San Francisco International Film Festival 2009

[Chris Knipp]

San Francisco International Film Festival 2009
____________

Here is one of the early previews from the San Francisco Film Society:

52ND [2009] SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 11 FILMS IN NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION

North American and U.S. Premieres Among Contenders for $15,000 New Directors Prize

San Francisco, CA -- The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23 - May 7 [2009]) will award over $100,000 in total prizes this year. The New Directors Prize of $15,000 is given to a narrative first feature that exhibits a unique artistic sensibility and deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. An independent jury will select the New Directors Prize winner, to be announced at the Golden Gate Awards on May 6.

SFIFF52 New Directors Competition Films:

Autumn
directed by Ozcan Alper, Turkey 2008
In this first full-length feature in the Hemsin language of northeast Turkey, Yusuf struggles to find purpose after serving ten years as a political prisoner.

Can Go Through Skin
directed by Esther Rots, Netherlands 2008
North American Premiere
A woman reeling from an act of violence hopes to shake it off by buying and moving into a remote cottage. Embarking on a new relationship, she finds that the past has its way of informing the present.

Claustrophobia
directed by Ivy Ho, Hong Kong 2008
North American Premiere
Karena Lam delivers one of her best performances in this sensitive portrayal of a simmering office romance set in contemporary Hong Kong. Screenwriter Ivy Ho's feature debut is intelligently crafted and loaded with double meanings, looks and hidden passions.

Don't Let Me Drown
directed by Cruz Angeles, USA 2008
New York's vibrant Mexican and Dominican communities take center stage in this lyrical look at the love between a young Mexican boy and a Dominican girl, set in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

French Girl
directed by Souad El-Bouhati, France/Morocco 2008
Exploring issues of identity, origin and family with a deft touch, French Girl details the life of Sofia, who spends a happy childhood in France, is relocated to Morocco by her family and longs to return to the country where she grew up.

Gasoline
directed by Julio Hernández Cordón, Guatemala 2008
Three middle-class teenage boys, stealing gasoline to go on an all-night joyride, are headed on the highway to hell in this provocative, nuanced story of adolescent angst.

Home
directed by Ursula Meier, Switzerland 2008
Intriguingly stylized, Home explores the gradual deterioration of a family's peaceful existence when the long-unused stretch of highway that borders their house suddenly opens for public use.

Kabuli Kid
directed by Barmak Akram, France/Afghanistan 2008
In Kabul, a young mother leaves her infant child in the back seat of a taxicab and it is up to the driver to try and track her down in this lovingly observed neorealist-style film.

Mid-August Lunch
directed by Gianni di Gregorio, Italy 2008
U.S. Premiere
On the Pranzo di Ferragosto (Feast of the Assumption), money troubles compel Gianni, a middle-aged Roman living with his elegant, elderly mother, to take in three other nonnas (grandmothers). Their wiliness and lively warmth keep Gianni on his toes and friendship unexpectedly blossoms.

The Paranoids
directed by Gabriel Medina, Argentina 2008
U.S. Premiere
In this hilarious comedy of errors from Argentina, an unaccomplished screenwriter who works children's birthday parties for a living tries not to sleep with his best friend's girlfriend, but fails at that too.

Snow
directed by Aida Begic, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2008
A remote mountain top village of strong-willed widows and orphans provides the atmospheric setting of this Bosnian magical film, which investigates the memories of war and the everyday pleasures of life.

In addition to these 11 films in competition, the New Directors section of SFIFF52 includes 17 out-of-competition films, which will be announced at the opening press conference on Tuesday, March 31.

For tickets and information go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.

[Chris Knipp]

An Introduction to SFIFF 2009is up now in the Festival Coverage section and will be found here (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2493).


__________________________________________________


Today (March 31, 2009) was the press conference in San Francisco at the Saint Francis Hotel, in which director Graham Leggett and the programmers described highlights of the selections and members of the press got copies of the program -- both the complete catologue of titles with elaborate corss-indexing and the less unwieldy "Miniguide."

I made up a list of the ones that Oscar or I have already seen and reviewed, with links (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2493) to the reviews.

[oscar jubis]

You've done an excellent job (time-consuming too) of providing links to already-reviewed SFIFF films! Lamentably, I missed the Guatemalan film GASOLINA at the MIFF. Word-of-mouth was good for that one.

[Chris Knipp]

Let me know, of course, if you have a chance and as you did last year, of any other titles among the SFIFF selections that seem to you especially to be "must-sees."

Yes making links is time-consuming, and what makes it worse is the link coding formats for this site and my website are completely different, but I think links are what the Internet is all about. It's important to make navigation easy and to provide full opportunities for cross-reference.

[Chris Knipp]

The festival has listed online this year's thirteen SFIFF52 Golden Gate Award Feature Documentary Competition Films. (http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=22,37&pageid=939) (Click on the link for full details.)

Many of them are political.

For example:

The Age of Stupid (Franny Armstrong, England 2008) is a future shock indictment about neglecting climate change.

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (Anders Ostergaard, Denmark 2008) concerns the protests of monks against the dictatorship.

Crude (Joe Berlinger, USA/Ecuador 2008) is about a class action lawsuit of Ecuadorans against Chevron.

Speaking in Tongues (Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, USA 2009) is about the debate over bilingual education.

The Reckoning (Pamela Yates, USA 2009) is about the International World Court's attempts to prosecute instigators of mass genocide.

Z32 (Avi Mograbi, Israel 2008), as mentioned, is a controversial confession of atrocities by an IDF soldier.

My Neighbor, My Killer (Anne Aghion, USA 2009) is about how perpetrators of Rwandan genocide are being returned to their community but are asked to confess what they've done.

Kimjongilia (N.C. Heikin. South Korea 2009) is an indictment-by-interview of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il -- not likely to be too controversial, outside North Korea, that is, but still highly political.

[Chris Knipp]

I'm going to have to cancel plans for covering the SFIFF this year due to surgery. It's just a torn meniscus, but it has to be done now, I can only walk a little, and can't drive at all, and the operation will be done in eleven days and recovery will take a few weeks, right at festival time. I'll still provide some information and updates on festival events, but reviewing is unlikely at this point. Too many stairs are involved at the festival headquarters and too much driving back and forth.

[oscar jubis]

Chris, are you having arthroscopic surgery?
I wish you a quick and complete recovery. Your coverage of this year's SFIFF will be missed.

[Chris Knipp]

I think it will be arthroscopic, yes. I'll report how it goes.

[Chris Knipp]

It was arthroscopic and I'm recovering nicely. Still restricting my walking a bit though, but there was minimal swelling, no bruise marks, incisions closed without leakage, and the physical therapy is going very well.

[Chris Knipp]

Some of the SFIFF awards are in now. I wish i could have seen these.....I can only read about them, for now.
52ND SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT GOLDEN GATE AWARDS CEREMONY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6

New Directors Award
Snow, Aida Begic (Bosnia and Herzegovina 2008)
Winner receives a $15,000 cash prize and Final Cut Studio 2.0.1 software courtesy of Apple


FIPRESCI Prize
Everything Strange and New, Frazer Bradshaw (USA 2008)

Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature Winners

Investigative Documentary Feature:
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, Anders Ostergaard (Denmark/Sweden 2008)
Winner receives a $25,000 cash prize

Bay Area Documentary Feature:
D tour, Jim Granato (USA 2008)
Winner receives a $15,000 cash prize, Final Cut Studio 2.0.1 software courtesy of Apple and $2,000 worth of lab services from EFILM Digital Laboratories

Documentary Feature:
Nomad's Land, Gael Metroz (Switzerland 2008)
Winner receives a $20,000 cash prize and Final Cut Studio 2.0.1 software courtesy of Apple

[Johann]

Awesome to hear you're recovering well my man.
We're at a real loss when you're not around...

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks, that's very kind of you to say. I'm around, I've just not been able to go to this festival because it began four days after my surgery. In fact therre were commercial but SFIFF-related press screenings for two weeks before the opening, which I also could not go to because I was really in pain at that time. Now all is getting better, but the festival is over. Hopefully I will be covering the New York Film Festival in September.

Tribeca has been going on, which somewhat overlaps the San Francisco festival and may have more new stuff in it. I have never been to it. Except for the San Francisco, I feel like I prefer to avoid the big 100-plus film festivals, because they are just too much to deal with.

Telluride is a nice smaller film festival of merit, which comes in between this and the NYFF, Sept. 4-7 this year. It is run by Tom Luddy, a Berkeley guy and former director of Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive. I've seen a couple of his previews in Berkeley.

I did make it out to see THE SOLOIST and today I will see STATE OF PLAY. However I am missing a bunch of commercial press screenings because they are hard for me to get in San Francisco due to having to go easy on walking and climbing up and down stairs.

[Chris Knipp]

FSLC Dardennes retrospective.

"Born and raised in the Belgian town of Seraing, outside of Liège, Jean-Pierre (b. 1951) and his younger brother Luc (b. 1954) Dardenne studied drama and philosophy, respectively. One of Jean-Pierre’s teachers inspired the brothers to document the lives of the working-class in their native town. In 1975, the brothers established a production company, Derives, which they used to produce over 60 documentaries about the blue-collar lives in surrounding towns where they lived. Experimenting with different techniques, it wasn’t until 1996’s La Promesse when they developed their improvisational handheld style and cemented their place in cinema."--FSLC blurb.

This has just been announced. If I were in NYC now, I could attend it, but only three press screenings are being offered, Regard Jonathan. Jean Louvet, son with Il court... il court le monde; Falsch; and Rosetta. I'm not in NYC but in California, but just thought Filmleaf readers might like to know about it. This series was Kent Jones and he will be officiating, so his ouster from the FSLC staff and the NYFF jury doesn't mean he's disappeared from Lincoln Center film events.

Wednesday, May 27
1:30 Rosetta
3:30 Falsch,
with Regard Jonathan. Jean Louvet, son oeuvre
6:15 L'Enfant (The Child),
with Il court... il court le monde
8:30 Rosetta

Thursday, May 28
2:00 Lorsque le bateau de L'on M. descendit la Meuse pour la premiere fois,
with Pour que la guerre s'acheve, les murs devaient s'ecrouter
4:00 L'Enfant (The Child),
with Il cour... il court le monde

Friday, May 29
1:45 Rene repond plus,
with Lecons d'une universite volante
4:10 Je pense a vous
6:15 La Promesse
8:30 Special Event: A Conversation with the Dardenne Brothers

Saturday, May 30
1:30 Lorsque le bateau de Leon M. descendit la Meuse pour la premiere fois,
with Pour que la guerre s'acheve, les murs devaient s'ecrouter
3:30 Falsch,
with Regard Jonathan. Jean Louvet, son oeuvre
6:15 Le Fils (The Son)
8:30 L'Enfant (The Child),
with Il court... il court le monde

Sunday, May 31
1:30 Rene repond plus,
with Lecons d'une universite volante
4:00 Falsch,
with Regard Jonathan. Jean Louvet, son oeuvre
6:45 Je pense a vous
8:45 Le Fils (The Son)

Monday, June 1
3:00 Je pense a vous

Tuesday, June 2
2:15 La Promesse
4:15 Le Fils (The Son)
6:30 La Promesse
8:30 Falsch,
with Regard Jonathan. Jean Louvet, son oeuvre

[Chris Knipp]

Note, the folloiwing is just a festival publicity release, which I've pared down. It is interesting for the information about money rainssed, attendance, and some of the films that drew attention through the presence of personalities to promote them. Needless to say, this doesn't tell you what the best films of the festival were, but it gives the main awards.


San Francisco, CA -- The San Francisco Film Society wrapped its 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23-May 7) with 272 screenings of 151 films from 55 countries, with 144 filmmakers and 54 industry guests from 25 countries in attendance, with an estimated 82,000 filmgoers. Over its packed 15 days the Festival set new record highs for attendance and ticket revenues, which latter exceeded 2008's previous record by roughly eight percent and the organization's 2009 budget goal by 20 percent.

In addition, Film Society Awards Night, the organization's gala black-tie fundraiser held at the midpoint of the Festival, exceeded its goal by 11 percent, grossing $501,500. Proceeds from this event benefit the Film Society's Youth Education Program, which serves roughly 8,000 Bay Area school children annually.

"We are thrilled by the record crowds that attended this year's International," said Graham Leggat, SFFS executive director. "This extraordinary enthusiasm, coupled with the unflagging support of our numerous stakeholders, means that the organization continues to look strong financially during difficult times."

The Festival sold out 110 screenings during its 15-day run, including four sell-outs of the 1400-seat Castro Theatre, underlining the strong demand for the unique programming that the Film Society brings to the Bay Area and setting the stage for the successful resumption of the Film Society's year-round programming following the Festival. This coming Monday, May 11, the Film Society will host a benefit screening of Up at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, while the Film Society Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas reopens Friday, June 5 with Carlos Saura's Fados. The SFFS Screen offers daily programming of international, independent and documentary films year-round.

Star-Studded Nights
Film Society Awards Night honored four world-class film talents at the Westin St. Francis Hotel April 30. Honorees were Francis Ford Coppola, recipient of the Founder's Directing Award, presented by acclaimed director James Gray; Carroll Ballard, recipient of a Special Directing Award, presented by Francis Ford Coppola; Robert Redford, recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award for his acting career, presented by Sid Ganis; and James Toback, recipient of the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting, presented by distinguished film critic David Thomson.

The Festival also presented the third annual Midnight Awards, a late night awards ceremony created to honor dynamic young American actors. This year's Midnight Award recipients were Elijah Wood and Evan Rachel Wood, who conversed candidly and amusingly with host Beth Lisick and accepted their engraved silver martini shaker trophies with an energized late-night crowd.

Every day at SFIFF52 was blessed with considerable star power. Hometown heroes Benjamin and Peter Bratt introduced their Opening Night film La Mission and embraced their family and fans at a sensational, car-studded Opening Night party. Gena Rowlands took to the Castro stage in front of a packed house, where she addressed the audience after receiving a standing ovation. From Mexico, Diego Luna and director Carlos Cauron attended the West Coast premiere of Rudo y Cursi, entertaining audiences with their humorous Q&A. Master Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda attended with Still Walking, and accomplished Hong Kong screenwriter Ivy Ho returned to the Festival with the North American premiere of her directorial debut, Claustrophobia. Director Marc Webb and stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt accompanied their film 500 Days of Summer at the Festival's Centerpiece screening. Academy Award-nominated director Atom Egoyan attended with his film, Adoration. Bruce Goldstein, preeminent film programmer of New York's Film Forum and founder of Rialto Pictures was honored with the Mel Novikoff Award for his visionary programming and dedication to revitalizing international classics. Stephan Elliot returned to the city where his Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was such a triumph with Noel Coward adaptation Easy Virtue. Longtime SFIFF participant Lourdes Portillo received this year's Persistence of Vision Award in honor of her singular persistence and dedication to broadening the scope of Latino and Chicano portrayals in films. She screened the U.S. premiere of her latest film, Al Mas Alla. Renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark shared her unique perspective on film, drawn from the 40 years she spent behind the scenes, in this year's State of Cinema address.

Award-winning Films
Eleven films were in juried competition for the 13th annual $15,000 New Directors Award, given to a first-time filmmaker whose work exhibits a unique artistic sensibility. The jury chose director Aida Begic's Snow (Bosnia and Herzegovina 2008), lauding its "beautifully observed, poetically textured sense of a place and people whose spirits are by turns fragile, funny, fierce and full-hearted."

The FIPRESCI jury, comprised of Mihai Chirilov, Rob Nelson and Charles-Stephane Roy, chose Everything Strange and New by Frazer Bradshaw (USA 2008). The jury said they were "delighted to acknowledge the work of Bay Area-based director Frazer Bradshaw, whose first feature dares to cut against the grain of American independent filmmaking in its embrace of stylistic experimentalism and genuine interest in the intricacies of adult relationships." FIPRESCI, the renowned international organization of film critics, supports cinema as an art and as an autonomous means of expression. The San Francisco International Film Festival is one of only three festivals in the United States to host a FIPRESCI jury and award a FIPRESCI prize.

The International awarded close to $100,000 in total prizes this year with $60,000 to winners in three categories: investigative documentary feature ($25,000), documentary feature ($20,000) and Bay Area documentary feature ($15,000). The Festival's Golden Gate Awards were held on Wednesday, May 6 at Temple Nightclub-Prana Restaurant. The GGA for Best Investigative Documentary Feature was presented to Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country by Anders Ostergaard (Denmark 2008). Best Documentary Feature was presented to Nomad's Land by Gael Metroz (Switzerland 2008). Best Bay Area Documentary Feature is D tour by Jim Granato (USA 2008)

Audiences also voted on their overall favorite films in the Festival. The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Cruz Angeles' Don't Let Me Drown (USA 2008). The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider's Speaking in Tongues (USA 2009).

[Chris Knipp]

Another "final" message from the SFIFF organizers. I've re-inserted all the links so you can read up on the winners.

SFIFF52: A BANNER YEAR
Winners announced

The 52nd International (http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=22,37&pageid=1077) featured 272 screenings of 151 films from 55 countries, with 144 filmmakers and 54 industry guests from 25 countries in attendance, with an estimated 82,000 filmgoers.

Over the jam-packed 15 days, the Festival set new record highs for attendance and ticket revenues, which latter exceeded 2008's previous record by roughly eight percent and the organization's 2009 budget goal by 20 percent.

A hearty thank you is in order to all those who participated -- filmgoers, filmmakers, sponsors, industry guests and, most especially, volunteers. We couldn't have done it without you.

Below are the feature film Golden Gate Award winners. To see the full list, click
here. (http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=22,37&pageid=1073)

Investigative Documentary Feature: Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=13), Anders Ostergaard

Bay Area Documentary Feature:
D tour (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=24) (pictured), Jim Granato

Documentary Feature:
Nomad's Land (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=66) Gael Metroz

New Directors Award:
Snow (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=81) , Aida Begic

FIPRESCI Prize Everything Strange and New (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=28) , Frazer Bradshaw

[oscar jubis]

According to IMdb, Miguel Gomes's MY BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST had its US premiere at the 2009 SFIFF. I think it is a very important movie because it heralds the emergence of a director with a fresh vision from a country that has been traditionally neglected in the US. I plead guilty as far as not paying much attention to Portiguese films, except for those of Oliveira, who became known over here only when he made movies that feature international stars (Mastroianni, Malkovich) and thus managed to attract the interest of distributors. Chris, you have introduced me to Portuguese films shown at festivals you cover but I have yet to check them out (with exceptions). Films like TABU, which I just purchased on BluRay (encouraged by the unique, rich, and delicious experience with "August"). I know you could not cover the fest this year, but did you see "August"?

[Chris Knipp]

The title is OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (see SFIFF 2009 listing (http://fest09.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=70)). No, I have not seen itm though it is available on DVD from Netflix. Porguguese films neglected? Well, there is João Botelho. I recall reviewing his THE NORTHERN LAND (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?2339-New-York-Film-Festival-2008&postid=20800#post20800) (nyff 2008). Recently I reviewed Paulo Rocha's 1966 CHANGE OF LIFE (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3702-Art-of-the-Real-previews-Jarmusch-retrospective-FSLC&p=31963#post31963) (Art of the Real, FSLC 2014), I have written about Pedro Costa's COLOSSAL YOUTN (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=793&view=next)(SFIFF 2006) and NE CHANGE RIEN ( (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1366&view=next)NYFF 2009). As you mention, I wrote about Miguel Gomes's TABU (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2205&view=previous)(NYFF 2012). I wouldn't say OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST is Gomes' "emergence," since TABU got plenty of reviews in this country, discussing it from all angels, 17 reviews listed on Metacritic, though A.O. Scott's was not as favorable as most of the others, for good reasons. I think there are others, though I can't think of them, and of course Oliveira is by far the most admired internationally. I've reviewed his BELLE TOUJOURS (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=661&view=previous) (NYFF 2006), ECCENTRICITIES OF A BLOND HAIR GIRL (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1350&view=previous) (NYFF 2009), and THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA (http://www.chrisknipp.com/writing/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1595&view=previous) (NYFF 2010). There are quite a few Porguguese directors listed in the Wikipedia article on them: are they neglected just in the US or internationally?

TRue I couldn't cover SFIFF 2009 because I got minor surgery for a meniscus tear right when it was on. But I may have made up for it this year since of SFIFF 2014 I've seen 17 new films and had already reviewed 25, and 42 is pretty good. Though as I said, there were some high profile films this year I'd like to have seen but couldn't make it to the screenings of. Some of them will be coming out soon anyway though, like Linklater's BOYHOOD. I saw a trailer for it today and it looks cooler than I'd thought from what I'd heard, if only just due to the time lapse. Also though I missed WE ARE THE BEST! twice, it's coming to Landmark Theaters.

[Chris Knipp]

Oscar,

I recommend the recent interview (http://bombmagazine.org/article/1000121/stephane-delorme)with Cahiers du Cinema's editor Stéphane Delorme in 'Bomb' by Nicholas Elliott. He talks about Miguel Gomes and of course lots of other directors and we're reminded what Cahiers is about and why it's still important.

[oscar jubis]

I will search for The Northern Light and Change of Life. I've seen the others, except Tabu, which I have been holding up until I watch the shorter films available on the "August" dvd. Our Beloved Month of August precedes Tabu, hence my calling it his breakthrough. I also have older Oliveira films (on DVDs made in Spain) waiting their turn.
Such a coincidence that a colleague had just sent me a link to that same interview when you posted your link. I guess it is desirable for a publication such as Cashiers to be opinionated, and for the editor to be so precise about the types of filmmaking they advocate, the films and filmmakers that receive the support of the journal, and the space they devote to what they don't like or support. She is specific that's for sure.
PRO:Experiential/sensorial films, Carax's Holy Motors, Melancholia, films "that provide powerful emotions", hybridity, Malick, films that are difficult to categorize or pin down, E.T., Garrel, Hong Sang-soo, Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee
AGAINST: Cynicism, formalism, Dardenne Brothers, clever or "smart cinema", Haneke's Amour, Bela Tarr, narrative and genre conventions, Claire Denis' Bastards .

[Chris Knipp]

Against auteurism, which helps explain Dardennes fatigue. They have been repeating a formula lately. Also Bela Tarr's Turin Horse. He explains very clearly why. (Delorme is a he not a she. )