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TREEFORT 2014—FAVE PICKS
What a difference a year makes. Last year in the press lounge at the Sun Valley Film Festival I remember being clueless when the media kids were talking about the musical acts they were going to catch...
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SVFF 2014—THE ROAD TO SUN VALLEY
Ramping up to the third edition of the Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF), March 13-16, Ryan Lattanzio announces the line-up at IndieWire, as does Eric Eidelstein, Gordy Grundy does the honors for The...
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SFIFF 57—2014 NEW DIRECTORS PRIZE (NARRATIVE FEATURE) COMPETITION
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF)—running April 24 through May 8—have announced the films in competition for the New Directors Prize. The New Directors Prize of $10,000 will be...
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SEBASTOPOL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 2014—NOAH (2013)
Effective for underscoring the near-Pavlovian response to social media with all its concomitant bloops and jingles, Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg's 17-minute short Noah (2013)—not to be confused...
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IN SEARCH OF EMAK BAKIA / EMAK BAKIA BAITA (2012)—OSKAR ALEGRIA ON....
Man Ray—known primarily in the art world for his avant-garde photography—produced major works in a variety of media, including film. In 1926, he directed the 19-minute short Emak-Bakia (Basque for...
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SEBASTOPOL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 2014—BENDING STEEL (2013)
Sure to eventually end up on a double-bill with Zachary Levy's Strongman (2009), Dave Carroll's Bending Steel (2013) [official site / Facebook] even includes Stanley "Stanless Steel" Pleskun—the...
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GRAND COMME LE BAOBAB / TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE (2012)—The Evening Class...
Jeremy Teicher's Tall as the Baobab Tree (2012) [Official Site / Facebook] boasted its U.S. premiere at the 56th edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival, as part of that festival's...
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FICM 2013—STEVE SEID SURVEYS THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF BURT LANCASTER IN...
We're mid-month into the centennial celebration of Burt Lancaster's birthday. At Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Wednesday nights have been devoted to Lancaster, inarguably one of Hollywood's most popular...
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"THE BEST OF THE DISPOSABLE FILM FESTIVAL" AT TREEFORT
In March of 2011 I had the good fortune to be introduced by publicist Amber Kaplan to Carlton Evans, Eric Slatkin and Katie Gillum, the founding members of San Francisco's Disposable Film Festival...
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FICM 2013: PARAÍSO (PARADISE, 2013)
Situated in FICM’s Mexican Feature competition, Mariana Chenillo’s Paraíso (Paradise, 2013) cooks up a delectably sentimental offering, albeit from a slim premise. Carmen (Daniela Rincón) and Alfredo...
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FCN 2013—MICHAEL HAWLEY ANTICIPATES THE LINEUP
The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) brings us the sixth edition of its French Cinema Now (FCN) series, beginning this Thursday, November 7 at Landmark's Clay Theatre. While it's tough seeing 2013's...
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FCN 2013—2 AUTUMNS, 3 WINTERS (2 AUTOMNES, 3 HIVERS, 2013)
As noted by Michael Hawley in his anticipatory overview of the 2013 edition of the San Francisco Film Society's French Cinema Now (FCN), the series—though abbreviated this year—is strikingly auteurial,...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Anticipates the Line-up
I've had the good fortune to attend every San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) since 1976 and the privilege of covering it as accredited press for eight years running. The 57th SFIFF opens...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Peruses the Line-up: Special Programs
The SF Film Society (SFFS) revealed the full line-up for the eagerly anticipated 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF57) at a Fairmont Hotel press conference last Tuesday. In addition...
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SFIFF57—LATINBEAT
National cinemas and international film festivals go together like meat and salt, and I'm especially pleased that the 57th edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) has gone...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Previews the French Films
Now that we've gotten the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival's roster of special programs out of the way, it's time to get into the nitty-gritty of this year's promising, 103-feature film...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Peruses the Line-Up Elsewhere In Europe
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF57) is set to begin in ten days and so far we've taken a glance at this year's awards and special presentations, as well as the impressive...
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EDEN INTERRUPTED—Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller On the Unreliable Narrators &...
I'm pleased to announce that my friends at Fandor have published my conversation with Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller on the occasion of the theatrical release of their most recent documentary The...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Peruses the Line-Up From the Rest of the World
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival will be taking off in just a few days time. In recent posts, we've looked at this year's awards and special programs, as well as SFIFF57's extensive...
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SFIFF57—Michael Hawley Previews A Handful
Salvation Army (France / Morocco / Switzerland, dir. Abdellah Taïa)—Moroccan writer Abdellah Taïa makes a memorably assured filmmaking debut with this adaptation of his autobiographical novel. As a gay...
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