CLOSING NIGHT: DON'T WORRY HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT

I thought it was apt that Joaquin Phoenix play a person in recovery as his brother died from an overdose. He has also done other films with Gus VanSant. Jonah Hill was different than his usual boisterous self as a gay, wealthy AA mentor. He did it well. This was a true story written from the autobiography of John Callahan. Gus said he was a character known around Portland that he used to see quickly zooming around town. 

Program Description: 

Guests Expected

Director Gus Van Sant and composer Danny Elfman expected to attend.

Description

Caustic and wickedly funny, celebrated quadriplegic Portland cartoonist John Callahan had a knack for depicting taboo subjects – especially people with physical disabilities – without political correctness. With an engrossing and shape-shifting performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Callahan, accompanied by scene-stealing support from Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black, Gus Van Sant’s (Milk, My Own Private Idaho) newest film follows the life of this troubled alcoholic who journeys from rock-bottom to an oddball AA group to ultimately channeling his demons into sometimes shocking and always humorous profane art.

“Not since American Splendor explored the curmudgeonly everyman sensibility of comic-book artist Harvey Pekar has the complicated headspace of a cartoonist been entered with such infectious fondness as in Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot. A return for Gus Van Sant to the loose-limbed chronicles of outsider existences in Portland, Oregon, that first put him on the map, like Mala Noche (1986) and Drugstore Cowboy (1989), this unwieldy but consistently enjoyable portrait of quadriplegic local hero John Callahan is notable for its generosity of spirit and gentleness.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“What makes Phoenix’s performance especially exciting is that you’re watching not just a character go from chaos to self-possession but an actor, too. He looks unhinged when, in his ambulatory scenes, he weaves around, accosting an attractive young woman on the beach in Southern California, squatting behind a car to finish off a bottle of tequila, and, of course, sliding behind the wheel. Phoenix lets Callahan’s inner compass point due south, toward the abyss.” – David Edelstein, Vulture 

Danny Elfman and Gus VanSant did question and answers after the film. Unfortunately most of the conversations surrounded the work between them (Elfman is the composer of most of VanSant's movies). Gus VanSant met hims when he was with a punk band in Southern California: The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. 

They collaborate on the movies after there is already some film to review, then Elfman usually gives him about three choices he has composed and lets VanSant pick. He wrote the Simpson's introduction and also did movies like Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A man in a wheel chair dramatically rolled from the back of the theater and admonished him for not have a disabled actor as the lead role. Gus did say he hired a lot of disabled people for the role. He asked if he had Inclusion Riders for his films and made him promise he would in the future to which he said, "I promise". I wanted the whole night to be about VanSant who I have loved since My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Good Will Hunting and many more. He is also credited as a writer in this film and most of the other films he has done. 

Trailer: 

Click here for movie trailer

Video of the entire Interview with Gus Van Sant:

Click here for interview

I AM NOT A WITCH

When I saw the trailer for this film I thought it was a comedy - a dark comedy. It was more of a tragi-comedy. The scenery, people and costumes of Zambia were beautiful, it is always nice to see of slice of life from a different culture. This from the program perfectly describes it Nyoni layers magical realism, satire, and social critique to blur reality with the surreal in this original and unforgettable story

Program Description: 

Description

"The child is a witch,” exclaim the villagers in the opening of this strikingly beautiful first feature by Rungano Nyoni. When young Shula is accused of witchcraft in her village, she is exiled, her movements are constrained, and she is expected to perform miracles; however, she is not prepared to live this way forever. Employing breathtaking composition, Nyoni layers magical realism, satire, and social critique to blur reality with the surreal in this original and unforgettable story.

“Shot in and around Zambia’s capital city Lusaka, and cast with non-professionals, the story is approached with a kind of deadpan eccentricity. That some of the performances are a little unpolished hardly matters – in fact the sometimes declamatory delivery only heightens the sense of matter-of-fact oddness.” – Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

“[W]hat makes I Am Not a Witch unique, however, is Nyoni’s abundant, maybe even overabundant directorial confidence. It’s rare and exhilarating that a new filmmaker arrives on the scene so sure of herself and so willing to take bold, counterintuitive chances.” – Jessica Kiang, Variety

This was the only film where I didn't get to meet one of the filmmakers. 

Filmmaker Bio(s)

A native of Zambia who grew up in Wales, Rungano Nyoni began her filmmaking career as a writer and director of shorts. She developed I Am Not a Witch’s story during a Cannes Cinéfondation residency in 2013. Among the honors Nyoni has received for the film are the Douglas Hickox Award and Best Director prize at the British Independent Film Awards and a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer

Trailer:

Click Here for the Trailer

LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE

This was my favorite film of the film festival. The director took 14 years of documentary footage of his very funny mother and his family - mainly mother. Then he created this 90 minute well edited documentary from it. Yes it does include a monkey and a castle (which they live in). He is from Spain and he filmed the movie there at their castle near Barcelona and in Madrid. 

Program Description:

Description

Julita had three dreams in life – to have lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle – and as she conveys over the course of this funny and touching documentary, managed to obtain all three. Presently faced with financial hardship, she is being forced out of the ramshackle castle, along with the countless objects, both priceless treasures and worthless detritus, inside. A hoarder’s dream, this charming film captures a family reliving its past through objects, memories, and shared histories and was filmed over 14 years by son and debut feature filmmaker Gustavo Salmerón.

"Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle, though it depicts the family falling on hard times and Julita tut-tutting about her 'suffering,' is primarily a film that overflows with affection, warmth, and humor, about a highly dysfunctional but deeply loving clan. In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy famously declared that 'all happy families resemble one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' But Salmerón’s film, crammed as full of tchotchkes and knick-knacks and bibelots as one of his mother’s closets, refutes that, presenting an endearingly haphazard portrait of an extraordinary woman and the family she made — one that has discovered its own, completely unique way to be happy.” – Jessica Kiang, Variety

“Julita Salmerón insists more than once in Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle that nobody outside of her friends and family will have any interest in watching her story. Julita has a point, since family movies often hold little value for viewers who don’t share the genes or immediate concerns of their subjects or creators, but she couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to this film. Director Gustavo Salmerón has found a great character in his larger-than-life mother. Julita’s quirks resonate throughout the extensive range of family videos cut together for this film. No matter how strange, wacky, bizarre, or embarrassing Julita may seem, her kids love her even more, thanks to her eccentricities." – Patrick Mullen, Point of View Magazine

Filmmaker

Filmmaker Bio(s)

A longtime actor who made his screen debut in 1993 in The Red Squirrel, Gustavo Salmerón first turned to filmmaking in 2001 with Salad Days, for which he won the Goya for Best Short Film – Fiction. Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle was culled from over 400 hours of footage. “In the 1980s, I started filming my mother and I realized that she had tremendous potential,” says Salmerón of how footage that could have been a home movie evolved into an award-winning documentary that counts a Goya for Best Documentary among its honors. “Something that I had been trying to achieve for many years as an actor – being totally present and authentic, and my mother did this automatically.” (Cineuropa)

The filmmaker was charming and funny. He brought props from his movie: a long fork his mom used to pinch her husband and greetings from his mother "Merry Christmas" a reference to her having the Nativity set up all year. 

I asked him after the movie how many years of filming he did and he said 14. I asked him when he got his first camera and he said 2000.

Gustavo Salmerón

I wanted to take a selfie with him but I was not brave enough. 

Trailer: Click here for the Trailer

Interview:Click here for 4 minute interview

Click here for 30 minute interview

Tribute to Charlize Theron: Tully

They had a nice tribute clip to Charlize Theron and dialog with a host before the movie. That was the highlight. Oh, she also spoke afterwards with the director Jason Reitman. The film was about suburban post baby depression/angst. Not my thing. It was just a little bit better than I expected as it had some humor. 

Program description:

Description

Charlize Theron has a ferocity and focus unique to contemporary screen actors. She can utterly transform herself and transfix an audience across a variety of genres, and the subtlety in her protean performances is a tonic for these times. But her talent in that regard dates back: By 2003, Theron was already a master of her art, something never more apparent than in her role that year as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Patty Jenkins' Monster (2003). Since then, Theron has continued to build an impressive body of work, receiving a second Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of a miner who sues her company for sexual harassment in North Country (2005), reviving George Miller's Mad Max franchise with her ferocious turn as the warrior Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and mixing slaughter and spycraft in the Cold War era thrillerAtomic Blonde (2017). Join us for this special conversation with Charlize Theron, followed by a screening of Tully.

Marlo (Charlize Theron) has lost her youth to motherhood and is completely burnt out. When her brother (Mark Duplass) suggests a night nanny-someone to help with her newborn-she reluctantly agrees, welcoming a stranger named Tully into her home. Grounded by Theron's extraordinary performance, which delivers the smart and hilarious dialogue written and directed with great care by frequent collaborators Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman, Tully details all aspects of motherhood however unglamorous they may be.

Trailer: 

Click here to see trailer

Click here for the after interview with Charlize at Film Festival

She did this movie right after Atomic Blonde and was in her best physical shape and had to gain 50lbs for the role. She says she was walking in the Golden Globes in front of Jason Reitman and stopped, turned around and said - I'm not moving unless you agree to do a movie together. A few years later they did. 

Jason Reitman was the director of the famous Juno film. He works with the writer Diablo Cody who says she only writes a first draft of each movie. They were both there and talked about their collaborations together since the first movie in this trilogy Juno, then Young Adult. 

Click here for movie trailer

SEARCHING

SEARCHING

John Cho is usually a funny guy and that's why I wanted to see this film. It is an interesting concept film in that it was filmed 85% on computer screens like the picture above. They used 25 editors and about 400,000$ in computer equipment to make this film. It was a short film that was made into a feature. It seemed that way too - a short film with extensive padding. The first half seemed like it was 2 hours.  Later note. The more I think about this, the more I appreciate this film for it's innovation. They compared this is a new format of film like the break out film Tangerine which was done on cell phones. I'm glad I saw it. 

Program description: 

Description

This nail-biting debut by Aneesh Chaganty, is a fresh and innovative film told exclusively through computer screens. 16-year-old Margot (breakout actress Michelle La) can’t emotionally connect with her dad, David (a charismatic John Cho), who has been withdrawn and overprotective since her mother passed away. When Margot goes missing, David is aided by Detective Vick (Debra Messing) but ultimately must rely on his own search skills to find his missing daughter before it’s too late. Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance.

“[Searching]’s rhythm and pacing stand out, from the way the camera punches in and moves around computer screens to the way it creatively adds new angles to the mix, while still adhering to its basic conceit. More often than not, the fact that we’re watching an ersatz computer screen falls away completely, leaving only the drama of David’s search. It feels impressively cinematic, which is no small feat, given the stylistic limitations. Cho also delivers a strong performance, capturing the denial, grief, and anger David experiences as the situation with his daughter becomes increasingly more dire.” – Bryan Bishop, The Verge 

“The massively clever [Searching] draws significant suspense from two modern anxieties: We’re spending too much time on our devices, and parents don’t really know what their kids are up to. Taking place entirely on computer screens, this mystery-thriller gains emotional heft thanks to an agonized performance from John Cho as a widowed father trying to track down his missing daughter. The movie’s arresting visual conceit has enough flexibility to sustain interest, even if the story’s twists and turns sometimes feel excessively fiendish.” – Tim Grierson, Screen Daily 

Interview about the movie (then called Search)

Click here for interview on movie

No trailer available yet. 

Guests

Director Aneesh Chaganty and co-writer/producer Sev Ohanian expected to attend.

The creators were so animated and charming. Local boys from San Jose who filmed the movie in San Jose. They wanted to use Korean family to show the film with diversity. Most of the time they talked about how they had to try everything they could to get John Cho to agree to do the film.

Filmmaker Bio(s)

Among his achievements, Aneesh Chaganty made more than 10 shorts while studying at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts; his 2014 Google Glass spot, “Seeds,” garnered over one million YouTube views within 48 hours of its premiere; and he directed and developed commercials as one of the Google 5, who were tapped by the company to enhance and shape the Google brand. In addition to winning the Sloan prize at Sundance, Searching also won the festival’s Best of Next! audience award. Searching was originally conceived as a short, and when a feature was suggested instead, Chaganty was initially hesitant until he and cowriter Sev Ohanian cracked the story. “All of a sudden we had this idea that didn’t feel like a gimmick anymore, that felt like we were using something to make a commentary about the way we live our lives but also something that was extremely emotionally engaging and cinematic most of all.” (monstersandcritics.com)

HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES

Neil Gaimon the famous comic book artist is the writer of this film. This film was adapted from about a 20 page sci-fi comic book her wrote. It was like watching a beautiful colored graphic novel - but it was very strange. 70's punk London teenager meets alien colony teenager and they fall in love. 

Program description: 

Description

In the joyous, chaotic spirit of his beloved Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), director c returns with an utterly unique punk rock 1970s alien invasion film featuring sweet coming-of-age romance punctuated by a number of shape-shifting phallic limbs and anal probes. Elle Fanning as the loveliest of all alien life forms and an outrageous Nicole Kidman as a foul-mouthed Vivienne Westwood-ish club queen lead a remarkable cast in this wild ride through sci-fi master Neil Gaiman’s adaptation of his most impossibly fun and impish short story.

“’They're just girls,’ said Vic. ‘They don't come from another planet.’” – Neil Gaiman, How to Talk to Girls at Parties

"Channeling the communal intimacy of Shortbus and the riotous musicality of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Mitchell transforms Neil Gaiman’s sci-fi short story into a vibrant, edgy, and at times, outright goofy statement on tough antiestablishment rebels and freewheeling hippy vibes, suggesting that they’re not really all that that different." – Eric Kohn, Indiewire

This trailer shows off the film perfectly:

Click Here for Trailer of Movie

Click here to see after interview with Neil Gaiman and Mitchell

Neil Gaiman and Director John Cameron Mitchell

Program Bio:

Filmmaker Bio(s)

John Cameron Mitchell began his career as an actor, receiving three Drama Desk nominations and winning an Obie award. He won a second Obie, a Special Citation shared with composer Stephen Trask, for their musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Mitchell wrote, directed, and starred in the screen adaptation of Hedwig (Festival 2001 Audience Award winner), and was nominated for Independent Spirit Awards for all three jobs and won the Berlinale’s Teddy Award. His subsequent features include Shortbus (2006) and Rabbit Hole (2010), for which he received a Best Director Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Me: The crowd went wild in the Castro over this movie. They said they got a 15 minute standing ovation in Cannes but that the NY Times and BBC movie critics claimed it was the worst movie they had ever seen. It was between an ovation and worst but stunningly beautiful. 

HAL

The movie Hal

This is one of my favorite types of movies is the bio-documentary where they incorporate video, letters and interviews. Hal Ashby directed one of my favorite movies from the 1970's called Harold and Maude. 

Program description: 

Description

In Amy Scott’s comprehensive and affectionate documentary, the capricious life and career of one of Hollywood’s iconic filmmakers, Hal Ashby, is brought to light. Deftly weaving archival footage, on-camera interviews, and Ashby’s jocular letters and memos (expertly voiced by Ben Foster), Scott reveals a complex and singular visionary who directed some of the most seminal films of the 1970s including the indelible Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), and Being There (1979).

“One of the comparatively unsung luminaries of 1970s American cinema receives a very fine tribute in Hal, an in-depth look at director Hal Ashby. Never a household name like Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, or Lucas and without a genuine blockbuster to his credit, the former film editor nonetheless directed seven of the finest and most emblematic films of the New Hollywood Cinema era. Digging deep into the archives for rare and revealing material to accompany interviews with many of his collaborators and intimates, filmmaker Amy Scott packs a lot into 90 minutes with this insightful and warm look at an artist whose best work always revealed a heightened social conscience.” – Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

Pre-production trailer of Hal

Post Production Trailer - Hal

This is Producer Christine Beebe and her child

An arrogant L.A producer was lateto the movie and arrived 10 minutes after it was over. She was late because she picked a flight which arrived the same time the film started. She said the director couldn't come because our film has been doing so well she was at another film festival. When criticized that it only gave a positive view of the controversial director she said that there was another movie in there for someone else to make about that.

Filmmaker Bio(s)

Amy Scott began her filmmaking and editing career in Chicago after getting her degree in Film Studies at University of Oklahoma. She taught documentary film at Chicago Filmmaker, was a media producer for the University of Chicago, and served as head digital archivist and assistant to Studs Terkel at the Chicago History Museum. Now based in Los Angeles, she worked on a number of shorts, music, videos, and films prior to making her directorial debut with Hal.

The San Francisco International Film Festival has started!

I've taken a little bit of a different approach this year. Usually I see about 8 films in 2 days spending all day between theaters tiring myself out and then not completely enjoying the movies. 

This year I was able to go to a SF Film Society member preview at the Castro (Since I'm a member this year) and view trailers of highlighted films. I picked some of the top movies and those which had actors or directors coming to speak. Also those movies at the bigger Castro, Yerba Buena or SFMOMA theaters.

What I've missed are the small independent films that through their strength have beat the odds and made it out of their limited film producing countries and are about people showing their experiences/ lives in their countries. Instead I'm seeing huge names and huge sold out theaters and experiencing the big, booming experience. Not the subtle nuanced experience I usually enjoy. 

I have less energy than to camp out all day at the small theaters and it is really a hit or miss. However, I wish I could do both. For now, I like my pacing. So far 4 movies in 3 days. Starting in the afternoons and in the evenings. 

At the Castro! The Best FF Films were here. 

Built in 1922 my Dad worked here as an usher in the 40's

Click Here to See Film Festival Preview