San Francisco Film Festival

TETE-A-TETE WITH JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIERE

Sunday, April 30----Filmfestivals.com Industry Editor Sandy Mandelberger sat down with legendary screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, who was in San Francisco to receive the Kanbar Award for Distinguished Screenwriting at the International Film Festival. Carriere, who at 75, is remarkably energetic and prolific, is polishing his script for GOYA'S GHOSTS, his third collaboration with director Milos Forman.

REVIVING THE MOVIE MUSICAL

Saturday, April 29----While we may never get back to the heyday of the film musical, when films with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly or Judy Garland were regular staples, the movie musical is, belatedly, making a mini-comeback. Spurred by the success of MOULIN ROUGE and CHICAGO, the musical drama is sprouting not just in America, but in Asia as well. Tonight's Festival Centerpiece Film, actor/director John Turturro's ROMANCE AND CIGARETTES is another ambitious attempt to bring back the magic of the movie musical.

AWARDS NIGHT BRINGS OUT THE STARS

Friday, April 28----It was men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns as the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) celebrated its Gala Awards Night in the ballroom of the historic St. Francis Hotel last evening. A crowd of several hundred of the city's movers and shakers assembled to toast SFFS award winners, including legendary screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, prolific director Werner Herzog and "actor's actor" Ed Harris.

THE FESTIVAL'S LATIN BEAT

Friday, June 28---Films from Latin America figure prominently in this year’s Festival schedule. In all, 11 films will be showcased, representing emerging talents from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba and Mexico. The recent explosion of film production in this region has fueled international audience interest in one of cinema’s most vital regions of inspiration.

WERNER HERZOG'S ECSTACY OF TRUTH

Thursday, April 27---Werner Herzog, the veteran German director who is being honored at the Festival with the San Francisco Film Society Directing Award, is known for his dry wit and deadpan humor. Both were in evidence at the packed-to-the-rafters tribute held last evening at the glorious Castro Theater, one of the countries' oldest and most elaborate movie palaces.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: FESTIVAL SEMINARS AND BOOK TALKS

Wednesday, April 26---With the Festival in full swing, presenting a disarmingly generous display of visual stimulation, it is important to note that there are several information seminars and book promotion events that provide food for thought in a salon-type environment that adds texture to the extensive film program. All events are free to the pubic and are positioned under a new umbrella entitled House 2, where filmmakers and festivalgoers are invited to drop in to discover the latest in art, media and technology from leading experts in these fields.

TRIBUTE TO A DELIRIOUS FILM POET

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Wednesday, April 26---Acknowledging the "poetic delirium" of the films of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin, the San Francisco International Film Festival last evening presented a wonderfully strange and oddly rewarding evening tribute to the director at the Kabuki Theater. Maddin, who was in rare comedic form, was present for the honors, which included a rare screening of the director's wildly expressive short films.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES (AND THEIR FESTIVALS)

Tuesday, April 25---It's only a 5 hour airplane flight but could the worlds of Miami Beach, Florida and San Francisco, California be any different? One moment you are basking in the rays of an almost oppressive sunshine in the fantasy world of South Beach, the next you are zipping up that overcoat for the chill and fog of the city by the Bay. Speedos one minute, faded jeans the next.

And the differences are not just one of simple geography, weather patterns or atmosphere, film festivals in both places take on the distinct character of their home environments.

TALK CINEMA SURPRISES AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Surprises aren’t always a good thing in San Francisco. Exhaustive media coverage of the centennial of the 1906 great earthquake and fire—the defining event of the city’s history and biggest natural disaster in America until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last year—recently shook Bay Area residents with constant reminders that this is shake-rattle-and-roll country.

A TASTE OF ASIA.....PART TWO

Beginning with the Opening Night gala screening of PERHAPS LOVE, the Festival has devoted the largest international quotient of films in its program to films and filmmakers from Asia and the Pacific Rim. Not only is this among the most exciting and adventurous filmmaking happening today, but San Francisco's connection with the Orient is long established and still a major part of the city's diverse mix of cultures.