Tuesday, May 2----An innovative French film and a wildly anticipated after-hours party are on tap for this Tuesday, as the San Francisco International Film Festival moves into its final days. The film, BACKSTAGE, is directed by Emannuelle Bercot, one of France's most interesting new women directors. The ZOOM! After Hours Party is one of the new innovations created to add a celebratory atmosphere to the Festival events.
Director Emmanuelle Bercot has been a San Francisco favorite since the 2003 Festival screening of her film CLEMENT, which was the winner of the Youth Prize at that year's Cannes Film Festival.
BACKSTAGE takes a satiric yet bracing look at celebrity culture and hero worship, as an unstable adolescent girl becomes involved with her rock star idol, played with insouciance by the great Emmanuelle Seigner. In a twist on the classic film ALL ABOUT EVE, the younger woman makes herself indispensable to the older star, moving their bond into the unsavory co-dependent overtones of master and servant.
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, also having well-received screenings at the Toronto Film Festival and last month's London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The film also screens this week at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
The ZOOM! After Hours Party followsz directly after the film at swanky nightclub Roe, located in the trendy South of Market district. With three tiers of party space, from the VIP lounge downstairs to the plush dance club upstairs, there is plenty of room for rampant socializing, networking and Festival schmoozing. The ZOOM! After Hours Party is presented by Women In Film and Television, a national organization that promotes the careers of women in the visual arts.
This is one of the new initiatives introduced by SFFS Executive Director Graham Leggat. "We think that the combination of a great film and a roaring after-party is exactly what our audiences are looking for, and will make for an exciting evening", Leggat exclaimed.
Tonight's special event is part of the closing days of the Festival, including the Golden Gate Awards and the Closing Night Gala. The Festival ends its 14 day run on Thursday.
Sandy Mandelberger
US Editor
Comments