View as Grid - San Francisco Film Society

Full Calendar

FILM ARTS FORUM

SFFS Film Arts Forum: Sundance Confidential
Monday, December 7, 7:30 pm (7:00 pm door)

KINOTEK

Catherine Galasso: Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
December 12–13, 8:00 pm

SF360 FILM+CLUB

Steven Severin: Music for Silents
Tuesday, January 12, doors 7:00 pm, show 8:00 pm

Donate
Volunteer
Join

View calendar as: Grid | List

November 2009

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

25 SFFS SCREEN The Vanished Empire October 23–29, 2009 Set in the 1970s, this coming-of-age drama profiles a group of young Russians dealing with love in turbulent times. The main character, a callous youth, can be seen to represent Russia at this turning point in her history. CINEMA BY THE BAY The Anne McGuire Show Sunday, October 25, 9:00 pm In this live variety show, McGuire’s rare genius will be on full display as she draws from her extensive catalogue for an eclectic and pleasurable evening featuring some of her most famous videos, live performances, recent works, a guest MC and several surprises. CINEMA BY THE BAY Etienne! Sunday, October 25, 6:30 pm When his dwarf hamster gets diagnosed with cancer, a young SF hotel worker takes the little guy on one last bike trip down the coast, riding the precarious line between melodrama and camp. CINEMA BY THE BAY Ghost Bird Sunday, October 25, 2:00 pm The search for the spectacular (and likely extinct) ivory-billed woodpecker leads straight to a small town capitalizing on the mere specter of the bird's reemergence in Scott Crocker's documentary. CINEMA BY THE BAY It’s All True Sunday, October 25, 4:30 pm Whether straight ahead documentaries, experimental works or fiction/nonfiction hybrids, these shorts give of glimpse of Bay Area filmmaking at it best and most diverse. CINEMA BY THE BAY FilmHouse Presents Sunday, October 25, 11:30 am Don’t miss this unique opportunity to get a sneak preview of some of the diverse and dynamic work being created by residents of the San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse program with the filmmakers in attendance. This program is generously supported by the San Francisco Film Commission.	26 SFFS SCREEN The Vanished Empire October 23–29, 2009 Set in the 1970s, this coming-of-age drama profiles a group of young Russians dealing with love in turbulent times. The main character, a callous youth, can be seen to represent Russia at this turning point in her history.	27 SFFS SCREEN The Vanished Empire October 23–29, 2009 Set in the 1970s, this coming-of-age drama profiles a group of young Russians dealing with love in turbulent times. The main character, a callous youth, can be seen to represent Russia at this turning point in her history.	28 SFFS SCREEN The Vanished Empire October 23–29, 2009 Set in the 1970s, this coming-of-age drama profiles a group of young Russians dealing with love in turbulent times. The main character, a callous youth, can be seen to represent Russia at this turning point in her history.	29 SFFS SCREEN The Vanished Empire October 23–29, 2009 Set in the 1970s, this coming-of-age drama profiles a group of young Russians dealing with love in turbulent times. The main character, a callous youth, can be seen to represent Russia at this turning point in her history. FRENCH CINEMA NOW The French Kissers Thursday, October 29, 7:00 pm; Saturday, October 31, 4:45 pm Raging with hormones, Hervé and best friend Camel troll their school for a glimpse of female flesh in this humorous look at adolescence among a multicultural group of French teens. FRENCH CINEMA NOW The King of Escape Thursday, October 29, 9:30 pm; Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm This eccentric comedy chronicles the midlife crisis of a pudgy, gay tractor salesman who, for a change of pace, runs away with a 16-year-old female beauty with half the town in pursuit. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Opening Night Party Thursday, October 29, 9:00–11:00 pm Commemorate the best in contemporary French cinema with the Opening Night film The French Kissers and an exclusive post-screening reception.	30 FRENCH CINEMA NOW The King of Escape Thursday, October 29, 9:30 pm; Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm This eccentric comedy chronicles the midlife crisis of a pudgy, gay tractor salesman who, for a change of pace, runs away with a 16-year-old female beauty with half the town in pursuit. FRENCH CINEMA NOW The Wolberg Family Friday, October 30, 9:30 pm; Sunday, November 1, 6:30 pm Simon Wolberg, Jewish mayor of a small provincial town, is a devoted but highly rigid paterfamilias struggling with the individualities of his family members in this winningly eccentric, deeply resonant family melodrama. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Yuki and Nina Friday, October 30, 5:00 pm; Saturday, October 31, 7:15 pm This enchantingly understated look at a child’s experience of uprooting follows two best friends, Yuki and Nina, away from Yuki’s divorcing parents to the children’s own refuge in the forest.	31 FRENCH CINEMA NOW The French Kissers Thursday, October 29, 7:00 pm; Saturday, October 31, 4:45 pm Raging with hormones, Hervé and best friend Camel troll their school for a glimpse of female flesh in this humorous look at adolescence among a multicultural group of French teens. FRENCH CINEMA NOW OSS 117, Lost in Rio Saturday, October 31, 9:30 pm Temperatures are up, tops are down and cultural sensitivity at an all-time low in this deft sendup featuring super-spy Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, aka OSS 117. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Stella Saturday, October 31, 2:30 pm; Tuesday, November 3, 7:00 pm Sylvie Verheyde’s precisely, passionately observed drama is a semiautobiographical story about a socially isolated 11-year-old girl attending her first year of secondary school in 1977. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Yuki and Nina Friday, October 30, 5:00 pm; Saturday, October 31, 7:15 pm This enchantingly understated look at a child’s experience of uprooting follows two best friends, Yuki and Nina, away from Yuki’s divorcing parents to the children’s own refuge in the forest.
1 FRENCH CINEMA NOW Adhen Sunday, November 1, 4:15 pm; Tuesday, November 3, 9:15 pm A factory owner builds a mosque for his workers in a bleak industrial strip outside Paris in this visually bold meditation on the clash of capitalism and religious traditions. FRENCH CINEMA NOW The 400 Blows Sunday, November 1, 2:00 pm On the 50th anniversary of the rise of the French New Wave, here is a chance to revisit the film that started it all. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Welcome Sunday, November 1, 8:30 pm; Monday, November 2, 9:00 pm A master swimming instructor decides to help a 17-year-old Iraqi Kurdish refugee cross the English Channel from France in this absorbing, exquisitely crafted drama from veteran director Philippe Lioret. FRENCH CINEMA NOW The Wolberg Family Friday, October 30, 9:30 pm; Sunday, November 1, 6:30 pm Simon Wolberg, Jewish mayor of a small provincial town, is a devoted but highly rigid paterfamilias struggling with the individualities of his family members in this winningly eccentric, deeply resonant family melodrama.	2 FRENCH CINEMA NOW The Thorn in the Heart Monday, November 2, 7:00 pm The ever inventive and versatile Michel Gondry travels into new territory for this idiosyncratic family documentary, while keeping his inimitable cinematic flair intact. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Welcome Sunday, November 1, 8:30 pm; Monday, November 2, 9:00 pm A master swimming instructor decides to help a 17-year-old Iraqi Kurdish refugee cross the English Channel from France in this absorbing, exquisitely crafted drama from veteran director Philippe Lioret.	3 FRENCH CINEMA NOW Adhen Sunday, November 1, 4:15 pm; Tuesday, November 3, 9:15 pm A factory owner builds a mosque for his workers in a bleak industrial strip outside Paris in this visually bold meditation on the clash of capitalism and religious traditions. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Stella Saturday, October 31, 2:30 pm; Tuesday, November 3, 7:00 pm Sylvie Verheyde’s precisely, passionately observed drama is a semiautobiographical story about a socially isolated 11-year-old girl attending her first year of secondary school in 1977.	4 FRENCH CINEMA NOW Villa Amalia Wednesday, November 4, 7:00 pm Provoked by the sight of her husband kissing another woman, Ann (Isabelle Huppert) abandons her staid life for an open-ended journey of self-discovery. FRENCH CINEMA NOW Bellamy Wednesday, November 4, 9:15 pm Claude Chabrol’s droll detective tale stars Gérard Depardieu as the titular Paris police commissioner investigating a possible murder while on vacation in the South of France. FRENCH CINEMA NOW French Cinema Now Closing Night Wednesday, November 4, 9:00–11:00 pm Celebrate Closing Night with Benoît Jacquot and Isabelle Huppert’s latest collaboration Villa Amalia and an exclusive special reception.	5 YOUTH EDUCATION Whiz Kids Thursday, November 5, 10:00 am At a time when American teens lag far behind other countries in math and science, this doc tells the story of three 17-year-old scientists who vie to compete in the nation's oldest, most prestigious science competition.	6 TAIWAN FILM DAYS Cape No. 7 Friday, November 6, 6:30 pm & 9:30 pm The story of the unlikely rise of an exceptional rock band comes bounded by a postwar tale of unrequited love in this spirited small-town epic, Taiwan’s all-time box-office blockbuster.	7 TAIWAN FILM DAYS Beyond the Arctic Saturday, November 7, 2:00 pm; Sunday, November 8, 4:30 pm Veteran documentary filmmaker Yang Li-chou profiles the three-man Taiwanese team on the 2008 Polar Challenge, a multinational race to the magnetic North Pole. TAIWAN FILM DAYS God Man Dog Saturday, November 7, 7:00 pm The tenuous place of human beings between heaven and earth links three disparate stories in filmmaker Singing Chen’s thoughtful second feature that reveals the contradictions in modern Taiwanese society. TAIWAN FILM DAYS Yang Yang Saturday, November 7, 9:30 pm; Sunday, November 8, 8:30 pm Writer-director Chen Yu-chieh’s second feature is an intimate, beautifully acted drama about a half-French competitive runner for whom family, career, and love become a tangle of contradictions. TAIWAN FILM DAYS Somewhere I Have Never Traveled Saturday, November 7, 4:15 pm A scrappy, color-blind 15-year-old girl and her beloved older cousin engage in imaginative travels far beyond their small seaside town in this gently nuanced coming-of-age story.
8 TAIWAN FILM DAYS What on Earth Have I Done Wrong? Sunday, November 8, 2:00 pm A TV star (Doze Niu Chen-zer, playing himself) needs funding for his breakout film and gets mixed up with the mob in this cutting satire of Taiwan’s film industry. TAIWAN FILM DAYS Beyond the Arctic Saturday, November 7, 2:00 pm; Sunday, November 8, 4:30 pm Veteran documentary filmmaker Yang Li-chou profiles the three-man Taiwanese team on the 2008 Polar Challenge, a multinational race to the magnetic North Pole. TAIWAN FILM DAYS No Puedo Vivir sin Ti Sunday, November 8, 6:15 pm When a poor, single father has his daughter taken from him by government order, his desperation leads to a showdown that becomes a worldwide media event. TAIWAN FILM DAYS Yang Yang Saturday, November 7, 9:30 pm; Sunday, November 8, 8:30 pm Writer-director Chen Yu-chieh’s second feature is an intimate, beautifully acted drama about a half-French competitive runner for whom family, career, and love become a tangle of contradictions.	9	10	11 SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Kickoff Celebration Wednesday, November 11, 8:00 pm SFIAF kicks off with this very special celebration of live music and animation in a vibrant nightclub environment. American underground avant-garde legend Lawrence Jordan will present live animation and Jacob Ciocci and David Wightman will unveil a variety of media-defying entertainments.	12 SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Fantastic Mr. Fox Thursday, November 12, 2009, 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm Wes Anderson applies his brilliantly idiosyncratic sensibility to Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s classic, in which Mr. Fox turns his back on a life of crime. George Clooney brings Mr. Fox to life with nimble character voicing, aided by a heavy-hitting cast. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Opening Night Party Thursday, November 12, 8:00 pm Celebrate opening night with filmmakers in attendance. Buy a ticket to either the 7:00 pm or 9:30 pm screening of Wes Anderson’s newest feature Fantastic Mr. Fox and join us either before or after your screening for a the Opening Night party.	13 SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL SF360 Live: Data In Motion: Information Design and Animation Friday, November 13, 2009, 4:00 pm Visionary information designer Joy Mountford will present a fascinating survey on the different approaches to organizing data using methods of visuality and motion. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL The Breakdown Friday, November 13, 2009, 7:00 pm Animation is especially suited to analysis of all sorts. It probes bodies, investigates movement and questions nature. Animation breaks down the world, love and desire. . . and ultimately the unconscious. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL A Town Called Panic Friday, November 13, 2009, 9:00 pm This delightful film focuses on a town populated by a random assortment of plastic figurines whose daily activities recall children’s illogical narratives in their herky-jerky disjointedness, celebration of the quotidian and profound brilliance.	14 YOUTH EDUCATION What’s in a Movie? Saturday, November 14, 10:00am–1:00pm Whether we watch them at an IMAX or on an iPod, we all have an opinion about which movies we like and which ones we hate. In this first class created for middle and high school-age students, filmmaker Richard Levien will take you on a back-stage tour of the filmmaking process. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Walt Disney’s Alice Comedies Saturday, November 14, 2009, 1:00 pm A little girl filmed in live action and placed in a cartoon world—that’s how Walt Disney established his Hollywood studio, producing 56 of these shorts between 1923 and 1927. SFIAF partners with the newly opened Walt Disney Family Museum to present a selection of these charming films. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Super Massive Suspension: Nate Boyce vs. Amy Hicks Saturday, November 14, 2009, 3:15 pm The animation catalogs of Amy Hicks and Nate Boyce will be on display in this animation throwdown. Hicks and Boyce represent two wildly differing approaches to animation, while retaining an independent ethos of personal creativity that is inspiring and challenging. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai Saturday, November 14, 2009, 7:45 pm Quite likely the first anime-style documentary, this wholly unique film by master anime director Mamoru Oshii is set in Japan’s early Edo period during the early 17th century. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Play It by Eye Saturday, November 14, 2009, 9:30 pm This year’s program of recent animated music videos—always a Festival favorite—mixes established vets including Roboshobo, Sean Pecknold and Joel Trussell with up-and-comers such as Claire Carré and design stalwart Frater.
15 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Fortapàsc Sunday, November 15, 6:00 pm & 9:00 pm A striking recreation of the last four months in the life of Giancarlo Siani, a young journalist killed by the Neapolitan mob in 1985 for digging too deeply into their affairs. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Opening Night Party Sunday, November 15, 8:00–9:30 pm Commemorate the best in contemporary Italian cinema with acclaimed director Marco Risi and his latest film Fortapàsc, and join us for a fabulous reception either before or after your screening. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Somewhere Where I Don't Know Where I Am Sunday, November 15, 2009, 1:45 pm The spaces we inhabit can be framed in a myriad of ways. These short animated films describe the humor, confusion, anxiety and poignancy of the many places we encounter, often in the most exceptional ways. SF INTL ANIMATION FESTIVAL Metropia Sunday, November 15, 2009, 3:30 pm In a bleakly beautiful 2024, call-center drone Roger Olafson (Vincent Gallo) begins hearing a voice inside his head that leads him to step out of his dull routine and into a world of would-be espionage.	16 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Boys on the Outside Monday, November 16, 9:00 pm This hard-hitting portrait of a group of Palermo street kids following their release from reform school features stunning performances by young nonprofessional actors. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Three Wives Monday, November 16, 6:15 pm Marco Risi’s farcical romance centers on a trio of Italian wives of different ages and social backgrounds who set off to Argentina in search of their bank-robber husbands, discovering each other and themselves along the way.	17 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Ex Tuesday, November 17, 9:00 pm; Thursday, November 19, 6:15 pm This multithreaded romantic comedy profiles six couples through break-ups and reconciliations from a cop obsessed with his ex to a divorce attorney undergoing a bitter separation from his wife. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA The Sicilian Girl Tuesday, November 17, 6:00 pm; Thursday, November 19, 9:15 pm Based on a true story, a grief-stricken 17-year-old Sicilian girl testifies against a powerful Mafia family in order to avenge the deaths of her father and brother.	18 FILMMAKER EDUCATION Sound Essentials Wednesday–Thursday, November 18–19, 7:00–10:00 pm Sold Out. Sound can make or break your project. This hands-on class will assist beginning and intermediate filmmakers with recording soundtracks and related issues.This class is sold out. Email filmmakeredu@sffs.org to be placed on the waiting list. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA The House in the Clouds Wednesday, November 18, 9:15 pm; Saturday, November 21, 3:45 pm A young jazz musician and his older brother track down their irresponsible and self-absorbed father who is now living in Marrakesh, and attempt to reclaim the family home and come to terms with their absent parent. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA PA-RA-DA Wednesday, November 18, 6:30 pm; Sunday, November 22, 2:45 pm In 1992, a French street clown goes to Bucharest to cheer up the numerous kids in orphanages. When he finds out about the thousands of homeless children living in the streets, he helps them find self-respect by teaching them to perform. Based on a true story.	19 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Ex Tuesday, November 17, 9:00 pm; Thursday, November 19, 6:15 pm This multithreaded romantic comedy profiles six couples through break-ups and reconciliations from a cop obsessed with his ex to a divorce attorney undergoing a bitter separation from his wife. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA The Sicilian Girl Tuesday, November 17, 6:00 pm; Thursday, November 19, 9:15 pm Based on a true story, a grief-stricken 17-year-old Sicilian girl testifies against a powerful Mafia family in order to avenge the deaths of her father and brother.	20 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Lecture 21 Friday, November 20, 6:30 pm; Saturday, November 21, 1:00 pm Alessandro Baricco’s impressionistic, visually adventurous dramatization of a lecture questioning Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony confidently joins other innovative films about music such as The Red Violin and 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Sea Purple Friday, November 20, 9:15 pm; Saturday November 21, 6:30 pm In 19th-century Sicily, a young woman who reveals her love for her female best friend is locked away in a cellar until her father determines a potential way for them both to get what they want.	21 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Different from Whom? Saturday, November 21, 9:15 pm; Sunday, November 22, 12:00 noon In a northern Italian city, a gay-rights campaigner vies to be mayor in a conservative town. Paired with a conservative female running mate, he surprisingly ends up in bed with her, complicating his political aspirations and romantic life. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA The House in the Clouds Wednesday, November 18, 9:15 pm; Saturday, November 21, 3:45 pm A young jazz musician and his older brother track down their irresponsible and self-absorbed father who is now living in Marrakesh, and attempt to reclaim the family home and come to terms with their absent parent. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Lecture 21 Friday, November 20, 6:30 pm; Saturday, November 21, 1:00 pm Alessandro Baricco’s impressionistic, visually adventurous dramatization of a lecture questioning Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony confidently joins other innovative films about music such as The Red Violin and 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Sea Purple Friday, November 20, 9:15 pm; Saturday November 21, 6:30 pm In 19th-century Sicily, a young woman who reveals her love for her female best friend is locked away in a cellar until her father determines a potential way for them both to get what they want.
22 NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Different from Whom? Saturday, November 21, 9:15 pm; Sunday, November 22, 12:00 noon In a northern Italian city, a gay-rights campaigner vies to be mayor in a conservative town. Paired with a conservative female running mate, he surprisingly ends up in bed with her, complicating his political aspirations and romantic life. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA PA-RA-DA Wednesday, November 18, 6:30 pm; Sunday, November 22, 2:45 pm In 1992, a French street clown goes to Bucharest to cheer up the numerous kids in orphanages. When he finds out about the thousands of homeless children living in the streets, he helps them find self-respect by teaching them to perform. Based on a true story. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA Vincere Sunday, November 22, 5:45 pm & 9:00 pm A powerful political dramatization conceived as a grand opera, Marco Bellocchio’s latest masterpiece details the ill-fated life of Benito Mussolini’s mistress and their son. NEW ITALIAN CINEMA New Italian Cinema: Closing Night Sunday, November 22, 8:00–9:30 pm Celebrate Closing Night of New Italian Cinema between screenings of master filmmaker Marco Belloccio’s Vincere. Join us for a reception either before or after your screening.	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	1 FILMMAKER EDUCATION Grant Writing Essentials Tuesday, December 1, 7:00–10:00 pm Creating a successful grant proposal is a challenging process. Learn how to craft a successful blueprint proposal for your project that can be adapted for multiple applications.	2	3	4	5 FILMMAKER EDUCATION How to Ask People for Money Saturday, December 5, 10:00 am–6:00 pm New filmmakers emerge daily and all of them are seeking support from the same sources. In contrast, raising funds from individual donors allows for more control and access while solidifying relationships that will pay off for years to come. FILMMAKER EDUCATION Lighting Essentials Saturday, December 5, 10:00 am–6:00 pm Ideal for beginning cinematographers, lighting designers and directors, this illuminating class will provide students with hands-on understanding of basic lighting techniques and theory.