POPCORNREEL.COM FEATURE:
THE 51ST SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - APRIL 24-MAY 8, 2008
The skyline of the City By The Bay at night,
including the Ferry Building, highlighted by the Port of San Francisco red neon
flanking the Ferry Building's Clock Tower. (Photo: Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com)
San Francisco's 51st International Film
Festival Begins Tonight
By
Omar P.L. Moore/The Popcorn Reel
April 24, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO, California
The sound of the city, the sounds that are heard in San Francisco/Are mixed
with daylight's glimmering waves and moonbeam's shimmering glow/When darkness
settles on the city/Homeward people on their way/Chimes ringing softly in the
stillness/Fog creeping slowly cross the Bay/Hear the sounds of the city, the
sounds that are heard in San Francisco on KSFO, KSFO, San Francisco . . .
San Francisco has its sounds sung so clearly by the Johnny Mann Singers as a
local radio jingle way back when. The City, in all of its foggy, romantic
glory, continues its proud mantle for being the longest running film festival in
the Americas. Tonight begins the 51st San Francisco International Film
Festival and the film "The Last Mistress", directed by France's Catherine
Breillat (director of such films as "Romance" and "Sex Is Comedy") and starring
Asia Argento, kicks off the two-week film festival (which runs through Thursday,
May 8.)
"The Last Mistress" will be unveiled at The Castro Theater tonight at 7p.m.
The Festival, run by the San Francisco Film Society, once again promises
wall-to-wall films and related events. Daily reports and coverage of
SFIFF51, as it is more commonly known, will be provided here.
[For additional show times visit
www.sffs.org.
For further information and for tickets, visit the same website or the Sundance
Kabuki Cinemas at 1881 Post Street (corner of Fillmore Street), the Embarcadero
Ticket Outlet at One Embarcadero Center on the Lobby Level (on Battery Street
between Clay and Sacramento Streets) or call 925-866-9559 daily between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m.]
For now, The Popcorn Reel takes a capsule-like look at a very small selection of
films from the opening weekend (Friday-Sunday), with show times, venue and
ticket information (ticket details above in italics.)
Keep in mind that additional dates and show times exist for each of these
films below, beyond the times and dates shown.
DOCUMENTARIES
"Flow: For Love Of Water" - As the crisis regarding the world's water
supply becomes more urgent, Irena Salina directs this important documentary
which sounds alarm bells: will water be privatized like the world's oil supply
is? (USA, 2007, 1 hour 33 minutes)
Sat April 26
12:30 pm Pacific Film Archives, Berkeley
Sun April 27
2:30 pm Sundance Kabuki Cinema, San Francisco (panel
discussion on the Politics of Water follows)
"Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts" - Scott Hicks examines the
legendary and notorious composer in an intimate and revealing look at Mr. Glass
behind the scenes and on the scenes. Philip Glass has composed music
forever it seems, and moviegoers will recognize his music scores from a
multitude of films, including "The Hours" and "Notes On A Scandal".
(Australia, 2007, 1 hour 55 minutes)
Sat April 26
3:00 pm Pacific Film Archives
Sat April 26
8:30 pm Kabuki
"Stranded: I've Come From A Plane That Crashed In The Mountains" -
Gonzalo Arijon's meticulous and unsettling documentary about an extraordinary
true story of the survival of several young men whose plane crashed into the
Andes mountains in the early 1970's. The men endured almost three months
in and around the mountains before rescue finally arrived. "Alive", a
1990's Hollywood film, was the fictional version of this all-too real story.
(France, 2007, 2 hours 6 minutes)
Sun April 27
2:30 pm Kabuki
FEATURE FILMS
"Leave Her To Heaven" - This restored print of the classic 1945 film by
John M. Stahl is in Technicolor and features a strong performance by Gene
Tierney as Laura, a woman too bad for a place called Hell. The newly-wed
turns her new marriage to a novelist played by Cornel Wilde into a living,
waking nightmare. What's a man to do? (USA, 1945, 1 hour 53 minutes)
Sat April 26
5:45 pm The Castro Theater, San Francisco
"Go Go Tales" - Asia Argento (of numerous films including the Festival's
opening night film "The Last Mistress") will have audiences talking for sure
about her exhibitionism and daredevil ways in this film (directed by Abel
Ferrara) about a flagging strip club. Willem Dafoe stars as the club's
owner. (Italy/France, 2007, 1 hour 45 minutes)
Sat April 26
11:45 pm Kabuki
Previous:
The San Francisco Film
Society
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