cool cocktails, international culinary delights and the Latin beats of salsa and rumba.
La Mission, which was shot in San Francisco, was produced by Alpita Patel, Benjamin Bratt and Peter Bratt and executive produced by San Francisco residents Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer and Bay Area resident Dan Nelson.
La Mission received tremendous support and enthusiasm from the San Francisco Film Commission and participated in the city’s Scene in San Francisco rebate program. In its continued support for homegrown filmmaking, the Film Commission will sponsor Opening Night.
Admission for the Opening Night film and party is $85 for the general public/$70 for San Francisco Film Society members; VIP tickets are $135.
For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.
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.
SFFS shows the best of world cinema year-round on its SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas and presents the San Francisco International Animation Festival, New Italian Cinema and French Cinema Now annually in the fall. In all, the Film Society 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 7,000 teachers and students annually.
The Film Society 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 SFFS filmmaker services including grants & residencies, fiscal sponsorship, production assistance and development, networking and conference events, and professional-level filmmaker classes and workshops.
52nd San Francisco International Film Festival
The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 23–May 7, 2009 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 25 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 75,000+ people.
For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.
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