The Phantom Carriage with Jonathan Richman
Friday, April 27
7:00 pm Castro Theatre
429 Castro Street (near Market)
members $15, general public $20
Death’s wheels are driven by the last sinner to die before year’s end in master Swedish director Victor Sjöström’s surrealistic silent film classic, which rides again with a new score composed and performed live by local music icon Jonathan Richman. This suspenseful, visually arresting classic will be screened in a gorgeous new 35mm print specially created for world cinema distributor Janus Films’s 50-year anniversary. (Dir. Victor Sjôstrôm, Sweden, 1921, 107 min.)
FRI APR 27 7:00 CAS PHAN27C
The State of Cinema Address by Peter Sellars
Sunday, April 29
4:00 pm Sundance Cinemas Kabuki
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
members $9, general public $12
Each year, the Film Society invites one of the leaders in cinema to address the issues facing the film world today. This year, the State of Cinema address will be delivered by the brilliant theater and film director Peter Sellars, whose multimedia works continually expand the potentials of globally relevant images and ideas. Sellars also is profiled in John Else’s Wonders Are Many, screening at this year’s Festival. Sellers recently served as artistic director of the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth; two of the seven films he commissioned for New Crowned Hope are screening at this year’s Festival: Daratt and Opera Jawa.
SUN APR 29 4:00 KAB STAT29K
The True Story of the World: On the Road at 50
Monday, April 30
6:30 pm Sundance Cinemas Kabuki
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
members $9, general public $12
A half-century ago, in 1957, "crazy dumbsaint of the mind" Jack Kerouac published the book that was to crack open postwar American literature and society, becoming a blazing iconic beacon of the Beat Generation and a light that never goes out for playful, seeking dreamers everywhere, then and since. Three generations have dug the passionate jazzbo language of On the Road, stuffed a copy in a backpack and hit the highway in search of enlightenment. No other contemporary literary work can claim such an immediate and enduring impact. After five decades, it still sells up to 130,000 copies a year. As part of its own 50th anniversary celebration, SFIFF and Litquake pay homage to Kerouac’s golden book with a portmanteau program of readings, testimonials and images. Peter Coyote, Michael McClure and Diane di Prima will take part in this cultural celebration, with many more Beat Generation disciples to join them.
MON APR 30 6:30 KAB TRUE30K
Notes to a Toon Underground
Saturday, May 5
8:30 pm Castro Theatre
429 Castro Street (near Market)
members $15, general public $20
Featuring 15 animated films made between 1912 and 2005 by six different directors, and with 11 musicians providing live accompaniment, it’s safe to file this program under “This Will Never Happen Again.” The lineup includes Marc Capelle, Devin Hoff (of Good for Cows), Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy) Ches Smith (of Good for Cows, Xiu Xiu and Ceramic Dog), Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy (of Xiu Xiu), Carla Fabrizia (of Sekar Jaya Gamelan), Tommy Guerrero, Monte Vallier and Gadget (of Jet Black Crayon) and avant-garde legend William Winant. These musicians will unveil world premieres of newly composed scores to historic and contemporary animated shorts. Please note that this program contains sexually explicit imagery.
SAT MAY 5 8:30 CAS NOTE05C
Brand upon the Brain!
Monday, May 7
8:00 pm Castro Theatre
429 Castro Street (near Market)
members $15, general public $20
SFIFF favorite Guy Maddin’s semiautobiographical masterwork mines the rich territories of his youth and spins them into a fantasy of familial discontent. At the edge of the sea stands a lighthouse, once the location of an orphanage. There, some years ago, lived Guy and Sis, a brother and sister under the constant observation of their mother yet entirely ignored by their father, an ingenious inventor. When Wendy Hale, amateur harpist and half of twin detective team the Lightbulb Kids, arrives to investigate a mysterious regenerative nectar harvested from the orphans, things grow ever more complicated. The film’s original score will be performed live by a 13-piece ensemble, with foley artists, a benshi-like narrator and a castrato adding to the fun. (Dir. Guy Maddin, Canada, 2006, 95 min.)
MON MAY 7 8:00 CAS BRAN07C
Five-0: Stories and Images from 50 Years of the SF International
Tuesday, May 8
5:00 pm reception 6:30 pm program
Sundance Cinemas Kabuki
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
members $9, general public $12
The SFIFF celebrates its golden anniversary with a raucous evening of reminiscences and tall tales hosted by Porchlight’s Beth Lisick and Arlene Klatte and featuring onstage appearances by Festival alumni and clips from 50 years of the International’s glorious and tumultuous history. Four audience members drawn at random will tell their own two-minute Festival stories. The festivities will kick off at 5:00 pm with a complimentary wine and beer reception. Admission is 21 and up only; proof of age is required at the door. Please drink responsibly.
TUE MAY 8 6:30 KAB FIVE08K
Halou, Tarentel and the GreenWorld
Wednesday, May 9
9:30 pm Mighty
119 Utah Street (near 15th)
members $9, general public $12
Beloved local bands Halou and Tarentel take the stage for contrasting and intense multimedia performances that merge electronic and psychedelic music with dreamy visuals. Videos made by the winner and finalists of the GreenWorld online video contest will be screened as well. ges 21 and up only.
WED MAY 9 9:30 MIGHTY HALO09M