Welcome back to town, SFIFF
The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival begins this week (Thursday) and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been part of the press corps covering the festival since 2006 which means I get to see a ton of great movies for free and write about them right here. Oh and go to the fancy pants press conference where the festival committee talks about the movies they’re most excited about. That’s like listening to the waiter at the French Laundry read you the menu.
In year’s past, I’ve done a series of first impression just-got-out-of-the-screening audio posts (sample using the magic of hipcast). I’ll probably do some of that and maybe some writing as well. Since the Kabuki theater, where the majority of screenings are held, is now the Sundance Kabuki with a bar/kitchen/somesuchthing, I may bring my laptop, sit and write between showtimes.
What do I want to see? Since I’m a big ole’ documentary ho, I’m easy to please at most film festivals. The last few SFIFF’s, I’ve seen 10-12 films per festival and maybe 80% were non-fiction. I told myself this year I’d try and branch out but no promises. With 250 movies to choose from, I usually choose based on what won’t be coming to a theater near me (because if its getting released next month, what’s the hurry?), what’s in English and under 120 minutes. I’m not so proud of the last 2 but with this bounty, you’ve got to start drawing X’s somewhere.
Enough explaining.
Documentaries: I’m all over Ask Not, a look at the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy 15 years after its installation (Castro, 4/26, 12:00 PM, Kabuki, 5/5 12:00 PM), Glass: A Portrait of Philip Glass in Twelve Parts (Kabuki, 4/26, 8:30 and 4/30, 3 PM)), 1000 Journals about the 1000 Journals Project (Kabuki, 4/26 1:30 PM and 4/28 9 PM)and Dust, about, well dust, which my buddy Dave saw at the Philadelphia Film Festival (Kabuki, 5/5, 6:15 PM and 5/7, 4:15 PM).
Stranded, Umbrella and Faubourg Treme (about black New Orleans) all look real good, too.
Features: Sign me up for Ballast (PFA, 5/2, 6:30, 54, 12:45 PM) which looks an awful lot like George Washington only one of my favorite movies ever. Also The Toe Tactic which I missed at SXSW (Kabuki, 4/26, 3:45 PM, 5/3, 6:45 PM). Vasermil (Kabuki, 5/4, 1 PM, 5/5 6:45 PM) is supposed to be "An Israeli Mean Streets" which is enough to get me there. Touching Home is one everyone seems to be talking about (Kabuki 4/26 5 PM, 4/29 12:30 PM).
The Wackness I’ll go to just for the title (Kabuki, 5/3, 7 PM).
That’s all I’ve had a chance to explore thus far. But over the next few days, I’ll be cycling between the festival program and sched.org who’s got the entire schedule online and downloadable via iCal to your cell phone or iPod.
SFIFF 51, bring it on. Come Thursday, I’ll be ready for you.